Unknown Vocabulary Density and Reading Comprehension
Replicating Hu and Nation (2000)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7900582 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benjamin Kremmel (0000-0002-2536-0091, Universität Innsbruck, corresponding author), Bimali Indrarathne (0000-0001-7640-2565, Kotelawala Defence University), Judit Kormos (0000-0003-4700-1580, Lancaster University), Shungo Suzuki (0000-0002-6327-3298, Waseda University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1127-1163 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language Learning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-8333 • E-ISSN: 1467-9922 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lang.12622 |
| OpenAlex | W4389069625 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 46 |
Hu and Nation's (2000) study, which stipulated that second language (L2) readers need to be familiar with 98% of lexical items for adequate text comprehension, has become highly influential in L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy. However, the 98% critical threshold figure is based on findings from a research project in which a regression analysis was conducted with only 66 university students in New Zealand. The present study replicated Hu and Nation's research in a context different from a typical Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic context with a sample of 104 Sri Lankan adult L2 learners in a nonacademic context. They each took a Vocabulary Levels Test and read one of five versions of two reading texts at different levels of density of unknown words before answering comprehension questions. The results of the original study could not be fully replicated
Comprehension · Context (archaeology) · Context effect · Linguistics · Reading (process) · Reading comprehension · Test (biology) · Vocabulary · Vocabulary development · Word (group theory) · History · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Text Readability and Simplification
Vocabulary and Reading
Discourse-organising lexical bundles in academic law textbooks
The effects of contextual diversity on incidental vocabulary learning
A call for greater attention to the external validity of studies of second language acquisition
Writing for non-specialists? Investigating readability and jargon use in successful lay summaries of CRF grant proposals 2006–2024
Doing Psycholinguistics in Applied Linguistics
Cumulative coverage of Chinese L2 textbooks
The lexical content of high‐stakes national exams in French, German, and Spanish in England
Exploring Potential Factors Affecting Reading Comprehension in EAL Learners
Uncovering Sampling Biases, Advancing Inclusivity, and Rethinking Theoretical Accounts in Second Language Acquisition
Contrasting Fixed- and Mixed-Effects Modeling in Vocabulary Research
Researching Vocabulary
Assessing Vocabulary
Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
How Much Lexis is Necessary for Reading Comprehension?
The relations between lower and higher level comprehension skills and their role in prediction of early reading comprehension.
Wuggy
Vocabulary Knowledge and Advanced Listening Comprehension in English as a Foreign Language
An Agenda for Purely Confirmatory Research
How Large a Vocabulary is Needed For Reading and Listening?
Reading Ability
Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing
Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1
Lexical Coverage in L1 and L2 Listening Comprehension
The updated Vocabulary Levels Test
Vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension at an intermediate level in English and French as foreign languages
The Relative Significance of Syntactic Knowledge and Vocabulary Knowledge in Second Language Listening Ability
Selling the (Word) Family Silver
The Lemma Dilemma
A meta-analysis of test format effects on reading and listening test performance
Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test
Scoring Yes–No vocabulary tests
Suffix knowledge
The relationship between vocabulary and viewing comprehension
Word Families and Frequency Bands in Vocabulary Tests
A New Academic Word List
Lexical Coverages, Inferencing Unknown Words and Reading Comprehension
Derivative Word Forms
Effect of Frequency and Idiomaticity on Second Language Reading Comprehension
How Big Is "Big"? Interpreting Effect Sizes in L2 Research
L2 Reading Comprehension and Its Correlates
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |