The Relationships between Morphological Knowledge, Orthographic Knowledge, and Vocabulary Size of Senior High School Students

• Main Authors: Ling-Hua Huang, 黃翎華
• Other Authors: Wen-Ta Tseng
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/09378902598795046892

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系在職進修碩士班 === 100 === The current study investigated the relationships between morphological knowledge, orthographic knowledge, and vocabulary size. Moreover, the developmental change in each vocabulary knowledge was also explored. Participants were students from six eleventh-grade classes in a senior high school in Taiwan. The participants first took the morphological knowledge test, followed by orthographic knowledge test and vocabulary levels test. After the first round, the same procedures were repeated other two rounds for four months. Correlation matrix and repeated measures MANOVA were conducted in the present study to explore the correlations and the developmental change of vocabulary knowledge. Important findings were summarized below. First, morphological knowledge, orthographic knowledge, and vocabulary size were correlated. Second, the correlations between morphological knowledge and orthographic knowledge showed an apparent increase in four months. Third, the participants’ morphological knowledge demonstrated a trend of significant growth over time. Fourth, the participants’ orthographic knowledge showed a trend of significant growth in four months. Fifth, learners’ vocabulary size expanded considerably in four months. Based on the research findings, the study presents the following pedagogical implications. First, language instructors should involve morphological knowledge, orthographic knowledge, and vocabulary size in their teaching. Second, tracking systems should be developed to help learners observe their vocabulary progress. Third, the measurements in the present study could serve as diagnostic tools to tap into learners’ ability in vocabulary. As for the suggestions for future research, more participants with different characteristics and backgrounds should be invited. Moreover, future research could prolong the study to a one-year or above research. Furthermore, other statistical methods, such as regressive analysis or structural equation modeling, could be adopted to further explore the predictability among each aspect of vocabulary knowledge.