| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 外國語文學系 === 104 === In light of the wide acceptance that vocabulary learning is essential for second language learning (Zhang & Li, 2011), recent years have seen growing research exploring vocabulary learning strategies vis-à-vis, inter alia, gender, age, proficiency levels, language learning outcomes, and vocabulary acquisition (e.g., Nemati, 2008; Gu & Johnson, 1997; Kirmizi, 2014; Schmitt, 1997; Tsai & Chang, 2009). The current study followed this line of research; it investigated Taiwanese university-level EFL students’ preferences for vocabulary learning strategies in relation to their general English proficiency, vocabulary size and English learning outcomes.
Sixty-four students (15 male, 49 female) volunteered to participate in the study. The students’ vocabulary learning strategies were explored by a questionnaire, adapted from Schmitt (1997). The questionnaire consisted of 50 items, categorized into five dimensions: determination, social strategy, memory, cognitive strategy, and metacognitive strategy. The vocabulary size test, developed by Nation and Beglar (2007), was used to assess the students’ vocabulary size. The test included 140 questions. The students’ English language learning outcomes were assessed by means of C-tests, which had been empirically corroborated by Ishihara et al (2003) as a valid English proficiency test. The C-tests have three passages (ranging from 112 to 143 words). In each passage, the last half of every fifth or sixth word was deleted for the test takers to complete. The questionnaire and the two tests were all administered in regular class time.
The questionnaire and the test data were examined for their reliability and descriptive statistics. Pearson Correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between the students’ preferences of vocabulary learning strategies and their vocabulary size and English learning outcomes. Results showed that there was no statistic significant difference among the five dimensions. Results also showed that the learners’ preferences for vocabulary learning strategies seemed to vary according to the learners’ proficiency level. Both the high and the low proficiency groups reported to use the determination dimension the most often. However, the high proficiency group used the cognitive dimension the least, whereas the low proficiency group used the social dimension the least. Moreover, low correlations were found between the leaners’ preferences for vocabulary learning strategies and their English learning outcomes.
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