Article published in:
Approaches to learning, testing, and researching L2 vocabulary
Edited by Stuart Webb
[ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 169:1] 2018
► pp. 212–231

Vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension at an intermediate level in English and French as foreign languages

An approximate replication study of Stæhr (2009)

| KU Leuven | ITEC (KU Leuven – imec)
| KU Leuven
| KU Leuven
| ITEC (KU Leuven – imec)
| KU Leuven

The present study aims to replicate Stæhr’s (2009) study on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. To explore the generalizability of Stæhr’s findings, two experiments were conducted. However, the study changed the population (Flemish learners) and proficiency level of the materials in the first experiment (intermediate) and also the language in the second experiment (French). Our results generally confirm Stæhr’s findings. We also found a positive correlation between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. Although our findings reveal that learners probably need fewer words for adequate listening comprehension at an intermediate proficiency level, our study also showed that learners who knew more words had higher listening comprehension scores. Finally, our study seems to suggest that learners might need less lexical coverage for intermediate listening.

Keywords: vocabulary knowledge, listening comprehension, intermediate level, English as a foreign language, French as a foreign language
Article outline
  • 1.Background
    • 1.1The original study
    • 1.2Importance of the problem
    • 1.3Relevant scholarship
    • 1.4Statement of purpose
  • 2.Research questions
  • 3.Experiment 1: English
    • 3.1Method
      • 3.1.1Participants
      • 3.1.2Materials
        • 3.1.2.1Listening comprehension test for English: Preliminary English Test for schools (PET)
        • 3.1.2.2Receptive vocabulary test
      • 3.1.3Procedure
      • 3.1.4Scoring and analyses
    • 3.2Results
      • 3.2.1Descriptive statistics
      • 3.2.2To what extent is vocabulary knowledge associated with listening comprehension?
      • 3.2.3How much vocabulary is needed for adequate listening comprehension?
  • 4.Experiment 2: French
    • 4.1Method
      • 4.1.1Participants
      • 4.1.2Materials
        • 4.1.2.1Listening comprehension test for French: Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF)
        • 4.1.2.2Receptive vocabulary test
      • 4.1.3Procedure
      • 4.1.4Scoring and analyses
    • 4.2Results
      • 4.2.1Descriptive statistics
      • 4.2.2To what extent is vocabulary knowledge associated with listening comprehension?
      • 4.2.3How much vocabulary is needed for adequate listening comprehension?
    • 4.3The relationship between vocabulary and listening comprehension
    • 4.4How much vocabulary is needed for adequate listening comprehension?
  • 5.Limitations
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 April 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.00013.nor
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