On Studies on Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Abroad

崔崢 惠良虹

【摘要】：Abstract： The depth of vocabulary knowledge is of vital importance in learning a word. This study is to analyze the studies on depth of vocabulary knowledge abroad. Three empirical studies abroad are selected based on certain criteria， followed by critical analysis.

Key words： the depth of vocabulary knowledge； abroad； critical analysis

1.Selection criteria

In order to make it much more qualified as a representation of the whole pack， the articles are collected with careful considerations. Firstly， empirical studies are selected. Secondly， the articles have been selected according to the citation frequency.

2.The selected articles

2.1Schmitt and Meara （1997）s study

This study is the first step to explore the depth of vocabulary knowledge， it investigates two aspects of word knowledge： word association and verbal suffixes.

2.2Schmitt （1998）s study

This study can be reckoned as an extension of the former one. Compared with the previous one， it explores a wider range of word knowledge including the spelling， associations， grammatical information， and meaning.

2.3Qian （1999）s study

This study focuses not only on the word knowledge itself； it examines the word knowledge in the reading comprehension. This indicates that the study on word knowledge itself is far less enough.

3.Critical Analysis

3.1 Achievements

Schmitt and Meara （1997）s study is the first step to explore the depth of vocabulary knowledge， it only investigates two aspects of word knowledge： word association and verbal suffixes. Schmitt （1998）s study can be reckoned as an extension of the former one. It explores a wider range of word knowledge including the spelling， associations， grammatical information， and meaning. Qian （1999）s study focuses not only on the word knowledge itself； it examines the word knowledge in the reading comprehension.

3.2 Weaknesses

Besides the merits， there are some weaknesses in the studies. The research scope can be enlarged in the future studies， more aspects of word knowledge are called on to be investigated in the future studies. Subjects of varied features should be involved in the future studies. Inappropriateness in the measurement of the test should be corrected.

4.Conclusion

The studies on the depth of vocabulary knowledge give us a lot of implications on research and teaching， more researches on the depth of vocabulary knowledge are called on in

References：

1.Qian， D. Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance： An assessment perspective [J]. Language Learning， 2002， （3）： 513-536.

2.Schmitt， N. & P. Meara. Researching Vocabulary through a Word Knowledge Framework： Word Associations and Verbal Suffixes [J]. Studies in Second Language Acquisition， 1997， （19）： 17-35.

3.Schmitt， N. Measuring collocational knowledge： key issues and an experimental assessment procedure [J]. Review of Applied Linguistics. I.T.L， 1998： 119-120.