Second Language Lexical Knowledge and Listening Comprehension

要旨

This study investigates the interaction between lexical knowledge and listening comprehension in a second language. Fifty-nine Japanese university students of low-intermediate to advanced English ability were tested using first-language recall protocols as comprehension measures, and dictation as measures of lexical familiarity on four texts of increasing amounts of low-frequency lexical words. Comprehension correlated with text-lexis familiarity at .45; acceptable comprehension levels were significantly associated with higher text-lexis familiarity; good comprehension seldom occurred with text-lexis familiarity levels lower than 75 percent, but occurred frequently at 90+ percent levels. This pattern was observed equally for learners of high, middle, or low second-language listening proficiency. It is concluded that efficient listening strategies may make comprehending lexically complex texts possible, but most learners seem to need very high lexical familiarity for good comprehension.

主題