The relative role of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge in L2 reading comprehension: a systematic review of literature
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Yunjeong Choi
und
Dongbo Zhang
Abstract
The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize the findings in the literature on the relative contribution of two types of linguistic knowledge (i. e., vocabulary and grammatical knowledge) to L2 reading comprehension; and to discuss the possible factors that might have led to the complexity and incongruity of the research findings. Nineteen studies were identified for this review through a systematic process of selection, and were analyzed in terms of the relationship of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge with L2 reading comprehension and their relative significance. The result of this review showed that there was no clear evidence supporting which type of linguistic knowledge is more contributive than the other; and the inconclusive findings might be attributed to the variations in the design of the studies. Two factors emerged, including participants’ language proficiency and construct definition, operationalization, and measurement. Some considerations for future research are suggested.
Appendix 1: Summary of Studies Reviewed
| Author (Year) | Participants | Language Context | Main Analysis | Relative Importance of GK and VK in RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnett (1986) | 124 university students in the U.S. | French as a FL | Two-way ANOVA | Mixed: RC (measured by recall) was related differentially to VK and GK at medium and high levels of each but not at lower levels |
| Droop and Verhoeven (2003) | 122 ethnic minority 3rd and 4th graders (Morocan and Turkish) in Netherland | Dutch as a SL | Correlation; SEM | Mixed; Correlation: GK>VK at grade 3, GK<VK at grade 4 SEM: GK<VK at grade 4; VK at end of grade 3 directly and indirectly predicted RC at grade 4 while GK predicted only indirectly RC both at grade 3 and 4 |
| Gottardo and Mueller (2009) | 131 native Spanish speaking elementary students | English as a SL | Correlation | GK>VK: vocabulary knowledge is not significantly correlated to RC |
| Guo and Roehrig (2011) | 278 Chinese undergraduate students | English as a FL | Correlation | GK<VK |
| Jeon (2012) | 255 Korean high school students | English as a FL | Correlation | GK>VK |
| Joh (2004) | 157 Korean high school and college students | English as a FL | Correlation | GK<VK |
| Kim and Cho (2013) | 96 Korean high school students | English as a FL | Multiple regression; commonality analysis | GK>VK |
| Mecartty (2000) | 154 university students in the U.S. | Spanish as a FL | Correlation; hierarchical multiple regression | GK<VK |
| Nassaji (2003) | 60 L1 Farsi graduate students in Canada | English as a SL | Correlation | GK<VK |
| Nergis (2013) | 45 undergraduate students in Istanbul | English as a FL | Multiple regression | GK>VK |
| Park (2001) | 90 Korean college students | English as a FL | Multiple regression | GK<VK |
| Shiotsu and Weir (2007) Study 1 | 107 adults in a pre-sessional EAP program at a UK university | English as a SL | SEM | GK>VK |
| Shiotsu and Weir (2007) Study 2 | 182 L1 Japanese university students | English as a FL | SEM | GK>VK |
| Shiotsu and Weir (2007) Study 3 | 591 L1 Japanese university students | English as a FL | SEM; multi-group SEM | GK>VK |
| Siu and Ho (2015) | 413 Hong Kong Chinese elementary school students | English as a FL | Partial correlation | Mixed; VK>GK in sentence comprehension/VK ≤ GK in passage comprehension |
| Van Gelderen et al. (2003) | Total 338: 281 L1 Dutch monolingual adolescent students, 57 L2 Dutch bilingual students | English as a FL (as L2 and L3) | SEM | GK>VK |
| Van Gelderen et al. (2004) | 281 L1 Dutch adolescent students | English as a FL | SEM | GK<VK |
| Zhang (2012) | 190 graduate students in China | English as a FL | SEM | GK<VK |
| Zhang and Koda (2013) | 245 Chinese elementary students (6th grade) in China | English as a FL | Correlation | GK<VK |
Notes: FL=Foreign Language; SL=Second Language; L1=First or Native Language; SEM=Structural Equation Modeling; RC=Reading Comprehension; VK=Vocabulary Knowledge; GK=Grammatical Knowledge.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- The relative role of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge in L2 reading comprehension: a systematic review of literature
- New models of L2 achievement based on EFL learners’ joint attention and their emotional, social, and cultural capitals
- A gendered study of refusal of request speech act in the three languages of Persian, English and Balouchi: a within language study
- The left and right periphery in native and non-native speech – A comparative study between French L1/L2, Spanish L1/L2 and Swedish L1
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- The relative role of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge in L2 reading comprehension: a systematic review of literature
- New models of L2 achievement based on EFL learners’ joint attention and their emotional, social, and cultural capitals
- A gendered study of refusal of request speech act in the three languages of Persian, English and Balouchi: a within language study
- The left and right periphery in native and non-native speech – A comparative study between French L1/L2, Spanish L1/L2 and Swedish L1
