A body of research has looked into the nature of multiple-word knowledge components in recent years. However, the individual role of these components in L2 writing proficiency still remains unclear. The present study examined the interrelations between six-word knowledge components and explored the relationships between the lexical components and productive word use and L2 writing ability. The study adopted a multi-task approach using the word knowledge framework by Nation (2013, 2022) and the model of word knowledge components required in writing proposed by Coxhead (2007). Six measures, including one receptive word component (overall word size) and five productive depth knowledge components (productive form and meaning, association, productive derivation and collocation), were designed and validated to measure 147 Chinese EFL university learners’ word knowledge relative to their word use and argumentative writing ability. The correlation and regression results demonstrated that derivative form production was the best predictor of word use and L2 writing ability. Its contribution was even stronger than productive form and meaning, though the latter two were also closely related to L2 writing and word use. Association and collocation predicted less variance yet still correlated with productive skills. However, the receptive size measured by the VLT had no correlations with L2 writing and lexical proficiency. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence for the theoretical word knowledge models and yields nuanced ideas regarding the smallest lexical predictors of L2 writing. Pedagogical implications for EFL vocabulary pedagogy are also discussed.

Keywords: Chinese EFL university learners; L2 writing ability; multiple word tests; word knowledge components; word size and depth

Bestgen, Y. (2017). Beyond single-word measures: L2 writing assessment, lexical richness and formulaic competence. System, 69(2017), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.08.004

Choo, L. B., Lin, D. T. A., Singh, M. K. M., & Ganapathy, M. (2017). The Significance of the Academic Word List among ESL Tertiary Students in a Malaysian Public University. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 23(4), 56-65. http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2017-2304-05

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Coxhead, A. (2000). A new Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213-38. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587951

Coxhead, A. (2007). Factors and aspects of knowledge affecting L2 word use in writing. In P. Davidson, C. Coombe, D. Lloyd, & D. Palfreyman (Eds.), Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (pp. 331-342). Dubai: TESOL Arabia

Crossley, S. A., Salsbury, T., & McNamara, D. S. (2015). Assessing Lexical Proficiency Using Analytic Ratings: A Case for Collocation Accuracy. Applied Linguistics, 36(5), 570-590. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amt056

Dabbagh, A., & Janebi Enayat, M. (2019). The role of vocabulary breadth and depth in predicting second language descriptive writing performance. The Language Learning Journal, 47(5), 575-590. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1335765

González-Fernández, B., & Schmitt, N. (2020). Word Knowledge: Exploring the Relationships and Order of Acquisition of Vocabulary Knowledge Components. Applied Linguistics, 41(4), 48-505. https://doi:10.1093/applin/amy057

Jacobs, H., Zingraf, A., Warmuth, D., Hartfiel, V., & Hughey, J. (1981). Testing ESL composition: A practical approach. Newbury House.

Kim, M., Crossley, S. A., & Kim, B. K. (2022). Second language reading and writing in relation to first language, vocabulary knowledge, and learning backgrounds. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(6), 1992-2005. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1838434

Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54(3), 399-436.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00260.x

Laufer, B., & Nation, P. (1999). A vocabulary-size test of controlled productive vocabulary. Language Testing, 16(1), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229901600103

Laufer, B., & Waldman, T. (2011). Verb-Noun Collocations in Second Language Writing: A Corpus Analysis of Learner’s English. Language Learning, 61(2), 647-672. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00621.x

Leontjev, D., Huhta, A., & Mantyla, K. (2016). Word derivational knowledge and writing proficiency: How do they link? System, 59(2016), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.03.013

Li, M., & Kirby, J. R. (2015). The effects of vocabulary breadth and depth on English reading. Applied Linguistics, 36(5), 611-34. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu007

McLean, S., Stewart, J., & Olaf Batty, A. (2020). Predicting L2 reading proficiency with modalities of vocabulary knowledge: A bootstrapping approach. Language Testing, 37(3), 389-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532219898380

Milton, J., & Fitzpatrick, T. (Eds.). (2014). Dimensions of vocabulary knowledge. Palgrave Macmillan.

Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I. S. P. (2022). Learning vocabulary in another language (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Qian, D. D., & Lin, L. H. F. (2020). The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and language proficiency. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies, (pp. 66-80). Routledge.

Read, J. (2004). Plumbing the depths: How should the construct of vocabulary knowledge be defined? In P. Bogaards & B. Laufer (Eds.), Vocabulary in a Second Language: Selection, Acquisition and Testing (pp. 209-227). John Benjamins.

Read, J., & Dang, T. N. Y. (2022). Measuring depth of academic vocabulary knowledge. Language Teaching Research, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221105913

Schmitt, N. (1998). Tracking the incremental acquisition of second language vocabulary: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 48(2), 281-317. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9922.00042

Schmitt, N. (2014). Size and depth of vocabulary knowledge: What the research shows. Language Learning, 64(4), 913-951. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12077

Schmitt, N. (2019). Understanding vocabulary acquisition, instruction, and assessment: A research agenda. Language Teaching, 52(2), 261-274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000053

Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behavior of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18(1), 55-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553220101800103

Schmitt, N., & Zimmerman, C. B. (2002). Derivative Word Forms: What Do Learners Know? TESOL Quarterly, 36(2), 145-171. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588328

Stæhr, L. S. (2008). Vocabulary size and the skills of listening, reading and writing. Language Learning Journal, 36(2), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571730802389975

Sukying, A. (2023). The Role of Vocabulary Size and Depth in Predicting Postgraduate Students’ Second Language Writing Performance. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 16(1), 575-603. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/article/view/263457

Waluyo, B., & Bakoko, R. (2021). Academic Vocabulary Used by High School Students in Essays and Its Relation to English Proficiency. 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 27(4).

Weigle, S. C. (2002). Assessing Writing. Cambridge University Press.

Wu, S., Dixon, Q., Sun, H. T., & Zhang, P. (2019). Breadth or depth: the role of vocabulary in Chinese English Language beginning writers’ development. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(9), 1356-1372. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2019.1572066

Wu, Y. P., Halim, P. A., & Hamzah, M. H. (2024). Assessing the Roles of L1 and Meaning Knowledge in Processing and Production of English Collocations among Chinese EFL Learners. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature ® The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 30(1), (2024). http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2024-3001-13

Yanagisawa, A., & Webb, S. (2020). Measuring depth of vocabulary knowledge. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies (pp. 371-386). Routledge.

Zhong, H. (2016). The relationship between receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge: A perspective from vocabulary use in sentence writing, The Language Learning Journal, 46(4), 357-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2015.1127403