An investigation of the mediators between vocabulary size and reading comprehension of first-year undergraduate students

Abstract

Vocabulary size and reading comprehension are proved to be related. The relationship may get stronger if reading comprehension is mediated by related variables. This study, therefore, aimed to generate three objectives including: 1) to identify the vocabulary size of first-year undergraduate students, 2) to investigate the relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension, and 3) to examine the mediators of vocabulary size and reading comprehension. The mediators in this study included vocabulary depth, reading strategies, and vocabulary learning strategies. The participants were 484 first-year undergraduate students from public and private universities. The research instruments were Vocabulary Size Test, Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Test, Reading Comprehension Test, Reading Strategies Questionnaire, Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire, and semi-structured interview. The SEM analysis estimated the data by using CFA technique. The result revealed that first-year undergraduate students had around 4,200 word families. It was also found that the correlation coefficient between vocabulary size and reading comprehension was weak, but significant. Moreover, vocabulary depth, reading strategies, and vocabulary learning strategies were proved to be mediators of vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Implications of vocabulary pedagogy and future research are also discussed.