Vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size in Chinese as a foreign language

What is it about?

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size and to verify whether vocabulary size is positively correlated to proficiency level. A total of 95 Italian undergraduate Chinese learners, from elementary to intermediate levels, participated in this study. The participants were first given a vocabulary learning questionnaire and then a vocabulary size test. Statistical and qualitative analyses of the data revealed two trends: a poor variety of vocabulary learning strategies and a positive correlation between vocabulary size and proficiency level.

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Why is it important?

Vocabulary plays a key role in the development of linguistic competence and an increasing number of students choose to learn Chinese. Nevertheless the strategies employed by learners of Chinese have been rarely investigated, in particular those used by learners whose L1 is not English. This study aims to fill this gap by linking the vocabulary learning strategies undertaken by Italian learners of Chinese with the number of known words.