Receptive Vocabulary Levels of Malaysian University Students

Authors

  • Nor Hazwani Munirah Lateh Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 UTM Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Sarimah Shamsudin Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 UTM Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Abdul Halim Abdul Raof Language Academy, University Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v5n1.68

Keywords:

Public Speaking, Needs Analysis (NA), Communication Apprehension (CA)

Abstract

Acquiring adequate vocabulary knowledge is necessary for English language learners in order to be able to function effectively using the language. The study investigated the English language receptive vocabulary knowledge among Malaysian undergraduates in terms of word levels. The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) by Schmitt et al., (2001) was employed in order to assess the students’ receptive vocabulary knowledge at five different word levels. The result reveals majority of the students are weak in terms of their receptive vocabulary knowledge and most of them failed to reach the mastery level for all the five word levels; 40 (57%) of the students do not master the 2000 word level, 58 (83%) of the students do not master the 3000 word level, 65 (93%) of the students do not master the 5000 word level, 70 (100%) of the students do not master the 10000 word level and 65 (93%) of the students do not master the academic word level. The findings were useful insights on the English language receptive vocabulary knowledge among Malaysian university students in terms of word levels.

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Published

2018-05-30

How to Cite

Receptive Vocabulary Levels of Malaysian University Students. (2018). LSP International Journal, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v5n1.68