The Relationship Between L2 Word Association Ability and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Among Chinese University Students

Yanqi Huang; Yuhui Wang

doi:10.54097/eef3ft94

Authors

Yanqi Huang
Yuhui Wang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/eef3ft94

Keywords:

Second Language Acquisition, Mental Lexicon, Word Association, Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge, Chinese EFL Learners.

Abstract

Vocabulary depth and breadth are key indicators of second language proficiency. Even though word association to vocabulary (depth) is clearly established, the relative influence of different association types has not been studied much in this population to date. This study explores the relationship between L2 word association ability and vocabulary depth, focusing on how phonological, semantic, and collocational associations predict vocabulary depth. Correlation and regression analyses were performed on a sample of 34 participant responses from students in China. A large and statistically significant positive correlation was found between vocabulary depth and word association (r = 0.723, p < 0.001). In fact semantic association accuracy was the strongest predictor of vocabulary depth (β = 0.548, p < 0.001). The findings underscore that the quality of semantic links, rather than phonological associations, is central to deep vocabulary knowledge, providing empirical evidence for designing pedagogical interventions that optimize the mental lexicon network.

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