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How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test

Ahmed Masrai, Jim Milton Orcid Logo

The Language Learning Journal, Volume: 47, Issue: 5, Pages: 519 - 536

Swansea University Author: Jim Milton Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/09571736.2016.1258720

Abstract

This study describes a vocabulary size test in Arabic used with 339 nativespeaking learners at school and university in Saudi Arabia. Native speakervocabulary size scores should provide targets for attainment for learners ofArabic, should inform the writers of course books and teaching materials,and...

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Published in: The Language Learning Journal
ISSN: 0957-1736 1753-2167
Published: Informa UK Limited 2019
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa31587
first_indexed 2017-05-10T19:00:05Z
last_indexed 2021-01-27T03:48:34Z
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spelling 2021-01-27T00:08:10.6880829 v2 31587 2017-01-06 How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test 7d251e1952cec9d77ed4fc21346fec8d 0000-0003-0446-1149 Jim Milton Jim Milton true false 2017-01-06 CACS This study describes a vocabulary size test in Arabic used with 339 nativespeaking learners at school and university in Saudi Arabia. Native speakervocabulary size scores should provide targets for attainment for learners ofArabic, should inform the writers of course books and teaching materials,and the test itself should allow learners to monitor their progress towardsthe goal of fluency. Educated native speakers of Arabic possess arecognition vocabulary about 25,000 words, a total which is largecompared with equivalent test scores of native speakers of English. Theresults also suggest that acquisition increases in speed with age and thisis tentatively explained by the highly regular system of morphologicalderivation which Arabic uses and which, it is thought, is acquired inadolescence. This again appears different from English where the rate ofacquisition appears to decline with age. While the test appears reliableand valid, there are issues surrounding the definition of a word in Arabicand further research into how words are stored, retrieved and processedin Arabic is needed to inform the construction of further tests whichmight, it is thought, profitably use a more encompassing definition ofthe lemma as the basis for testing. Journal Article The Language Learning Journal 47 5 519 536 Informa UK Limited 0957-1736 1753-2167 First language, vocabulary size, Arabic speakers, test validity, language proficiency 20 10 2019 2019-10-20 10.1080/09571736.2016.1258720 COLLEGE NANME Culture and Communications School COLLEGE CODE CACS Swansea University 2021-01-27T00:08:10.6880829 2017-01-06T14:40:28.0921420 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics Ahmed Masrai 1 Jim Milton 0000-0003-0446-1149 2 31587__17862__2d63b703d547413eb953ae409fc9ab79.pdf LLJmanscript.pdf 2020-08-05T13:02:36.4958679 Output 2546956 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2018-07-03T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
spellingShingle How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
Jim Milton
title_short How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
title_full How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
title_fullStr How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
title_full_unstemmed How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
title_sort How many words do you need to speak Arabic? An Arabic vocabulary size test
author_id_str_mv 7d251e1952cec9d77ed4fc21346fec8d
author_id_fullname_str_mv 7d251e1952cec9d77ed4fc21346fec8d_***_Jim Milton
author Jim Milton
author2 Ahmed Masrai
Jim Milton
format Journal article
container_title The Language Learning Journal
container_volume 47
container_issue 5
container_start_page 519
publishDate 2019
institution Swansea University
issn 0957-1736
1753-2167
doi_str_mv 10.1080/09571736.2016.1258720
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This study describes a vocabulary size test in Arabic used with 339 nativespeaking learners at school and university in Saudi Arabia. Native speakervocabulary size scores should provide targets for attainment for learners ofArabic, should inform the writers of course books and teaching materials,and the test itself should allow learners to monitor their progress towardsthe goal of fluency. Educated native speakers of Arabic possess arecognition vocabulary about 25,000 words, a total which is largecompared with equivalent test scores of native speakers of English. Theresults also suggest that acquisition increases in speed with age and thisis tentatively explained by the highly regular system of morphologicalderivation which Arabic uses and which, it is thought, is acquired inadolescence. This again appears different from English where the rate ofacquisition appears to decline with age. While the test appears reliableand valid, there are issues surrounding the definition of a word in Arabicand further research into how words are stored, retrieved and processedin Arabic is needed to inform the construction of further tests whichmight, it is thought, profitably use a more encompassing definition ofthe lemma as the basis for testing.
published_date 2019-10-20T19:03:05Z
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score 11.1586075

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