Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge in a Second Language: A Developmental Perspective

The present study explores the multidimensionality of word knowledge in a nonnative language (L2) from a developmental perspective.Ninety-one Thai-speaking college students majoring in Japanese as a foreign language (the 2nd-, 3rd-and 4th-year levels) were assessed for breadth (basic word meaning) and depth (paradigmatic and syntagmatic word association) of vocabulary knowledge.The results indicated that breadth and depth of vocabulary grow interrelatedly as individuals have more experiences with the language and that the effect of word frequency is consistent across dimensions and components of knowledge and across levels of language proficiency.The results also suggested that knowledge of nouns develops more easily than knowledge of other word classes in both dimensions and that the relative difficulty of learning verbs and adjectives/adverbs may interact with type of association.