英语学习者产出词汇的发展模式

The Development of Productive Vocabulary in Chinese EFL Learners

本文报告了对125名英语专业学生所做的一次定量研究,目的在于研究受试四年本科学习中英语产出词汇的发展模式。实验数据表明,学习者产出词汇的发展不具备线性增长的特点,而是呈现出一定的不规律性,即一二学年迅速增长(以LFP值计近15%),三四学年则几近停滞;与母语者相比,我国英语专业毕业生产出词汇的LFP值约低14%。实验结果说明低年级是产出词汇教学的黄金时期,而高年级则是学习者产出词汇的石化期。

This article reports on a study of the development of productive vocabulary in Chinese EFL learners. Statistics from this empirical study suggest that Chinese English majors’ productive vocabulary develops in an irregular manner, showing no evidence of linear growth throughout the 4 years of their tertiary education. Once the subjects’ productive vocabulary registers a 15% gain in terms of LFP, their productive mental lexicon becomes stagnant. Data obtained through this study enables us to identify the first two years of tertiary education as the prime phase for productive vocabulary cultivation and the remaining two as a phase of stagnation. In addition, we identify a gap of 14% in LFP between our subjects and native English speakers.