Lexical Coverage and Reading Comprehension Revisited

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Lexical Coverage and Reading Comprehension Revisited
Language: English
Authors: Stuart Webb, Ana Pellicer-Sánchez, Andi Wang
Source: Reading in a Foreign Language. 2025 37(1).
Availability: National Foreign Language Resource Center at University of Hawaii. 1859 East-West Road #106, Honolulu, HI 96822. e-mail: readfl@hawaii.edu; Web site: https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Difficulty Level, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Scores, Reading Tests, Graduate Students, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
DOI: 10.64152/10125/67517
ISSN: 1539-0578
Abstract: The present study is a partial replication of the most widely cited study of lexical coverage and reading comprehension by Hu and Nation (2000). Ninety-four advanced L2 learners read a short story at one of 90%, 95%, 98%, and 100% lexical coverage and then completed a 14-item reading comprehension test. The results showed that although comprehension scores did tend to increase from 90% to 100% coverage, there were no statistically significant differences in comprehension scores between those who read the text with 90%, 95%, and 98% lexical coverage. Participants who read the text with 100% coverage did have significantly higher scores than those who read it at 90% and 95% coverage. The results also revealed that lexical coverage and perceived difficulty both have a role in predicting comprehension scores, but the amount of variation explained is small (11% and 8%, respectively).
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1486674
Database: ERIC
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