3. Vocabulary Pool Size and English Test Scores
- Mr. Sam
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
An old adage goes, "A picture paints a thousand words." But what if you know thousands of words? Does that indicate how proficient you are in English tests or your ability to achieve high grades?
Research indicates a positive correlation between the size of one's vocabulary pool and academic English test scores (IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, SAT, etc.). Furthermore, significant statistical differences have been observed between groups with low and high vocabulary pools in relation to achieving excellent marks in English GPAs.
**Source: James Milton (2015). "Phonological Vocabulary Size, Orthographic Vocabulary Size, and EFL Reading Ability Among Native Arabic Speakers," Journal of Applied Linguistics.
**Source: Rayden Syaifudin (2019). "Students’ Receptive Vocabulary Size and Academic Performance: Exploring Possible Relationship," Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, Volume 434.
This leads to another question: Can the size of your vocabulary pool predict your success in English exams? A large vocabulary pool might reflect a person's work ethic, persistence, penchant for reading, and numerous other factors. While we can't assert that a vast vocabulary pool guarantees high scores, enhancing your vocabulary is certainly worthwhile.
Test your vocabulary pool size here (click the link)
HOMEWORK
In the comments section below, please share your vocabulary pool size result. You can either post a screenshot or write down your score. Along with your result, include a brief reflection on what the score means to you and how you plan to expand your vocabulary in the future. (Don’t hesitate to share your real results, most 6th graders last year scored between 6,000 and 12,000 words on average.)
The vocab pool test told me that I had a vocab pool as large as a 10 year old. I’m a twelve year old now, and I realized that I was REALLY bad at vocabulary.
I didn’t even know that some of the words existed until I took the test!
The children in U.S must have worked 10 times harder than anyone to know all these words.
When I was 10 years old, I didn’t know what drab meant, much less than “quash” or “acquiescence”
To expand my knowledge, I’m going to read the dictionary little by little every day, even if I sleep in the middle of it.
(P.S. I wonder if it’s possible to get it …
The test told me I had a vocab size of a 10-year old, which tells me I am below average. I definitely should practice using advanced vocab words in my writing and read more books to expand my vocabulary pool.
I think this isn't too bad, some of the words were what my American friend used(she does know a lot of words) and the majority what I read from English books I read because I enjoy reading. If I didn't know the answer, I just crossed out which were incorrect. I think to expand my vocabulary, I should read a variety of English books, search for words I don't know in books and maybe ask my friend if she knows more words.
I think this score was not that good. I made a lot of mistakes while trying to rush. In order to improve my score, I should look up into the dictionary for words I don’t know.