Receptive and productive vocabulary level needs: An empirical study of Azerbaijani English majors

Konul Hajiyeva

Abstract


Studies show that measuring the size of learners’ receptive and productive vocabulary has to be an integral part of any needs analysis. However, this kind of study has never been conducted in Azerbaijan. To fill this gap, a quantitative study administering two vocabulary tests was carried out with 159 first-year English majors at the Azerbaijan University of Languages. The results show that the students’ vocabulary size does not attain the minimum standard as suggested by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010), which is defined as 4,000–5,000 word families. Their receptive vocabulary size was found to be less than 50 per cent of the minimum standard for word families, while their productive vocabulary size falls considerably below the acceptable level of word families. It is argued, consequently, that English majors in this group of Azerbaijani students need strong support in their acquisition of high-frequency words and academic vocabulary in order to be adequately and suitably prepared for their academic studies.

 


Keywords


needs analysis;English for Specific Academic Purposes;receptive vocabulary;productive vocabulary;academic vocabulary.

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