Relationship of Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Learning English

Oct 15, 2026

Study investigates how vocabulary breadth and vocabulary depth relate to English reading comprehension among public secondary school students in Islamabad. The sample includes 124 learners (72 male, 52 female) from 12 public sector schools, selected from Grade 10 aged 13–18 (M=15.10, SD=.998). Vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension were assessed using Vocabulary Level, Word Associate, Morphological Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension tests, revealing strong correlation for depth and moderate for breadth, with regression indicating depth as the stronger predictor.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

English in Pakistani education and learner difficulties

Vocabulary knowledge as a prerequisite for language learning

Frameworks and dimensions of vocabulary breadth and depth

Reading comprehension and key cognitive processes

Hypotheses linking vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension

Relationship of Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Learning English Zia Ur Rahman * and Zafar Iqbal** Abstract This study aimed to investigate the relationship between breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of public secondary schools of Islamabad. The sample was based on 124 students; 72 male and 52 female from 12 public sector secondary schools. The students were selected conveniently from 10th grade with age range from 13 to 18 years,(M=15.10, SD = .998) . They were taught English as a compulsory subject included in the school curriculum. The assessment of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of students was measured through four research instruments; Vocabulary Level Test, Word Associate Test, Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading Comprehension Test. Results showed that a high correlation occurred between depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, but a moderate correlation was observed between breadth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Regression analysis showed that vocabulary depth has high predictive power than vocabulary breadth. The study advocated to mount students’ depth of vocabulary knowledge to increase their reading comprehension abilities. Keywords: Vocabulary depth, vocabulary breadth, reading comprehension * Ph.D. Scholar, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Email: [ziaurrehman0123@gmail.com](ziaurrehman0123@gmail.com) ** Assistant Professor, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. Email: [zafar.iqbal@aiou.edu.com](zafar.iqbal@aiou.edu.com) Introduction English plays a major role in our Pakistani educational system and taught as a second language in Pakistani schools (Nawaz, Amin, & Tatlah, 2016) . English is the official language of Pakistan used in schools, courts, and government offices (Coleman, 2010, Khushi & Talaat, 2011) . English is also called “the language of the curriculum”(Nippold, 2017) . Many textbooks on science and technology are written in this language (Timurie & Siddiqi, 1999) . However, students in Pakistan show unsatisfactory performance and their failure rate in English is high (Abbas, Ashiq, & Haq, 2018) . Poor English vocabulary and spelling are considered reasons for student failures in academics (Solangi, 2015; Farooq, Hassan & Wahid, 2012) . A number of national and international organizations indicated that there are gapsin learning of English at different grades. South Asian Forum for Educational Development (ASER-2015) reported that 49% of 5th grade students can comprehend a single sentence in English in Islamabad. Similarly, United States Agency for International Development, confirmed in its baseline report (EGRA, 2014-15) that majority of students of early grades (Grade 1 to Grade 3) were found weak in comprehending written texts in English in different provinces of Pakistan. The reading comprehension at secondary grade level is also unsatisfactory in Pakistan (Khan, 2011) . Knowing words or developing vocabulary in a school environment has many challenges (Stahl, 2005), it is known fact that vocabulary knowledge is a prerequisite for learning of a language, especially second language (Beglar & Hunt, 1995; Read, 2000; Nation; 2011) . Vocabulary determines the ability of learner to understand written text (Geva & Garrison, 2013; Lervåg & Lervåg, 2014 Ma & Lin, 2015), however, it is unclear how much vocabulary needed to be proficient in comprehending a language, experts generally suggest that an average student should add 2000 to 3000 new words a year to have effective vocabulary (McKeown & Kucan, 2002) . Early in the field of linguistics, Richard (1976) suggested a framework of vocabulary knowledge and proposed several dimensions of words, which contained their meanings, their association with other words, syntactic and semantic values and underlying forms. Nation (1990) on the other hand proposed words function, meaning and form con

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose?

To investigate how vocabulary breadth and vocabulary depth relate to students’ reading comprehension in learning English.

How were vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension measured?

Through four instruments: a Vocabulary Level Test, a Word Associate Test, a Morphological Knowledge Test, and a Reading Comprehension Test.

Which vocabulary dimension predicts reading comprehension more strongly?

Vocabulary depth shows higher predictive power than vocabulary breadth, according to regression analysis.

Oct 15, 2026

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