The crucial role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension has been well
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curriculum but the majority of students still learn it as an L2, little is known
about how students' vocabulary size could affect their reading comprehension. Given
that students and teachers often cite vocabulary as the biggest hurdle in reading,
this study was undertaken to explore the role of vocabulary in reading
comprehension. Thirty-seven year-4 secondary students in a neighbourhood school in
Singapore participated in this study. The Vocabulary Levels Tests were used to
measure students' vocabulary knowledge in relation to the different measures
intended to test their reading comprehension and summary abilities. Results suggest
that students' vocabulary knowledge at the 2,000-word and the 3,000-word levels was
correlated to their reading comprehension. Significant correlation yielded only for
the short-answer questions, but not for the summary. Pedagogical implications and
recommendations for further research are also discussed.
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