The Predictive Power of Vocabulary Breadth & Depth, and Syntactic Knowledge in Reading Comprehension Performance of Iranian Advanced EFL Students.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The primary aim of this study was to throw detailed light on the construct of reading, and its essential components (vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and syntactic knowledge). In order to determine the instrumental factors in predicting reading comprehension performance, simple and multiple regressions were carried out to estimate the significance of each factor in reading comprehension. A group of advanced students of English were chosen and were asked to give answer to different instruments used in this study (TOEFL, VLT, DVK). The results gave support to the fact that Vocabulary knowledge could predict reading comprehension performance more accurately. Moreover, the findings of the study somehow gave support to the neglected role of syntactic knowledge in reading comprehension