The Predictability of Receptive Vocabulary Size to Assess College Students’ TOEIC® Readiness

Abstract

This article examines whether receptive vocabulary size can forecast college students’ TOEIC® readiness using the New General Service List Test (NGSLT). A growing body of empirical research has evidenced that L2 vocabulary knowledge is one of the most vital factors in language learning and academic success in the EFL context. Of convincing arguments on the predictability of L2 learners’ vocabulary size, it has been claimed that L2 learners’ vocabulary size is strongly correlated with receptive skills of language like reading and listening. Even though Korea is one of the biggest consumers of the TOEIC® assessment arranged by the ETS, however, TOEIC® readiness has rarely been problematized in practical aspects assisting college students’ career goal-oriented language learning needs, thereby failing to help students aware of their TOEIC® readiness in advance without any financial burdens imposed on themselves. This study thus sought to investigate the correlated linear relationship between the NGSLT Vocabulary Size Scores and the official TOEIC® Test Scores produced by over four hundred two-year college students majoring in airline services. Overall, it was attested that the New General Service List Test (NGSLT) had a high predictive power of the TOEIC® readiness for those collegiates seeking a position as a flight attendant in the airline industry. This study concludes that what starts as building L2 vocabulary size can quickly escalate into the TOEIC® skills’ growth, entailing the enhancement of L2 English proficiency both in reading and listening. Some pedagogical implications will also be addressed pertaining to how L2 learners can self-promote autonomous learning.