Assessing the relationship and prediction of manifold facets of analytic relations to academic reading comprehension

Abstract

A thorough investigation of analytic relations and their different dimensions by lexical researchers plays a prominent role in language learning and teaching. The current study aimed at investigating the association and prediction of multifarious dimensions of analytic relations of vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension among 155 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at the tertiary level, employing standard multiple regression analysis under a quantitative approach. Ninety-one students from Business School and sixty-four Engineering students took part in six components, namely member-collection, stuff-object, component-integral, portion-mass, place-area, and feature-activity of one analytic relations test, and three multiple-choice passages of one academic reading comprehension task. The results showed that inter-correlations among all six aspects of analytic relations were positive and statistically significant; except correlation between stuff-object and reading comprehension, associations between the other five facets of analytic relations and academic reading comprehension were strong, positive and significant. Not only the component-integral analytic relations feature made statistically the most significant unique prediction but also it had the largest effect on academic reading comprehension.