Validating the Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by English as a Foreign Language University Students in Taiwan

Abstract

Vocabulary learning strategies have been frequently viewed as a practical tool to facilitate the acquisition of words and enhance comprehension and production in communication. Previous research suggests that vocabulary learning strategies are a multidimensional construct. This study attempts to validate a vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire using rigorous validation procedures. A questionnaire with 52 items from Gu (2018) was administered to 556 university students in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis with SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0, respectively. The results showed that a validated short version of the questionnaire, comprising 33 items, can be used as a measurement tool to assess strategy use and be used when administration time is limited, or the assessment of vocabulary learning strategies is part of a larger number of variables. The second-order confirmatory factor analysis revealed that Activation, Visual and Auditory Encoding, Structure Encoding, Oral Repetition and Selective Attention were the top five important strategies related to vocabulary learning. Finally, the data revealed that it is possible to obtain plausible underlying constructs for a set of questionnaire items in exploratory factor analysis, while the discriminant and construct validity cannot be established in confirmatory factor analysis.