The Influence of Unknown Words Density on Listening Comprehension in Chinese English Learners

Abstract

Although the relationship between lexical coverage and L2 reading comprehension has been well documented, it is far from the case for L2 listening. This study has investigated the relationship between unknown words density (UWD) and listening comprehension among Chinese English learners. It shows that listening comprehension is negatively correlated with UWD in the listening texts. Furthermore, UWD threshold is approximately 3 percent for the adequate listening comprehension. The result will help college English teachers to choose more targeted listening materials and encourage students to improve listening efficiency.