Examining Chinese vocabulary knowledge in Taiwanese first- and second graders using confirmatory factor analysis

How the construct of vocabulary is defined remains unclear although multiple theories have been put forth. In light of the lack of empirical work investigating the dimensionality of vocabulary knowledge in Chinese, the present study investigated the factor structure of Chinese print vocabulary in a sample of 111 Taiwanese children in Grades 1 and 2. Participants completed six written measures designed to assess breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in receptive or expressive formats. Three hypothesized models corresponding to (1) a unidimensional model on which all six measures loaded onto, (2) a 2-factor model comprising breadth and depth dimensions, and (3) a 2-factor model consisting of receptive and expressive dimensions, were compared using confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that the unidimensional model was preferred over two dimensional models, indicating that it is useful to view Chinese vocabulary as a holistic construct rather than as comprising separable dimensions among young Taiwanese children.