A Sequential Investigation on the Interplay between Lexical Inferencing Strategies and Vocabulary Knowledge among English major Students

This study’s objective is to explore the levels of students’ lexical inferencing strategies (LIS) and vocabulary knowledge (VK) and explore the lived experiences of students regarding to their usage of LIS and VK. In methodology, this study utilized the explanatory sequential mixed methods design which contributed for the systematic collection and integration of quantitative and qualitative data to gain a comprehensive understanding of how lexical ınferencing strategies influence the vocabulary knowledge. The quantitative data were gathered from 185 students through validated LIS and VK questionnaires, while qualitative data were collected from 5 students for IDI and another 5 students for FGD via interviews based on quantitative results. Findings revealed that students have high level of LIS due to frequent exposure to unfamiliar words in school and literary texts. Additionally, their VK was found to be low which was due rote memorization, limited exposure to literary texts, and difficulty retaining or applying new words. The data from the quantitative and qualitative phase showed no significant relationship between LIS and VK which indicates that inferring word meanings alone does not enhance students’ vocabulary. The findings from the qualitative phase corroborate with the results of the quantitative phase which affirmed that the vocabulary knowledge of the respondents is low, while lexical inferencing strategies is highly utilized. However, some respondents expressed disagreement with this conclusion, suggesting that they perceive a connection between lexical inferencing strategies and vocabulary knowledge. In conclusion, English major students exhibit strong proficiency in lexical inferencing strategies (LIS), effectively deducing word meanings through context, intralingual cues, and prior knowledge. However, their vocabulary knowledge (VK) remains limited, meaning that while they can infer meanings, they struggle with retaining or expanding their word repertoire. This is further supported by the absence of a significant relationship between LIS and VK, indicating that the ability to infer word meanings does not necessarily lead to long-term vocabulary acquisition or depth.