本研究旨在從台灣大專生英文單字聯想類型評估學生英語能力之可行性研究。總計台灣北部兩所大學三百零七名學生參加本研究。受測者依多益成績，以歐盟語言能力分級標準做為英文能力分級標準。研究工具為2006年版多益官方模擬測驗、施密特單字量測驗、單字聯想測驗及社經背景問卷。本研究先確立提示字之詞類為干擾因素後，就單字聯想類型與以多益成績為指標的英文能力做相關係數分析，進而確立一迴歸模式，以彰顯英文單字聯想類型在推估學習者整體英語能力上的具體貢獻。研究結果顯示語意聯想能力與英語整體能力有顯著正相關，字形與語音聯想比率則與英文能力有顯著負相關。而所建立的迴歸模式確認，可經由單字量與單字聯想測驗中的語意聯想及字形字音聯想，有效推估學生英文水準。此外，從聯想測驗的質性研究中，亦針對語意、語音及搭配詞等聯想實例及謬誤加以分析，透過單字聯想測驗成果，除確認單字深度與英文能力之關聯性外，並就聯想字所展現母語語言、文化之影響，剖析藉單字聯想實例，映證第二語言習得之理論。 This dissertation aims to better understand the interrelatedness of language proficiency and word association skills among Taiwanese L2 learners, and the impact of L1 on Taiwanese EFL learners'' L2 mental lexicon. The study examines the correlation between Taiwanese EFL learner’s word association skills and their English proficiency levels. A mock TOEIC test, a vocabulary size test, a word association test (WAT), and a socio-linguistic questionnaire were administered to 307 subjects from two universities in northern Taiwan. Findings showed that the parts of speech of the stimulus words were a moderating variable in affecting the response types in the WAT. Based on this result, a regression model was set up to test the feasibility of using word association skills as a contributing factor in evaluating learners’ English proficiency. Results from multiple regression analyses confirmed that in addition to vocabulary size, two types of responses (i.e., semantic and formal associations) in the WAT were useful factors for interpreting the variation in English proficiency. In terms of semantic associations, there is significant correlation between English proficiency and the proportion of syntagmatic responses in a WAT. As to formal associations, there is significant inverse correlation between the proportion of phonological/ orthographical associations and these learners’ English proficiency levels. Moreover, qualitative analyses were conducted to provide evidence of L1 influence on word association skills, and to demonstrate the collocational mismatches caused by differences between L1 and L2. More specifically, responses related to L1 influences, both linguistically and culturally, were analyzed to shed light on the impact of the mother tongue on second language acquisition. Pedagogical implications and teaching applications of word association research were also proposed.
