Measuring the Effect of Word Class and Lexical Factors on Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Scores: A Pakistani Context

This study explores the effect of word class (noun, verb, adjectives) and lexical factors on Pakistani university student’s receptive and productive vocabulary scores. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis reveal that the receptive vocabulary consistently surpasses the productive vocabulary across all word classes, and the nouns take the lead due to their frequent use and familiar nature. Despite high receptive scores, the verbs are the most challenging for productive use, as they involve complex grammar. Multiple regression analysis highlights the significant impact of lexical factors such as word frequency, length, and orthographic spread. Notably, orthographic spread predicts receptive vocabulary difficulty, while word length and raw frequency are strong predictors of productive vocabulary difficulty. These findings are novel in the Pakistani context, where previous studies focused primarily on receptive vocabulary. This research fills a critical gap by measuring the effect of word class and lexical factors on receptive and productive vocabulary acquisition.