Wielding Words in L2 Writing: Correlating Word Knowledge and Writing Ability in A Malaysian Classroom

This study examines the connection between second language (L2) learners’ vocabulary knowledge and their performance in academic writing. In many higher education settings, it is assumed that undergraduates possess a sufficient range of academic vocabulary. However, this assumption often overlooks actual learner proficiency. Nation (2006) notes that students need to understand around 98% of the words in a text to read and write academic texts with confidence and minimal assistance. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates how receptive vocabulary knowledge influences core features of written output, including text length and writing quality. The study involved 53 undergraduates enrolled in an English proficiency course at a Malaysian public university. Data were collected from vocabulary tests and two writing tasks. The analysis showed that a considerable number of students were still below the receptive vocabulary threshold expected at tertiary level, with the majority of their written texts corresponding to CEFR B1 to B2 levels. Additionally, vocabulary knowledge was found to have a significant correlation with overall writing performance. These findings deepen our understanding of how lexical development supports written expression and offer practical guidance for improving vocabulary instruction in higher education contexts.