幼兒早期的口語理解能力是學習語言的基礎，因此，提升幼兒口語理解能力有其必要性，然而，過去研究多聚焦在不同教學方法與策略對口語理解的影響，而本研究是以構成口語理解的要素為目標，深入瞭解詞彙知識的深度與口語理解的相關性。奠基於詞彙聯想測驗是測量詞彙知識深度的方式，本研究主要目的為瞭解幼兒詞彙聯想表現，以及探討幼兒詞彙聯想能力與口語理解之關係。研究對象為桃園市幼兒園大班幼兒，共計79位，平均年齡為六歲一個月。本研究測驗工具有四項，分別是畢保德圖畫詞彙測驗、幼兒工作記憶測驗、幼兒口語理解測驗以及研究者自編之詞彙聯想測驗。研究結果顯示(1)幼兒在詞彙聯想的組合關係和聚合關係使用次數相當；(2)幼兒對詞彙的熟悉度會影響聯想類型的使用，對詞彙越熟悉，詞彙聯想時會使用較多的聚合關係，而對詞彙越不熟悉，詞彙聯想時則會使用較多的組合關係；(3)經淨相關分析發現在控制詞彙量下，詞彙聯想的聚合關係與口語理解呈顯著相關；及(4)詞彙聯想的聚合關係能獨立預測11.3%的口語理解分數。;It has been widely recognized that word knowledge, which generally refers to the breadth of vocabulary knowledge, is an important predictor of oral comprehension. However, there is relatively few studies investigated how other dimensions, such as the depth of vocabulary knowledge, contribute to children’s oral comprehension. Word association tests provide insights into the depth of vocabulary knowledge. The main purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between word association and oral comprehension. Participants of this study involved 79 kindergartners, aged 5 to 6 years. There were two tests to assess students’ word association and oral comprehension. Other variables, such as individual difference in working memory and vocabulary size were also investigated. The results of the study showed that (1) there are no significant difference between the frequency of paradigmatic and syntagmatic responses in word association test; (2) familiar vocabulary elicited more paradigmatic responses, in contrast, unfamiliar vocabulary elicited more syntagmatic responses; (3) with children’s vocabulary size taken into account, a significant partial correlation was found between children’s paradigmatic knowledge of words and oral comprehension but non-significant correlation between syntagmatic and oral comprehension; and (4) after statistically controlling the influence of vocabulary size, children’s paradigmatic knowledge uniquely explained 11.3% of variance in oral comprehension scores. The findings suggest that the paradigmatic knowledge among Chinese words emerged as a significant predictor of oral comprehension.
