很多文獻引證字彙知識在外語學習上之重要性，然而字彙之習得與成長仍缺乏實證。在學習外語的初步階段若無足夠的字彙量，語言的進步可能是緩慢困難的。因此對那些想達成高等教育的人來說儘快習得常用字彙是非常重要的。此研究報告314國中畢業生與486位高中職畢業生進入某一技專院校後所做的英文字彙測驗結果，其目的是為了探討國高中生的英文字彙量是否達成教育部所期待的基本量。研究工具是利用Paul Nation教授所設計的英文字彙等級測驗。研究結果顯示國中畢業生的字彙量遠超過教育部所定之1050字，但高中職畢業生卻遠低於3850字。閱讀英文原文書籍對他們而言將是困難重重。本研究最後提出英文字彙教學建議與說明本研究之限制並籲更多此方面之實證研究。

The importance of vocabulary knowledge in learning a foreign language is well documented; however, its acquisition and development still lack empirical studies. Without adequate basic vocabulary at the beginning stage, the learning of a foreign language can be slow, difficult, and frustrating. Therefore, acquiring high-frequency words as quickly as possible is essential for learners who wish to achieve a higher level of education. This study reports on the results of a vocabulary test for 314 junior high school and 486 senior high school graduates in Taiwan. This is in order to discover whether they have acquired the number of words required by the Ministry of Education, 1,050 for junior high and an additional 2,800 for senior high. The instrument used for this study included five vocabulary levels: the 1st 1,000 word level, the 2nd 1,000 word level, the 3rd 1,000 word level, the 5th 1,000 word level and an academic word list (developed and provided by Paul Nation). The results show that on average, junior high school graduates have learned more than 1,050 words; senior high school graduates' vocabulary knowledge, however, was only a few hundred words greater, despite their three years of further learning, and was far below the requirement of 3,850 words. This study suggests that senior high school graduates will have difficulty reading academic textbooks written in English. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and more empirical studies are called for.