Much research has been done to measure vocabulary knowledge of Chinese EFL learners. For example, Ma
(2001) and Zhou & Wen (2000) tracked the vocabulary growth of science students in Chinese colleges. Shao
(2002) investigated the vocabulary size of students of normal colleges in China. Xiao (2007) investigated
breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge of 168 college students. In the vocabulary assessments reported so
far, the tested words were mostly sampled from the word list included in “College English Curriculum
Requirements”, which was based on words’ frequency, coverage and range. So far, no research has yet been done
specifically on academic vocabulary knowledge of Chinese EFL learners. In light of this, the paper reports a
comparative study on the receptive and productive knowledge of academic vocabulary of Chinese college EFL
learners. The purpose of this study is to gain an insight into the academic vocabulary knowledge of Chinese
college EFL learners, with implications for college English teaching and learning.