In second language (L2) vocabulary studies there is continuing interest in tests of depth of vocabulary knowledge, measuring various aspects of word knowledge other than just the form–meaning link that is the focus of breadth (or size) tests. This study aimed to explore new formats that could be used as diagnostic tools for assessing depth of academic vocabulary knowledge. The participants were 222 first-year students taking a programme of English for academic purposes (EAP) at a university in Vietnam. The depth measure was a newly developed test of a sample of words from Gardner and Davies’ Academic Vocabulary List, including sub-tests on receptive knowledge of synonyms, collocations and word parts. The participants also took the Updated Vocabulary Levels Test as a breadth measure, as well as a translation test. Results showed that most of the students had a relatively limited knowledge of general English vocabulary. There was a moderate correlation between the breadth and depth tests. The students had the best knowledge of synonyms, followed by word parts and then collocations. The collocation and word parts sub-tests included a Not Sure option to discourage blind guessing, and analyses of responses to this option offered useful insights into the students’ test-taking behaviour.

在第二语言 (L2) 词汇研究中，人们对词汇知识深度的测试一直很感兴趣，它衡量单词知识的各个方面，而不仅仅是广度（或大小）测试关注的形式-意义链接。本研究旨在探索可用作评估学术词汇知识深度的诊断工具的新格式。参与者是在越南的一所大学参加学术英语 (EAP) 课程的 222 名一年级学生。深度测量是对 Gardner 和 Davies 的学术词汇表中单词样本的新开发测试，包括对同义词、搭配和单词部分的接受性知识的子测试。参与者还参加了更新词汇水平测试作为广度测量，以及翻译测试。结果表明，大多数学生对通用英语词汇的了解相对有限。广度和深度测试之间存在中等相关性。学生对同义词的了解最多，其次是单词部分，然后是搭配。搭配和单词部分子测试包括“不确定”选项以阻止盲目猜测，并且对该选项的反应分析为学生的应试行为提供了有用的见解。