LEXICAL ANALYSIS OF TWO ELT COURSEBOOKS: CORPUS-INFORMED & CONVENTIONAL COURSEBOOK

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to examine the lexical profiles of two pre-intermediate level ELT coursebook titles commonly used in language classrooms. One coursebook is credited with being “corpus informed” while the other is published as a conventional coursebook with no special emphasis on its lexical selection. With the help of lexical frequency analyzes, the study attempts to quantify the extent of their coverage of 2K high-frequency words from New General Service List (NGSL). Similarities and differences in the lexical frequency profiles of the books were investigated using corpus-based frequency analyzes. For this purpose, a vocabulary profiler and frequency calculation tool were used. The resulting lexical profiling of the books revealed that the corpus-informed coursebook had a coverage of the most frequent 2K words of English (NGSL-1 and NGSL-2) at 74.2% level, while the conventional coursebook title had a coverage at 82.2% level. The lexical coverage of high frequency words in the corpus-informed book was counterintuitively found to be lower than the conventional coursebook. Again, the analyzes of the type-token ratios and recycling rates of the lexical items in two coursebooks indicated that the corpus-informed book did not vary markedly from conventional coursebook. From the analyzes there emerged no indication of any “systematic approach” to lexical coverage and recycling of high frequency lexical items in the coursebook title published as ‘corpus-informed’ coursebook.

Keywords

• Vocabulary
• Corpus
• Coursebook
• Frequency

References

1. Aitchison, J. (1994). Words in the mind : an introduction to the mental lexicon / Jean Aitchison. Blackwell.
2. Browne, C., Culligan, B., & Phillips, J. (2013 ). A new general service list: the mostimportant words for second language learners of English (version 1.01). http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/
3. Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511733109
4. Cobb, T. VocabProfiler. https://www.lextutor.ca/cgi-bin/range/texts/index.pl
5. Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671-684. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(72)80001-X
6. Divjak, D. (2019). Frequency in language: Memory, attention and learning [doi:10.1017/9781316084410]. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316084410
7. Doughty, C. J., & Long, M. H. (2003). The Scope of Inquiry and Goals of SLA. In The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 1-16). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470756492.ch1
8. Ellis, N. C. (2002). Frequency Effects in Language Processing: A Review with Implications for Theories of Implicit and Explicit Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143-188. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263102002024

9. Fujimori, J. (2005). The lexical composition of two oral communication textbooks The Language Teacher, 29(7 ), 5–19.
10. GASS, S. M. (1988). Integrating Research Areas: A Framework for Second Language Studies1. Applied Linguistics, 9(2), 198-217. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/9.2.198
11. Horst, M. (2013). Mainstreaming Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16, 171-188.
12. Konstantakis, N., & Alexiou, T. (2012). Vocabulary in Greek young learners' English as a foreign language course books. The Language Learning Journal, 40(1), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.658222.
13. Lewis, M. (1993). The Lexical Approach: The State of ELT and a Way Forward. Language Teaching Publications. https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=nNRZAAAAMAAJ
14. McCarthy, M., McCarten, J., & Sandiford, H. (2014). Touchstone Level 3 Student's Book. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=TtrSAgAAQBAJ
15. Nation, I. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language Cambridge University Press https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759
16. Nation, I. (2006). How Large a Vocabulary is Needed For Reading and Listening? The Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.63.1.59
17. Nation, I. S. P. (2009). Teaching vocabulary: Strategies and techniques. Cambridge University Press.
18. Nation, P. (1993). Using dictionaries to estimate vocabulary size: essential, but rarely followed, procedures. Language Testing, 10(1), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229301000102
19. Nation, P., & Wang, K. (2020). Graded Readers and Vocabulary. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.12560366.v1
20. Newton, J., & Nation, I. S. P. (1997). Vocabulary and teaching. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition (pp. 238-254). Cambridge University Press.
21. Nordlund, M., & Norberg, C. (2020). Vocabulary in EFL teaching materials for young learners. International Journal of Language Studies, 14, 89-116.
22. Reda, G. (2003). English coursebooks: prototype texts and basic vocabulary norms. ELT Journal, 57(3), 260-268. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/57.3.260
23. Sanchez, A., & Criado, R. (2012). Lexical frequency, textbooks and learning from a cognitive perspective. A corpus-based sample analysis of ELT materials. RESLA, 2012, 77-94.
24. Schmitt, N. (2008). Review article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research - LANG TEACH RES, 12, 329-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168808089921
25. Soars, J., & Soars, L. (2007). New Headway: Pre-Intermediate Third Edition: Student's Book: Six-level general English course for adults. OUP Oxford. https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=rLuwSAAACAAJ
26. Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary / Scott Thornbury. Longman.
27. Tyler, A. (2012). Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Learning. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203876039
28. Ünlü, F. (2012). Loading, distribution, and repetition patterns of the 2000 high frequency words of general English in an EFL coursebook Karadeniz Technical University,]. Trabzon.
29. Waring, R., & Takaki, M. (2003). At what rate do learners learn and retain new vocabulary from reading a graded reader? Reading in a Foreign Language, 15.
30. Webb, S. (2007). The Effects of Repetition on Vocabulary Knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28(1), 46-65. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/aml048.
31. West, M. (1953). A General Service List of English Words. Longman, Green & Co.