Academic Vocabulary Knowledge Research Articles

University students’ academic vocabulary development through mobile-assisted learning: Exploring the impacts on receptive and productive knowledge

This study explored the effectiveness of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning through digital flashcards on receptive and productive aspects of academic vocabulary knowledge among Iranian EFL university students. In a quasi-experimental design, 86 participants were divided into three groups: a digital flashcard group (DFs), a traditional paper flashcard (PFs) group, and a control group using word lists, to assess the impact of these methods on vocabulary acquisition over five weeks. The findings revealed that students utilizing DFs exhibited significant improvements in both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge compared to those using PFs and the control method. Notably, the increase in receptive vocabulary was more substantial than in productive vocabulary, highlighting the differential effects of DFs on various aspects of vocabulary learning. This finding underscores the need for targeted strategies to enhance productive aspects of academic vocabulary specifically. The study supports the integration of DFs into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs to leverage their potential in boosting vocabulary acquisition effectively. However, the lesser gains in productive vocabulary suggest the necessity for complementary instructional methods, which focus on more active vocabulary learning tasks. Based on these findings, the study argues that mobile-assisted vocabulary learning should be considered a practical strategy for supporting academic vocabulary development among university students.

Learning academic vocabulary with digital flashcards: Comparing the outcomes from computers and smartphones

This study systematically evaluates the comparative efficacy of digital flashcards on mobile and computer platforms versus traditional paper-based flashcards in augmenting academic vocabulary knowledge development among Iranian undergraduate university students. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 112 subjects, allocated into three distinct groups: one utilizing digital flashcards via smartphones, another via laptops, and a control group employing paper-based flashcards. Over a five-week period, these participants were exposed to 50 frequently used academic vocabulary items in a self-directed learning mode. Academic vocabulary knowledge of the study participants was assessed pre- and post-intervention, employing an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for statistical evaluation of the test scores. The results demonstrated statistically significant learning gains in vocabulary knowledge across all groups, with the smartphone group showing the most pronounced improvements. The performance of this group notably surpassed that of the laptop group and the control group, underscoring the superior efficacy of mobile devices in facilitating academic vocabulary learning. These findings illuminate the potential of mobile-assisted language learning tools in academic settings and suggest a differential impact of device type on vocabulary acquisition. The broader implications of these outcomes for the design and implementation of technology-enhanced language learning strategies are discussed.

The relationship between the perception and knowledge of academic vocabulary among EFL and EMI university students

Background. Academic vocabulary is considered an essential component in the English language courses in higher education establishments. A number of studies have illustrated that the use of academic words in students’ work alone cannot always promise high grades, since students’ opinion about the importance of academic words can also have an influence on their knowledge and use.
 Purpose. The research aims to determine the relationship between the vocabulary level of learners and their beliefs about the importance of academic words at the tertiary level.
 Methods. For this study, the first and third-year students (N=440) in two Uzbek universities completed a beliefs questionnaire to rate their perceptions of the significance of academic words in improving reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in academia. The participants were also administered a vocabulary knowledge test to estimate their receptive dimension.
 Results. The findings demonstrate that EMI students scored higher on the vocabulary test than EFL students and show that students’ perceptions of the significance of academic words changed in all four skills from the first to third year of study.
 Conclusion. The article explores trends that emerged in the data and raises awareness for EAP teachers concerning the assumptions about students’ needs for vocabulary development based on learners’ perceptions and knowledge.

From Needs Analysis to the Establishment of a University Vocabulary List for English Majors

This paper concerns the academic vocabulary needs of undergraduate English majors in a tertiary context in Azerbaijan. Based on the results of the previous studies, it is suggested that developing an appropriate course material to meet the specific learning needs of these students will be beneficial for them. Thus, this study aims to identify the percentage of the running words and high-frequency word families beyond the 2,000 most-frequent words in the university textbook corpus to help the students to attain 98% lexical coverage. To address English majors’ scant academic vocabulary knowledge, a University Vocabulary List has been created. First, a university textbook corpus comprising the words used in 11 subject-specific course textbooks across subject areas taught at Azerbaijan University of Languages was compiled. Next, the range and frequency distribution of the words beyond the British National Corpus scale 2,000-word families was examined. Finally, the 396 most frequently occurring word families in the corpus were chosen; these formed the proposed University Vocabulary List for English majors, accounting for a 6.96% lexical coverage. The University Vocabulary List for English majors and the British National Corpus 2,000 high-frequency word families, including proper nouns, provide a text coverage of 97.28%, which is only marginally lower than the suggested lexical threshold of 98% suggested by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010) and Nation (2006). It is, therefore, argued that the University Vocabulary List represents a sufficiently frequent and relevant vocabulary load for English majors whose secondary educational background and first-year general English textbooks have not equipped them for the linguistic challenges they face at the initial stages of their tertiary education. The article concludes by stating the pedagogical implications for developing these learners’ knowledge and use of the most frequent word families.

The Implementation of Academic Word List and Its Implication to the Improvement of EFL Students’ Academic Writing Quality

The research aimed to investigate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness in implementing an academic word list and its implication for improving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ writing quality. Academic Word List (AWL) played an important role in expanding the student’s academic vocabulary knowledge. Basically, an academic word list was considered one of the effective ways to reduce students’ errors in writing. The research was proposed to review several related preceding studies, and the data found were described qualitatively. From the research conducted, it is found that fifteen out of eighteen studies (83,33%) confirm that the implementation of academic word lists provides a significant contribution to the improvement of students’ writing quality. On the other hand, three out of eighteen studies (16,67%) confirm that implementing an academic word list does not significantly contribute to improving students’ academic word knowledge. This may be attributable to the given portion of the academic word list utilized as supplementary material, and it can only be used outside the classroom without any teacher guidance. The result shows that implementing the academic word list may act as an effective/ineffective tool for improving students’ academic writing quality based on the portion and utilization of this tool in the course.

Effects of Multimedia Academic Vocabulary Instruction for Linguistically Diverse Fifth Graders in a Rural Setting

As K-12 classrooms in the U.S. grow in linguistic diversity, there is a need to develop and evaluate the effects of instructional approaches that build knowledge of academic vocabulary for multilingual learners. While multimedia vocabulary instruction may represent a promising avenue for improving word learning for linguistically diverse classrooms of upper-elementary students, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on this topic, with no research on multimedia vocabulary instruction having been conducted with linguistically diverse populations in rural contexts. This randomized control trial evaluated the effects of a multimedia vocabulary instructional approach (CAP-S), relative to business-as-usual (BAU) vocabulary instruction on researcher-developed and standardized measures of word knowledge for a linguistically diverse sample of Grade 5 students learning in rural schools (n = 418). The intervention took place over 8 weeks; CAP-S and BAU teachers addressed the same target set of academic words. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated statistically significant and meaningful effects on a custom measure of word learning, as well as small but statistically significant effects on a standardized assessment of word knowledge. On the custom vocabulary measure, ELs benefited more than non-ELs from CAP-S instruction, relative to their counterparts in the BAU condition. Findings suggest the potential advantages of employing efficient, feasible multimedia vocabulary approaches to serve diverse, multilingual student groups in rural, upper-elementary classrooms.

The Effect of a Self-Regulated Intervention on Vocabulary Knowledge and Self-Regulated Learning Skills for English Language Learners

English language learners (ELLs) lack academic vocabulary knowledge, an essential component that explains much of the persistent achievement gap between students who start schools as ELLs and their monolingual peers. This single-subject experimental design study addressed this issue by focusing on self-regulated vocabulary learning that helps ELLs become effective and independent word learners. Nine upper elementary ELLs participated in an intervention for 16 sessions, with about 35 minutes per session. The intervention included the instruction of task-specific cognitive strategies (i.e., morphological and contextual analyses) and metacognitive strategies (i.e., goal-setting and monitoring) in authentic reading texts in social studies. Results indicated positive effects on ELLs’ vocabulary knowledge and self-­regulated vocabulary learning skills. Participants were also able to generalize both cognitive and metacognitive strategies to learning of new words. A lagging effect was observed for participants with low English proficiency levels.

Effects of morphological intervention on multiple aspects of academic vocabulary knowledge

Despite the positive role of English morphology in word learning, the existing evidence is mainly on young L1 native speakers' receptive word gains. This intervention study, which employed a pretest-posttest control-experimental group design, was conducted to explore the effects of morphological training on multiple aspects of academic vocabulary learning. Participants (N = 50) were college EFL learners from southern China, who received either traditional vocabulary instruction or morphological training for 6 weeks. The 2 × 2 ANOVA analysis revealed significant instructional effects on receptive academic vocabulary learning, but not for productive academic word knowledge. Results are discussed in light of the important connection between morphology and receptive word learning, and the nature of productive vocabulary acquisition.

Mobile-assisted focus on forms in English for academic purposes instruction: Investigating the impacts on learning academic words.

Focus on forms (FonFs) is a pedagogical approach in Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) that emphasizes students' conscious and direct attention to learning target language features in isolation and outside their meaningful context. FonFs has been employed extensively in foreign language vocabulary instruction, and earlier studies reported positive results for such interventions. The present study investigated mobile-assisted FonFs in the context of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) to address the vocabulary learning needs of Iranian EFL students and examined developments in receptive and productive knowledge of academic words. In doing so, the participants in the experimental learning condition (N = 22) were exposed to academic vocabulary using digital flashcards on their mobile phones, and those in the control group (N = 15) used word lists. The participants' vocabulary knowledge was tested using different measures before and after the treatments, and the results were compared using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The findings indicated that mobile-assisted FonFs was effective in receptive and productive vocabulary learning, and the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-tests. The effect size of the observed differences was also large; however, differences in productive aspects of academic vocabulary knowledge were associated with smaller learning effects for mobile-assisted FonFs. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on mobile-assisted language learning and highlights some implications for teaching academic vocabulary via mobile-assisted FonFs.

Self-regulated learning with mobile devices for university students: exploring the impacts on academic vocabulary development

The present study explored the impact of mobile-assisted self-regulated learning (SRL) on developing university students’ knowledge of academic vocabulary in English. The participants were 49 students in experimental (N = 28) and control (N = 21) learning conditions. Those in the experimental group studied 70 academic words using digital flashcards application installed on their mobile devices (i.e., smartphones), and the control group learned the same words using traditional materials (i.e., word lists). The participants’ vocabulary knowledge was tested before and after the treatment, and their test scores were analyzed using mixed between-within-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings indicated a significant main effect for time in both SRL interventions, as both strategies were effective in scaffolding university students’ academic vocabulary development, and the learning gains were significant in post- and delayed post-tests. Additionally, the findings revealed a significant main effect for mobile-assisted SRL in that participants in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group on post-treatment tests. Accordingly, the results provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning in the SRL mode. The study offers implications for addressing the academic vocabulary learning needs of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students.

Assessing the General and Academic Lexical Competencies: Evidence from Online Russian Vocabulary Size Test and Word Associations Test (RL)

The study aims to assess the general and academic lexical competence of university students and develop an educational strategy for Russian language learning using media content. The present study examines the general and academic productivity and satisfaction of students. The sample included 120 individuals. The study uses multiple testing methods including two different vocabulary tests, written and oral assignments, and the post-experimental questionnaire. The data collection was performed in September, the autumn semester of 2020. The participants were tested using the Vocabulary Size Test and Word Associates Test (RL). Vocabulary size and depth were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The scholars identified that the students had strong general and academic vocabulary knowledge. At the same time, students used high-frequency words more often than low-frequency words and academic vocabulary. Moreover, productive vocabulary assessment showed poor results in terms of receptive vocabulary knowledge. In this case, students could not use lexical competence and lexical knowledge in language activities. Thus, the choice of the most effective method for teaching the Russian language depended on the data of residual knowledge and the combination of traditional language learning methods and media content.

Language and self-regulation: Interrelated sources of disparities in reading achievement and opportunities for reducing inequity.

Language and self-regulation develop bidirectionally, and they synergistically affect most aspects of acquiring reading proficiency. Children and youth from historically marginalized communities tend to have less expansive knowledge of academic vocabulary and dialect common to instruction and academic text (i.e., General American English), and limited self-regulation skills relevant to reading, compared to less-marginalized peers. In this article, we argue that language and self-regulation are factors in demographic-related reading opportunity gaps, and that in addition to improving students' access to high-quality explicit phonics instruction, understanding their interactive relationship offers opportunities for schools to reduce disparities in reading outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship Between Depth of Academic English Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Success of Second Language University Students

This study investigates the relationship between depth of academic vocabulary knowledge and academic success among Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language university students. Fifty fourth-year university students majoring in English completed a vocabulary depth test, the Word Associates Test (WAT), based on the Academic Word List (AWL). Then, students’ grade point averages (GPAs) were obtained as a measure of academic success. Furthermore, a vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) questionnaire was administered to explore the students’ use of various VLSs. In addition, two focus group discussions were conducted to elicit participants’ views and experiences of English vocabulary learning. The scores on the WAT were positively correlated ( r = .407, p < .01) with GPA. Results of the regression analysis show that the WAT scores accounted for 16.6% of the variance in GPA. Analysis of the data on VLSs reveals that the participants were medium-level VLS users who employed metacognitive strategies most frequently. Strategies that involve focused intentional vocabulary learning, such as learning from word cards and wordlists, were reported to be used the least. Results of the present depth study support previous findings of vocabulary breadth studies on the high predictive power of academic vocabulary knowledge in relation to academic success. Implications of the results for academic vocabulary teaching and learning are considered.

Academic vocabulary knowledge among adolescents in university preparatory programmes

English academic vocabulary knowledge is needed for reading in many internationalized university contexts around the world. However, our knowledge is limited regarding the degree to which pre-tertiary education prepares students for the academic English reading demands at university. To explore this question, this cross-sectional study analyzed academic vocabulary scores from two Swedish student samples (N=952), at the beginning and at the end of upper secondary English education. Statistical analyses were conducted to describe and compare the academic vocabulary knowledge in the two samples, also in relation to gender, study disciplines and English grades. Large variations in vocabulary scores were observed within and between samples. The exit-sample outperformed the entry-sample. The exit-sample’s academic vocabulary knowledge correlated positively with English grades, however, these (CEFR-B2) students do not, on average, reach suggested mastery thresholds of academic vocabulary knowledge. A logistic regression analysis showed higher probabilities for male students and Arts/Humanities/Science/Technology students than female and Economics/Social science students to reach suggested mastery thresholds. This unequal distribution of academic word knowledge is discussed in the context of curricular goals about equality and university-preparation.

DIFFICULTIES WITH WORD CHOICE IN ACADEMIC WRITING AND SOLUTIONS: A RESEARCH ON ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT CAN THO UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Writing, especially academic writing, is highly valued in foreign language acquisition, particularly for English majors. Nevertheless, using academic terminology might be difficult for students still developing their academic language abilities. The purpose of this research is to understand students' difficulties in selecting appropriate words in academic writing and offer solutions to overcome such difficulties. The participants were 78 English majors (high-quality program, course 45) and three lecturers at the Department of English Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University. Questionnaires were used to measure their difficulties in word choice in academic writing and semi-structured interviews were utilized to find solutions. The results show that most participants had a basic knowledge of academic vocabulary, which was demonstrated through their ability to select the appropriate word choice. However, students found it difficult to choose the right words in their academic writing. The reasons are that academic words are not easy to remember and not successfully used in the context of the meaning of the word and do not have an effective method of learning academic vocabulary. Based on the results, several specific approaches have been proposed to help students find the most suitable strategies for learning and using academic vocabulary for their writing.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0251/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Measuring depth of academic vocabulary knowledge

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.

Academic vocabulary instruction and socio-scientific issue discussion in urban sixth-grade science classrooms

Given the growing evidence of academic language demands embodied in science practices, this study aimed to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a literacy-science integrated program that emphasized the incorporation of academic vocabulary instruction and collaborative discussion of a socio-scientific issue in sixth-grade science classrooms in an urban school. The treatment students (n = 73) who participated in the intervention had significantly higher academic vocabulary knowledge and scientific argumentation posttest scores than the control students (n = 62). The effect on academic vocabulary knowledge was particularly greater for bilingual students than their monolingual peers. Mediation analyses revealed that the intervention effects on science content knowledge and scientific argumentation were mediated by academic vocabulary knowledge. Findings indicate that science teachers’ instructional scaffolding for academic vocabulary and authentic discourse can not only improve students’ academic vocabulary knowledge but also indirectly affect science content knowledge and scientific argumentation via academic vocabulary knowledge.

Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Azerbaijani Students and its Relation to their Academic and Technical English Vocabulary Knowledge

With English turning into a global language among the people in all parts of the world, it has played a similarly essential role in the educational system of Azerbaijan. Vocabulary is a vital and inseparable part of the four language skills in the activity of language learning. This research was aimed at investigating the use of various vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) among Azerbaijani engineering students. Moreover, the overall frequency of strategy use was explored by Azerbaijani learners as high strategy users, medium strategy users, and low strategy users. The study also investigated the students’ academic and technical English vocabulary knowledge, finding that the vocabulary learning strategy use is done in relation to students’ academic and technical English vocabulary knowledge. The descriptive-quantitative research design was employed in this study. Two kinds of research instruments were utilized. A 60-item academic and a 30-item technical vocabulary test and an online questionnaire of vocabulary learning strategies with 23-item were employed. The findings demonstrated that there is not a significant relationship between VLSs and academic and technical English vocabulary knowledge of Azerbaijani engineering students. The research also indicated that meta-cognitive strategies included the most and least frequently used strategies among Azerbaijani learners. Consequently, Azerbaijani engineering students were high strategy users. It is obvious that vocabulary should not be treated as an additional material; on the contrary, syllabus designers and instructors have to put it forward as a vital ability in second or foreign language learning.

Receptive academic vocabulary knowledge and extramural English involvement – is there a correlation?

Abstract Extramural English (EE) exposure has been shown to correlate with general vocabulary knowledge. It remains uncertain, however, how academic vocabulary knowledge correlates with EE and can be explained by EE factors and demographic factors. Therefore, an academic vocabulary test, a background questionnaire, and a survey on current EE involvement were administered to 817 Swedish upper-secondary students in university-preparatory study programmes. A linear model revealed little explanation from demographic factors (age, gender, number of first languages, length of English instruction, and parental educational level) whereas EE factors (reading, listening & viewing without textual support, viewing with Swedish subtitles) accounted for 26% of the variation. Since extensive EE involvement may support the incidental learning of academic lexis, the paper suggests pre-tertiary instructional principles being guided by extramural as well as intramural incidental learning opportunities.

Examining the implementation of academic vocabulary, lexical density, and speech rate features on OpenCourseWare and MOOC lectures

ABSTRACT OpenCourseWare (OCW) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained increasing popularity and importance because they greatly expand students’ access to university lectures. Although the main component of OCW and MOOC platforms is lectures, their differences may potentially affect the difficulty of academic listening comprehension. This study thus explores the extent to which the differences between OCW and MOOC lectures may affect L2 academic listening comprehension in terms of three affecting factors: academic vocabulary coverage, lexical density, and speech rate. The result shows that both OCW and MOOC lectures have a high academic vocabulary coverage, with many more higher-level academic words appearing in the current MOOC lectures. Moreover, the lexical density and speech rate of MOOC lectures are significantly higher than those of OCW lectures, suggesting that students may need to process denser information delivered at a faster speech rate when viewing MOOC lectures. It is thus concluded that comprehending MOOC lectures may demand higher-level academic listening skills and a larger academic vocabulary size. The findings can provide implications for EAP instruction in terms of using OCW and MOOC lectures as academic listening materials for students with different academic vocabulary knowledge and listening proficiency levels.