Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates
Academic words are specialised vocabulary of academic texts. The knowledge of these words is vital for comprehension and communication purposes, particularly among university students, to enable them to engage with authentic complex input, such as textbooks and journal articles. Limitation of aca...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2018
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/1/26714-89167-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848814367567511552 |
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| author | Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairuddin, |
| author_facet | Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairuddin, |
| author_sort | Nur Ainil Sulaiman, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Academic words are specialised vocabulary of academic texts. The knowledge of these words
is vital for comprehension and communication purposes, particularly among university
students, to enable them to engage with authentic complex input, such as textbooks and
journal articles. Limitation of academic vocabulary in their mental lexicon may restrict
students ‘comprehension to grasp the academic concepts they are learning. The current study
investigated Malaysian English as a Second Language (ESL) undergraduates’ knowledge of
academic words, based on Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL). The AWL
consists of academic words commonly used in academic texts across four general disciplines
of studies namely arts, commerce, law, and science. The list consists of 570 word families
categorised in 10 sub lists based on frequency and range. One hundred and eleven first year
undergraduates with different levels of English language proficiency and from different
academic disciplines at a research university in Malaysia participated in this study. Data were
collected using a questionnaire, which comprised a list of words derived from the AWL.
Findings show that AWL words from sub lists 8 until 10 (which consist of low frequency and
low utility academic words) had the highest percentage of unknown AWL words reported by
students compared to the other sub lists. The distributions of unknown academic words
reported were also different among students with regards to their academic disciplines and
English language proficiency. Although the findings in general are rather evident, identifying
unknown academic word among undergraduates from different academic programmes is
significant to instructors and learners so as to enable them to focus on the right words during
valuable class and independent study time. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:32:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:17655 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:32:58Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:176552021-11-24T00:39:18Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/ Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairuddin, Academic words are specialised vocabulary of academic texts. The knowledge of these words is vital for comprehension and communication purposes, particularly among university students, to enable them to engage with authentic complex input, such as textbooks and journal articles. Limitation of academic vocabulary in their mental lexicon may restrict students ‘comprehension to grasp the academic concepts they are learning. The current study investigated Malaysian English as a Second Language (ESL) undergraduates’ knowledge of academic words, based on Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL). The AWL consists of academic words commonly used in academic texts across four general disciplines of studies namely arts, commerce, law, and science. The list consists of 570 word families categorised in 10 sub lists based on frequency and range. One hundred and eleven first year undergraduates with different levels of English language proficiency and from different academic disciplines at a research university in Malaysia participated in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which comprised a list of words derived from the AWL. Findings show that AWL words from sub lists 8 until 10 (which consist of low frequency and low utility academic words) had the highest percentage of unknown AWL words reported by students compared to the other sub lists. The distributions of unknown academic words reported were also different among students with regards to their academic disciplines and English language proficiency. Although the findings in general are rather evident, identifying unknown academic word among undergraduates from different academic programmes is significant to instructors and learners so as to enable them to focus on the right words during valuable class and independent study time. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018-11 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/1/26714-89167-1-PB.pdf Nur Ainil Sulaiman, and Khazriyati Salehuddin, and Rozainee Khairuddin, (2018) Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 18 (4). pp. 1-14. ISSN 1675-8021 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1146 |
| spellingShingle | Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairuddin, Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title | Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title_full | Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title_fullStr | Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title_short | Academic word list knowledge of Malaysian ESL undergraduates |
| title_sort | academic word list knowledge of malaysian esl undergraduates |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17655/1/26714-89167-1-PB.pdf |