Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency

Among the high number of studies on vocabulary, little attention has been given to high school students, even though EFL students begin to learn and use vocabulary in academic settings more complex at a high school level in non-English speaking countries. To fill this gap, this study examined high...

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Main Authors: Waluyo, Budi, Bakoko, Rahmah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/1/46839-173368-1-PB.pdf
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author Waluyo, Budi
Bakoko, Rahmah
author_facet Waluyo, Budi
Bakoko, Rahmah
author_sort Waluyo, Budi
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Among the high number of studies on vocabulary, little attention has been given to high school students, even though EFL students begin to learn and use vocabulary in academic settings more complex at a high school level in non-English speaking countries. To fill this gap, this study examined high school students’ vocabulary use in English essay writing. The target words involved 70 among the most frequently occurring words in academic settings from the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL). The data set consisted of 233 essays collected in Thailand as part of an English proficiency test and analyzed using quantitative statistical analyses. The results of descriptive statistics disclosed the 48 words known and used by the high school students. The independent t-test and one-way ANOVA revealed the effects of gender and proficiency levels for certain words. Yet, students’ academic vocabulary knowledge and use were found to be unrelated to their writing achievement, overall English proficiency, and specific English skills including reading, speaking, and writing. It was assumed that nonacademic words might have played a more significant role in student essays than academic words did.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:184352022-04-16T07:10:27Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/ Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency Waluyo, Budi Bakoko, Rahmah Among the high number of studies on vocabulary, little attention has been given to high school students, even though EFL students begin to learn and use vocabulary in academic settings more complex at a high school level in non-English speaking countries. To fill this gap, this study examined high school students’ vocabulary use in English essay writing. The target words involved 70 among the most frequently occurring words in academic settings from the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL). The data set consisted of 233 essays collected in Thailand as part of an English proficiency test and analyzed using quantitative statistical analyses. The results of descriptive statistics disclosed the 48 words known and used by the high school students. The independent t-test and one-way ANOVA revealed the effects of gender and proficiency levels for certain words. Yet, students’ academic vocabulary knowledge and use were found to be unrelated to their writing achievement, overall English proficiency, and specific English skills including reading, speaking, and writing. It was assumed that nonacademic words might have played a more significant role in student essays than academic words did. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/1/46839-173368-1-PB.pdf Waluyo, Budi and Bakoko, Rahmah (2021) Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 27 (4). pp. 157-172. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1447
spellingShingle Waluyo, Budi
Bakoko, Rahmah
Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title_full Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title_fullStr Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title_full_unstemmed Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title_short Academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to English proficiency
title_sort academic vocabulary used by high school students in essays and its relation to english proficiency
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18435/1/46839-173368-1-PB.pdf