Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks
Finding the right word that is neither too difficult nor too simple for English learners is one of the most serious problems in applied linguistics, given the undeniable association of vocabulary with comprehension, problems about which academic words need to be used in open and distance learning co...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2024
|
| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/1/TD%2020.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848816359305117696 |
|---|---|
| author | Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu Azza Jauhar Ahmad Tajuddin, Chairozila Mohd. Shamsudin, |
| author_facet | Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu Azza Jauhar Ahmad Tajuddin, Chairozila Mohd. Shamsudin, |
| author_sort | Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Finding the right word that is neither too difficult nor too simple for English learners is one of the most serious problems in applied linguistics, given the undeniable association of vocabulary with comprehension, problems about which academic words need to be used in open and distance learning coursebooks for students' effective reading comprehension remain unsolved. This study serves this purpose by conducting data-driven research on the coursebooks of the National Open University of Nigeria. Therefore, this study uses Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) in a corpus of 6,802,300 words from first-year university coursebooks. The results indicate that while the AWL contains 9.47% of the lexical items in the corpus, certain items on the list frequently occur and exhibit distinct behaviours across disciplinary fields. Using frequency and range selection criteria, the study finds 181 AWL and 28 non-AWL word items used at least 1132 times in the NOUNC and at least 15 times across the 30 academic subjects. This study uncovers cross-disciplinary lexical features that can be used to develop vocabulary acquisition and help students participating in open and distance learning courses improve their academic reading and other language skills. In light of the above, the AWLNOUN could serve as a reference resource for educators and course designers in curriculum development for open and distance learning centres. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T01:04:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:25439 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T01:04:37Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:254392025-06-23T07:02:44Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/ Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu Azza Jauhar Ahmad Tajuddin, Chairozila Mohd. Shamsudin, Finding the right word that is neither too difficult nor too simple for English learners is one of the most serious problems in applied linguistics, given the undeniable association of vocabulary with comprehension, problems about which academic words need to be used in open and distance learning coursebooks for students' effective reading comprehension remain unsolved. This study serves this purpose by conducting data-driven research on the coursebooks of the National Open University of Nigeria. Therefore, this study uses Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) in a corpus of 6,802,300 words from first-year university coursebooks. The results indicate that while the AWL contains 9.47% of the lexical items in the corpus, certain items on the list frequently occur and exhibit distinct behaviours across disciplinary fields. Using frequency and range selection criteria, the study finds 181 AWL and 28 non-AWL word items used at least 1132 times in the NOUNC and at least 15 times across the 30 academic subjects. This study uncovers cross-disciplinary lexical features that can be used to develop vocabulary acquisition and help students participating in open and distance learning courses improve their academic reading and other language skills. In light of the above, the AWLNOUN could serve as a reference resource for educators and course designers in curriculum development for open and distance learning centres. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2024 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/1/TD%2020.pdf Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu and Azza Jauhar Ahmad Tajuddin, and Chairozila Mohd. Shamsudin, (2024) Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 30 (4). pp. 291-305. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1778 |
| spellingShingle | Haruna, Hamisu Hamisu Azza Jauhar Ahmad Tajuddin, Chairozila Mohd. Shamsudin, Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title | Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title_full | Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title_fullStr | Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title_short | Unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance English language learning coursebooks |
| title_sort | unlocking academic vocabulary: corpus insights from open and distance english language learning coursebooks |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25439/1/TD%2020.pdf |