EVALUATING LEXICAL COVERAGE ON COURSEBOOKS, “AMERICAN ENGLISH FILE 1 AND 2”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v8i1.577Keywords:
lexical coverage, word frequency, word familiesAbstract
The present study evaluated the lexical coverage of the series "American English File 1 and 2" textbooks to facilitate the English language development of undergraduate students. The evaluation focuses on the listening materials, vocabulary choice, and the alignment of these factors with students' expected English proficiency levels. The analysis of data was run using Vocabprofile via the Compleat Lexical Tutor (https://www.lextutor.ca/). The listening transcripts from both coursebooks were evaluated for lexical coverage at the K-3 level, which revealed a substantial lexical coverage of 98.2% for “American English File 1” and 97.4% for “American English File 2”, suggesting that students would likely grasp the listening texts effectively, thereby indicating that the materials are appropriate for learners at this proficiency stage. At the K-8 level, for a more advanced proficiency, the two coursebooks illustrated greater lexical coverage, accounting for 99.7% for “American English File 1” and 99.1% for “American English File 2”. These findings implied that EFL learners would demonstrate a strong comprehension of the materials, maximize these teaching resources, and experience the least errors. In conclusion, the findings suggested that the “American English File 1 and 2” coursebook series is regarded as an efficient instructional source to enhance students' English language skills, especially in vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension, making them suitable for undergraduates. Discussion and recommendations for further research are put forward.
References
Alsaif, A., & Masrai, A. (2019). Extensive reading and incidental vocabulary acquisition: The case of a predominant language classroom input. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 7(2), 39-45. Retrieved from https://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJELS/article/view/5350
Alsulami, Y. A. K. (2021). An evaluation of a fourth level English textbook used in secondary schools in Riyadh city. English Language Teaching, 14(2), 68-83. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v14n2p68
Anshar, M. R., Emilia, E., & Damayanti, I. L. (2014). The evaluation of English electronic books for junior high school in Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, 1(3), 289–298. http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/edusentris.v1i3.152
Cobb, T. (n.d.). Compleat Lexical Tutor (Version 8.5) [Software]. Retrieved from http://www.lextutor.ca
Coxhead, A., & Boutorwick, T. J. (2018). Longitudinal vocabulary development in an EMI international school context: Learners and texts in EAL, Maths and Science. TESOL Quarterly, 52(3), 588–610. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.450
Coxhead, A., Nation, P. & Sim, D. (2015). Measuring the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 50, 121–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-015-0002-3
Coxhead, A., Stevens, L., & Tinkle, J. (2010). Why might secondary science textbooks be difficult to read? New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 16(2), 37–52. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279760103_Why_Might_Secondary_Science_Textbooks_Be_Difficult_To_Read
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 4th ed. SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.ucg.ac.me/skladiste/blog_609332/objava_105202/fajlovi/Creswell.pdf
Dang, T. N. Y., Webb, S., & Coxhead, A. (2020). Evaluating lists of high-frequency words: Teachers’ and learners’ perspectives. Language Teaching Research, 26(4), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820911189
Eldridge, J., & Neufeld, S. (2009). The graded reader is dead, long live the electronic reader. The Reading Matrix, 9(2), 224–244. Retrieved from https://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/sept_2009/eldridge_neufeld.pdf
Gholami, R., Noordin, N., & Rafik-Galea, S. (2017). A thorough scrutiny of ELT textbook evaluations: A review inquiry. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(3), 82–91. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.3p.82
Hsu, W. (2009). College English textbooks for general purposes: A corpus-based analysis of lexical coverage. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(1), 42–62.
Hughes, S. H. (2019). Coursebooks: Is there more than meets the eye? ELT Journal, 73(4), 447– 455. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccz040
Luxton, J., Fry, J., & Coxhead, A. (2017). Exploring the knowledge and development of academic English vocabulary of students in NZ secondary schools. SET, 17(1), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.18296/set.0071
Mamac, M. H., & Bangga, L. A. (2022). Using linguistic-informed analysis to assess model texts for EFL reading and writing. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 421-433. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v12i2.45868
Matsuoka, W., & Hirsh, D. (2010). Vocabulary learning through reading: Does an ELT coursebook provide good opportunities? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 56–70. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228835761_Vocabulary_learning_through_reading_Does_an_ELT_course_book_provide_good_opportunities
McKinley, S., & Hastings, B. (2007). Longman English Success. New Jersey: Pearson Longman.
Mertler, C. A. (2016). Introduction to educational research, 1st ed. SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Introduction_to_Educational_Research.html?id=-kMTEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y
Nation, I. S. P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.63.1.59
Nguyen, C. D. (2020). Lexical features of reading passages in English textbooks for Vietnamese high-school students: Do they foster both content and vocabulary knowledge? The RELC Journal, 52(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688219895045
Oxenden, C., Latham-Koenig, C., and Seligson, P. (2017). American English File 2. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/adult_courses/american-english-file/american-english-file-third-edition-level-2/?cc=ro&selLanguage=en
Ramadhana, M. A., Indah, O. D., & Suhardi. (2019). An evaluation of English language textbook: Interlanguage English for senior high school students. Jurnal Stud Guru dan Pembelajaran, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.30605/jsgp.2.1. 2019.1262
Schmitt, N., Jiang, X., & Grabe, W. (2011). The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension. The Modern Language Journal, 95(i), 26–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01146.x
Sholihah, U. (2016). An analysis of English textbook for eleventh year students of senior high school on the basis of the 2013 curriculum. Magistra, 28(95), 56– 73. Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/AN-ANALYSIS-OF-ENGLISH-TEXTBOOK-FOR-ELEVENTH-YEAR-Sholihah/bac12dfa0576fea553f545381e24c20d802989a2
Soars, L., & Soars, J. (2005). New headway student's book (Upper–Intermediate). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/adult_courses/headway/upper-intermediate/?cc=ro&selLanguage=en
Sun, Ye and Dang, T. N. Y. (2020). Vocabulary in high-school EFL textbooks: Texts and learner knowledge. System, 93(2020), 1-42. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344444512_Vocabulary_in_high-school_EFL_textbooks_Texts_and_learner_knowledge
Syairofi, A., Mujahid, Z., Mustofa, M., Ubaidillah, M. F., & Namaziandost, E. (2022). Emancipating SLA findings to inform EFL textbooks: A look at Indonesian school English textbooks. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 32(2), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40299-022-00642-9
Ulla, M. B., & Perales, W. F. (2021). Developing an English language teaching textbook in a Thai university: Classroom language teachers as writers. English Teaching & Learning 45, 461–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-021-00078-2
van Zeeland, H., & Schmitt, N. (2013). Lexical coverage in L1 and L2 listening comprehension: The same or different from reading comprehension? Applied Linguistics, 34(4), 457–479. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams074
Webb, S., & Nation, I. S. P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v12i1.1458
West, M. (1953). A general service list of English words. Longman: Longman, Green.
Winimurti, Y. A., & Nur, D. R. (2019). Evaluation on senior high school English textbooks. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 2(2), 143–152. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/270259891.pdf
Yetti, D. (2019). An analysis of readability level of reading material in English textbook for the first grade of senior high school [Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau]. Pekanbaru. Retrieved from https://ejournal.uin-suska.ac.id/index.php/JETE/article/view/8211
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
