A Music Word List for Non-native Speakers of English: A Corpus-based Study

PDF(112 KB)

Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2015, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (1) : 113-132.

Articles

A Music Word List for Non-native Speakers of English: A Corpus-based Study

Ping WANG¹, Michelle PICARD²

Author information +

History +

Abstract

The acquisition of English as a second/foreign language is an additional burden for non-native speakers (NNSs) who must master English as well as developing expertise in their own profession. This corpus-based study aims to improve the English learning of music students by determining how many and what types of words music majors need to acquire in order to understand the most important texts in their discipline. We compiled a music corpus (MC) which we analyzed using the frequency count function of the Adelaide Text Analysis Tool (AdTAT). Then the word list was compared with the New General Service List (NGSL) and the New Academic Word List (NAWL). The findings provide English for Special Purposes (ESP) instructors with a clear picture of high-frequency words in the music discipline, so that they can support the English learning of music students and develop more appropriate materials for them. The findings also have meth- odological implications for the teaching of other Arts majors.

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Ping WANG, Michelle PICARD. A Music Word List for Non-native Speakers of English: A Corpus-based Study[J]. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2015, 25(1): 113-132

References

Bauer, L., & Nation, I. S. P. (1993). Word families. International Journal of Lexicography, 6(4), 253-279.
Bernardini, S. (2002). Exploring new directions for discovery learning. In B. Ketteman & G. Marko (Eds.), Teaching and learning by doing corpus analysis (pp. 165-182). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Rodopi.
Browne C., Culligan B., & Phillips F. (2013). A new general service list. Retrieved from http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/
Chen, Q., & Ge, G. (2007). A corpus-based lexical study on frequency and distribution of Coxhead’s AWL word families in medical research articles (RAs).English for Specific Purposes, 26(4), 502-514.
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213-238.
Csomay, E., & Petrovic, M. (2012). “Yes, your honor!”: A corpus-based study of technical vocabulary in discipline-related movies and TV shows. System, 40(2), 305-315.
Dang, T. N. Y., & Webb, S. (2014). The lexical profile of academic spoken English. English for Specific Purposes, 33, 66-76.
Evans, S., & Green, C. (2007). Why EAP is necessary: A survey of Hong Kong tertiary students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(1), 3-17.
Farrel, P. (1990). Vocabulary in ESP: A lexical analysis of the English of electronics and a study of semi-technical vocabulary. CLCS Occasional Papers, 25, 1-87.
Hirsh, D., & Nation, I. S. P. (1992). What vocabulary size is needed to read unsimplified texts for pleasure? Reading in a Foreign Language, 8(2), 689-696.
Hsu, W. (2013). Bridging the vocabulary gap for EFL medical undergraduates: The establishment of a medical word list. Language Teaching Research, 17(4), 454-484.
Hsu, W. H. (2014). Measuring the vocabulary load of engineering textbooks for EFL undergraduates. English for Specific Purposes, 33, 54-65.
Hu, M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2000). Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 13(1), 403-430.
Hunston, S. (2002). Corpora in applied linguistics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2007). Is there an “academic vocabulary”? TESOL Quarterly, 41(2), 235-253.
Laufer, B. (1989). What percentage of text lexis is essential for comprehension? In C. Laurén & M. Nordman (Eds.), Special language: From human thinking to thinking machines (pp. 316-323). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Laufer, B., & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, G. C. (2010). Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 15-30.
Li, Y., & Qian, D. D. (2010). Profiling the academic word list (AWL) in a financial corpus. System, 38(3), 402-411.
Liu, M. H. (2011). Current language attitudes of Mainland Chinese university students. College Student Journal, 45(4), 851-861.
Liu, N. A., & Nation, I. S. P. (1985). Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context. RELC Journal, 16(1), 33-42.
Martinez I. A., Beck S. C., & Panza C. B. (2009). Academic vocabulary in agriculture research articles: A corpus-based study. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 183-198.
Nation I. S.P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? The Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1), 59-82.
Nation I. S.P., & Waring, R. (1997). Vocabulary size, text coverage and word lists. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 6-19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peters, P., & Fernandez, T. (2013). The lexical needs of ESP students in a professional field. English for Specific Purposes, 32(4), 236-247.
Romer, U. (2005). Progressives, patterns, pedagogy: A corpus-driven approach to English progressive forms, functions, contexts and didactics. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Sun, L. (2006). A survey and analysis of English learning of Art and Music students.Journal of Zunyi Normal College, 8(2), 64-67.
Sutarsyah C., Nation P., & Kennedy G. (1994). How useful is EAP vocabulary for ESP? A corpus based study. RELC Journal, 25(2), 34-50.
Valipouri, L., & Nassaji, H. (2013). A corpus-based study of academic vocabulary in chemistry research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(4), 248-263.
Wang, F. X. (2008). Motivation and English achievement: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of a new measure for Chinese students of English learning. North American Journal of Psychology, 10(3), 633-646.
Wang J., Liang S., & Ge G. (2008). Establishment of a medical academic word list. English for Specific Purposes, 27(4), 442-458.
Ward, J. (2009). A basic engineering English word list for less proficient foundation engineering undergraduates. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 170-182.
West, M. (1953). A general service list of English words. London: Longman.
Wu, X. (2005). Cultivate autonomy and change English learning of arts undergraduates. Journal of Xin Jiang Normal University (Social Sciences), 26(4), 262-265.
Xia, J. C. (2005). Relationship between English study motivation & attitude and study achievement. Journal of Hunan First Normal College, 5(1), 39-42.