Evaluation of the suitability of targeted vocabulary (primary level three to six) for second language learners by investigating the frequency of vocabulary with the use of a corpus

Abstract

Target vocabulary which is not be pitched at learner’s level of competency might affect learners’ comprehension and further lexical acquisition. Thus, the aim of this research is to review curriculum materials specifically to examine if lexical words taught in a primary school follows a structure that will best enable effective acquisition which will be done through examining the frequency of the words in spelling lists from the primary three level to the primary six level. To examine if the frequency of occurrence of words in spelling lists, the British National Corpus and Nation’s AWL are used. In this study, evidence against intuition was found as no words with more than 500 p/m occur at the Primary Three level. Furthermore, likely familiar words (e.g., believe) are taught later than more cognitive demanding words. Frequency of targeted vocabulary also shows a lack of consideration for balanced stylistic coverage as well as a lack of consideration to include words of the academic register. Therefore, the findings are evidence that teachers and curriculum developers’ lack in consideration to use frequency as a tool to construct vocabulary lists which can be an effective tool for discovering useful words for learners.