Vocabulary profile, lexical density and speech rate of science podcasts: How adequate are they for EAP and ESP listening?

• Vuković-Stamatović, Milica ^[1] ; Čarapić, Dragana ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Montenegro

     University of Montenegro

     Montenegro

     
• Localización: Ibérica: Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos ( AELFE ), ISSN-e 2340-2784, ISSN 1139-7241, Nº. 47, 2024, págs. 201-226
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.17398/2340-2784.47.201
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen

  • One potential source of authentic input for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Science and Technology (EST) listening could be science podcasts. In this study, we examine the vocabulary level of this genre, as well as the amount of the common specialized, i.e. academic and scientific vocabulary it contains. Additionally, we study its lexical density and speech rate. These properties are examined on a corpus of 126 science podcasts produced by the journal Nature, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the magazine Scientific American. These are compared against those determined for a corpus of lectures in general (the MICASE lectures) and a corpus of science lectures in particular (the MICASE’s science-lecture subsection). On the one hand, science podcasts were found to contain a good amount of both academic and scientific vocabulary, as well as to have a very similar lexical density to that of lectures. On the other hand, their vocabulary level and speech rate were somewhat higher than those of lectures. Based on the analysis, we recommend the use of science podcasts for both EAP and EST listening for advanced learners. For learners with lower proficiencies, vocabulary support and/or adjusting the speed of the science podcasts is advised. 

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Al-Ahdal, A.A.M.H. (2020). Overcoming Pronunciation Hurdles in EFL Settings: An Evaluation of Podcasts as a Learning Tool at Qassim University...
  • Anthony, L. (2014). AntWordProfiler (Version 1.4.1). Tokyo: Waseda University. http://www.laurenceanthony.net/software.
  • Audacity Team (2022). Audacity (Version 3.2.2.0). https://www.audacityteam.org/.
  • Bauer, L., & Nation, P. (1993). Word families. International journal of Lexicography, 6(4), 253–279. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijl/6.4.253.
  • Benavent, G. T., & Peñamaría, S. S–R. (2011). Use of authentic materials in the ESP classroom. Encuentro, 20, 89–94.
  • Browne, C., Culligan, B., & Phillips, J. (2014). The new academic world list. http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/nawl–new–academic–word–list/....
  • Capel, A. (2012). Completing the English vocabulary profile: C1 and C2 vocabulary. English Profile Journal, 3(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2041536212000013.
  • Chaikovska, O., Zbaravska, L., & Bilyk, T. (2019). Podcasts in teaching EFL for students majoring in engineering. In Malinovska, L., &...
  • Council of Europe. (2001). The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. CUP.
  • Coxhead, A. (2000). A New Academic Word List. TESOL, 34(2), 213–238. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587951.
  • Coxhead, A. & Hirsh, D. (2007). A pilot science–specific word list. Revue Française de Linguistique Appliquée, 12(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.3917/rfla.122.0065.
  • Coxhead, A. (2018). Vocabulary and English for Specific Purposes research: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315146478.
  • Csomay, E., & Petrovíc, M. (2012). "Yes, your honor!": A corpus–based study of technical vocabulary in discipline–related movies...
  • Dang, T. N. Y. (2018). A Hard Science Spoken Word List. ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169(1), 44–71. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.00006.dan.
  • Dang, T. N. Y. (2020). The potential for learning specialized vocabulary of university lectures and seminars through watching disciplines–related...
  • Dang, T. N. Y., & Webb, S. (2016). Evaluating lists of high–frequency words. ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 167(2),...
  • Dang, T. N. Y., Coxhead, A., & Webb, S. (2017). The academic spoken word list. Language Learning, 67(4), 959–997. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12253.
  • Dang, T. N. Y., Webb, S., & Coxhead, A. (2020). Evaluating lists of high–frequency words: Teachers' and learners' perspectives....
  • Dlott, A. M. (2007). A (pod) cast of thousands. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 80–82.
  • Fadda, H. A., & Qasim, N. A. (2013). From Call to Mall: The Effectiveness of Podcast on EFL Higher Education Students’ Listening Comprehension....
  • Fox, A. (2008). Using Podcasts in the EFL Classroom. TESL–EJ, 11(4), p. 1–13.
  • Gardner, D., & Davies, M. (2014). A new academic vocabulary list. Applied Linguistics, 35(3), 305–327. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amt015.
  • Green, T. M. (2015). The Greek & Latin Roots of English. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  • Griffiths, R. (1990). Speech rate and NNS comprehension: A preliminary study in time–benefit analysis. Language Learning, 40, 311 –336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1990.tb00666.x.
  • Griffiths, R. (1991). Speech rate and listening comprehension Further evidence of the relationship. TESOL Quarterly, 25, 230–235. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587015.
  • Hawke, P. (2010). Using internet–sourced podcasts in independent listening courses: Legal and pedagogical implications. Jalt CALL Journal,...
  • Hiltunen, T., & Tyrkkö, J. (2018). Academic vocabulary in Wikipedia articles: Frequency and dispersion in uneven datasets. In Suhr, C....
  • Jenkins, J. (2012). English as a Lingua Franca from the classroom to the classroom. ELT journal, 66(4), 486–494. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccs040.
  • Kavaliauskienė, G. (2008). Podcasting: A tool for improving listening skills. Teaching English with Technology, 8(4), 1–17.
  • Knight, R. (2010). Sounds for Study: Speech and Language Therapy Students: Use and Perception of Exercise Podcasts for Phonetics. International...
  • Laufer, B. (1989). What percentage of text lexis is essential for comprehension?” In C. Laurén, & M. Nordman (Eds.), Special language:...
  • Laufer, B., & Nation, P. (1995). Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 307–322....
  • Lee, M. J., & Chan, A. (2007). Pervasive, lifestyle‐integrated mobile learning for distance learners: an analysis and unexpected results...
  • Lei, L., & Liu, D. (2016). A new medical academic word list: A corpus–based study with enhanced methodology. English for Academic Purposes,...
  • Li, H. C. (2012). Using podcasts for learning English: Perceptions of Hong Kong Secondary 6 ESL students. ELT World Online, 4, 78–90.
  • Lindqvist, C., Gudmundson, A., & Bardel, C. (2013). A New Approach to Measuring Lexical Sophistication in L2 Oral Production. In C. Bardel,...
  • Liu, C. Y. (2021). Examining the implementation of academic vocabulary, lexical density, and speech rate features on OpenCourseWare and MOOC...
  • Liu, C. Y. (2022). Are TED Talks Potential Materials for Learning Specialized Vocabulary? A Case of Medical Vocabulary. English Teaching &...
  • López–Carril, S., Añó, V., & González–Serrano, M. H. (2020). Introducing TED talks as a pedagogical resource in sport management education...
  • Lord, G. (2008). Podcasting communities and second language pronunciation. Foreign Language Annals, 41(2), 364–379. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2008.tb03297.x.
  • MacKenzie, L. (2019) Science podcasts: analysis of global production and output from 2004 to 2018. Royal Society open science, 6(1), 180932....
  • Martínez, I. A. (2011). Capitalizing on the advantages of the Latin American EAP situation: Using authentic and specific materials in EAP...
  • Milton, J. (2010). The development of vocabulary breadth across the CEFR levels. In Bartning, I., Martin, M., & Vedder, I. (Eds.), Communicative...
  • Myers, G. (2003). Discourse studies of scientific popularizations: Questioning the boundaries. Discourse Studies, 5(2), 265–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456030050020.
  • Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge.
  • Nation, P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? Canadian Modern Language Review, 63, 59–82.
  • Nation, P. (2012). The BNC/COCA word family lists. http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/paul–nation. Accessed April 1, 2018.
  • Nation, P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd edition). CUP.
  • Nesi, H. (2001). A corpus–based analysis of academic lectures across disciplines. In J. Cotterill, & A. Ife (Eds.), Language across Boundaries:...
  • O’Bannon, B. W., Lubke, J. K., Beard, J. L., & Britt, V. G. (2011). Using Podcasts to Replace Lecture: Effects on Student Achievement....
  • Parkinson, J., & Adendorff, R. (2004). The use of popular science articles in teaching scientific literacy. English for Specific Purposes,...
  • Parkinson, J., Jackson, L., Kirkwood, T., & Padayachee, V. (2007). A scaffolded reading and writing course for foundation level science...
  • Putman, S. M., & Kingsley, T. (2009). The atoms family: Using podcasts to enhance the development of science vocabulary. The Reading Teacher,...
  • Rafique, R. (2019). Using Podcasts to Improve Listening Skills of Tertiary Level Learners: Insights from Literature. The Dhaka University...
  • Rolls, H., & Rodgers, M. P. (2017). Science–specific technical vocabulary in science fiction– fantasy texts: A case for ‘language through...
  • Stanley, G. (2006). Podcasting: Audio on the Internet comes of age. TESL–EJ, 9, 1–7.
  • Stubbs, M. (1986). Lexical density: A computational technique and some findings. In M. Coulthard (Ed.), Talking about text (pp. 27–48). University...
  • Tauroza, S., & Allison, D. (1990). Speech rates in British English. Applied linguistics, 11(1), 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/11.1.90.
  • Ure, J. (1971). Lexical density and register differentiation. In G. Perren, & J. L. M. Trim (Eds.), Applications of linguistics (pp. 443–452)....
  • van Zeeland, H., & Schmitt, N. (2013). Lexical coverage in L1 and L2 listening comprehension: The same or different from reading comprehension?...
  • Wang, J., Liang, S., & Guang–chun, G. (2008). Establishment of a medical word list. English for Specific Purposes, 27, 442–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2008.05.003.
  • Wingrove, P. (2017. How suitable are TED talks for academic listening? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 30, 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.010.
  • Wu, S. R. (2008). Evaluation of the learning of scientific English in podcasting PCs, MP3s, and MP4s Scenarios. In Singhal, M., Seruguendo,...
  • Ye, Y. (2020). EAP for undergraduate science and engineering students in an EFL context: What should we teach? Ampersand, 7, 100065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2020.100065.
  • Ye, Y. (2021). From abstracts to "60–second science" podcasts: reformulation of scientific discourse. Journal of English for Academic...
  • Zhang, X. (2022). Are TED talks suitable materials for humanities specialised vocabulary learning? International Journal of Linguistics, Literature...