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Frontiers in Educational Research, 2023, 6(3); doi: 10.25236/FER.2023.060310.

The Comparison and Analysis of Vocabulary between Two Sets of English Course Books for Senior High School

Author(s)

Zhou Ying

Corresponding Author:
Zhou Ying
Affiliation(s)

Man Zhouli Russian Vocational College, Man Zhouli, Inner Mongolia, 021400, China

Abstract

The development of course book is closely connected with the development of vocabulary. The research of vocabulary is limited by the research of vocabulary width and depth. Vocabulary width is the research of the investigation of vocabulary size, while the latter points to the learners mastering of vocabulary quantity and their master degree. This paper is a reference study mainly under the research of vocabulary width. With the help of Rang-BNC and the AntConc software, the author aims to make a comparison and analysis between Senior High English for China (SEFC) and New Standard English (NSE) both used by students from Grade10 to Grade 11 students, and find out: (1) What is the vocabulary difficulty in each set of course book; (2) What is the cultural tendency of the two sets of course books through the analysis of some special words. Meanwhile, with the help of P. Nation’s Vocabulary Size Test, taken by the 160 students from Grade11 coming from Tianjin Shuanggang Middle School, the author aims to find out: (3) whether the vocabulary difficulty of NSE is coinciding with the students’ actual vocabulary level. And the main findings are: (1) the vocabulary quantity included in both two sets of course books are far higher than that required by the new English curriculum. The vocabulary quantity of senior high school students required by New English Curriculum is 3000, while the vocabulary quantity of SEFC used only by students from Grade10 and Grade11 is 3423, and data of NSE is far higher, 4198; (2) the vocabulary difficulty in NSE is more difficult than that in SEFC; (3) the consistency of vocabulary difficulty from book to book is generally coinciding with the students’ vocabulary cognitive level, but they still have their own disadvantages; (4) the students’ actual vocabulary level is basically coinciding with the vocabulary difficulty of NSE they are using; (5) both of the two sets of course books pay more attention to our Chinese native culture. The author hopes that this thesis will be helpful in the analysis and study of vocabulary in elementary education, and can provide some constructive suggestions for course book compiling, making course books better used in the future.

Keywords

vocabulary difficulty, course book, Range, vocabulary frequency, course book compiling

Cite This Paper

Zhou Ying. The Comparison and Analysis of Vocabulary between Two Sets of English Course Books for Senior High School. Frontiers in Educational Research (2023) Vol. 6, Issue 3: 63-73. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2023.060310.

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