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Bridging the vocabulary gap for English as an Additional Language learners: Establishing an EAL word list

Research Project

Project/Area Number 17K03035
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Research Field Foreign language education
Research InstitutionKwansei Gakuin University (2019)
Doshisha University (2017-2018)

Principal Investigator

Brooks Gavin  関西学院大学, 総合政策学部, 講師 (10610818)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) CLENTON JONATHAN  広島大学, 総合科学研究科, 准教授 (80762434)
Project Period (FY) 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
KeywordsEAL / Vocabulary / Applied Linguistics / Assessment / vocabulary knowledge / vocabulary assessment / International Schools / International School / 英語
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigated the academic and reading comprehension challenges faced by English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners. Over the past few years of this study, we have examined a participant group of 178 students (136 EAL, and 52 First Language English (FLE)) learners at the middle school and high school level studying at two different international school in Japan. We assessed the participants according to four factors shown to influence reading comprehension: vocabulary knowledge, word decoding skills, reading fluency, and general linguistic ability. Our results show that differences in vocabulary knowledge illustrate more variance in reading comprehension scores and academic proficiency, highlighting the importance of vocabulary knowledge, especially important for EAL learners. We also complied a corpus of academic texts that this group of students would likely to encounter in their academic studies to address these issues.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

These results have a significant implication for the teaching and assessment of EAL learners. By highlighting the challenges EAL learners face with regards to vocabulary, we hope that this study will make it easier to both assess and provide EAL learners with the support they require.

Report

(4 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (12 results)

All 2020 2019 2018 2017

All Presentation (12 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 12 results)

  • [Presentation] Assessing Young English Language Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge: The Importance of Domain Specific Assessments2020

    • Author(s)
      Jon Clenton, Gavin Brooks
    • Organizer
      First Hawaii International Conference on English Language and Literature Studies (HICELLS 2020), University of Hawaii, Hilo Campus, Hawaii, USA
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Exploring the Importance of the Vocabulary for English as an Additional Language Learners' Reading Comprehension2019

    • Author(s)
      Gavin Brooks, Jon Clenton
    • Organizer
      The 12th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB12), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Investigating EAL learner performance influences: The importance of vocabulary for reading comprehension2019

    • Author(s)
      Jon Clenton, Gavin Brooks
    • Organizer
      European Second Language Association (EuroSLA) Conference 2019, Lund University, Lund, Sweeden
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Creating an EAL Word List: Bridging the Gaps in EAL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge (Poster Presentation)2019

    • Author(s)
      Gavin Brooks, Jon Clenton
    • Organizer
      Capturing and Quantifying Individual Differences in Bilingualism, University of Tromso the Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Exploring the Vocabulary Gap: The Importance of Vocabulary for English as an Additional Language Learners’ Reading Comprehension2019

    • Author(s)
      Gavin Brooks, Jon Clenton
    • Organizer
      Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education (SCRELE) First Biennial Conference, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Bridging the Vocabulary Gap for Learners of English as an Additional Language2018

    • Author(s)
      Brooks, G. & Clenton, J.
    • Organizer
      20th International Congress of Linguists, Cape Town
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] A Rasch-Based Analysis of a Bilingual Vocabulary Levels Test2018

    • Author(s)
      Brooks, G.
    • Organizer
      The 57th JACET International Convention, Tohuku Gakuin University, Sendai, Japan.
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Understanding the Importance of Vocabulary for English as an Additional Language Learners2018

    • Author(s)
      Brooks, G. & Clenton, J.
    • Organizer
      The 5th International Conference of the Asian Association for Language Assessment, Regal Shanghai East Asia Hotel, Shanghai, China.
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] ELLs’ Vocabulary Needs and the Creation of an ELL Specific Word List2018

    • Author(s)
      Brooks, G. & Clenton, J.
    • Organizer
      AAAL 2019, Sheraton Downtown Atlanta, Atlanta, USA.
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Exploring the Reliability and Predictive Power of ELL Assessment Tools2018

    • Author(s)
      Brooks, G. & Clenton, J.
    • Organizer
      TESOL 2019 Conference, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, USA.
    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Understanding the Importance of Vocabulary for English as an Additional Language Learners2018

    • Author(s)
      Gavin Brooks, Jon Clenton
    • Organizer
      AAAL 2018 Conference
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] A Rasch-Based Analysis of a Vocabulary Levels Test2017

    • Author(s)
      Gavin Brooks
    • Organizer
      JALT2017 Annual Conference
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research

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Published: 2017-04-28   Modified: 2021-02-19  

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