You are here

UCF Digital Collections ยป ETD Collection

THE PROBLEM OF POLYSEMY IN THE FIRST THOUSAND WORDS OF THE GENERAL SERVICE LIST: A CORPUS STUDY OF SECONDARY CHEMISTRY TEXTS

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2008
Abstract/Description:
Vocabulary in a second language is an indispensable building block of all comprehension (Folse, 2006; Nation, 2006). Teachers in content area classes such as science, math, and social studies frequently teach content specific vocabulary, but are not aware of the obstacles that can occur when students do not know the basic words. Word lists such as the General Service List (GSL) were created to assist students and teachers (West, 1953). The GSL does not adequately take into account the high level of polysemy of many common English words, nor has it been updated by genre to reflect specific content domains encountered by secondary science students in today's high stakes classes such as chemistry. This study examines how many words of the first 1000 words of the GSL occurred in the secondary chemistry textbooks sampled, how often the first 1000 words of the GSL were polysemous, and specifically which multiple meanings occurred. A discussion of results includes word tables that list multiple meanings present, example phrases that illustrate the context surrounding the target words, suggestions for a GSL that is genre specific to secondary chemistry textbooks and that is ranked by meaning as well as type, and implications for both vocabulary materials and classroom instruction for ELLs in secondary chemistry classes. Findings are essential to second language (L2) researchers, materials developers, publishers, and teachers.
Title: THE PROBLEM OF POLYSEMY IN THE FIRST THOUSAND WORDS OF THE GENERAL SERVICE LIST: A CORPUS STUDY OF SECONDARY CHEMISTRY TEXTS.
45 views
19 downloads
Name(s): Clemmons, Karina, Author
Sivo, Stephen, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Vocabulary in a second language is an indispensable building block of all comprehension (Folse, 2006; Nation, 2006). Teachers in content area classes such as science, math, and social studies frequently teach content specific vocabulary, but are not aware of the obstacles that can occur when students do not know the basic words. Word lists such as the General Service List (GSL) were created to assist students and teachers (West, 1953). The GSL does not adequately take into account the high level of polysemy of many common English words, nor has it been updated by genre to reflect specific content domains encountered by secondary science students in today's high stakes classes such as chemistry. This study examines how many words of the first 1000 words of the GSL occurred in the secondary chemistry textbooks sampled, how often the first 1000 words of the GSL were polysemous, and specifically which multiple meanings occurred. A discussion of results includes word tables that list multiple meanings present, example phrases that illustrate the context surrounding the target words, suggestions for a GSL that is genre specific to secondary chemistry textbooks and that is ranked by meaning as well as type, and implications for both vocabulary materials and classroom instruction for ELLs in secondary chemistry classes. Findings are essential to second language (L2) researchers, materials developers, publishers, and teachers.
Identifier: CFE0002034 (IID), ucf:47590 (fedora)
Note(s): 2008-05-01
Ed.D.
Education, Department of Educational Studies
Doctorate
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): corpus linguistics
General Service List
polysemy
English Language Learners
vocabulary lists
chemistry textbooks
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002034
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

In Collections