The effects of different Chinese high school English textbooks on vocabulary acquisition

Abstract

Textbooks are the main source of learning English for EFL students. Many studies have been carried out on different aspects of textbooks in various countries. In China, there is also some research on the content, vocabulary, and other aspects of textbooks. Since there are many editions of Chinese textbooks that are widely used by students, they are of interest to research. Also, vocabulary as a fundamental element in language learning can affect other language skills. This study investigated the design of vocabulary in three Chinese high school English textbooks from different publishers to evaluate the effect of these textbooks. This study found that the most frequently used 3000 words can cover most words in the textbooks, but the majority of the vocabulary was from the first 1000 words. Besides, vocabulary in textbooks showed poor repetition. Thirdly, textbooks contain many different vocabulary activities which are mainly encouraged by the cognitive strategy. The study concluded that the vocabulary level used in the textbooks is appropriate for the target students but that the vocabulary design is not conducive to students' vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, the study made some suggestions for improving and using the textbooks to address the shortcomings in the textbooks.

Under the Vision of Situated Learning: Analysing the Influence of Educational Video Games on English Vocabulary Retention in Chinese Childrens Second Language Acquisition

“…Although much has been written about video games and English language acquisition [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], not the majority of studies have combined English vocabulary retention and educational video games, except Chen Juan's "The Effect of Educational Games on English Vocabulary Acquisition for Primary School Students in China" [16]. This article also investigated, but it has limitations in some aspects.…”

“…This article also investigated, but it has limitations in some aspects. In terms of research design, Chen proposed to set up two groups of experimental classes, one using game-based method and the other following the routine English teaching according to the traditional teaching mode [16]. Such grouping does not take into account the actual situation of Chinese education.…”

“…For this reason, it is impossible to implement game-based classes in Chinese primary education in reality, making the study less practical. Regarding the participants of the experiment, Chen selected fourth graders who had already learned English for one year [16]. However, the first year of traditional method learning can have an impact on subsequent game method learning studies, making the uncontrollable variables increase and the experimental results inaccurate.…”