Vocabulary Demands and Learning Opportunities in two EAP Themebooks: A Lexical Profiling Study

In this study, we conducted two lexical profiling analyses to examine vocabulary demands and exposure to academic words in two English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in-house materials called Intermediate and Academic themebooks. Using Nation’s (2017) BNC/COCA word family lists and AntWordProfiler (Anthony, 2021), the first analysis measured lexical coverage, or the number of word families needed to know 95% to 98% of words in the text. Research suggests that readers who know 95% and preferably 98% of the words in a text can comprehend it effectively. The first analysis reveals that the themebooks require knowledge of 3,000-word families for 95% coverage, and up to 5,000 - 6,000 word families for 98% coverage. The second analysis identified the repetition and distribution of pre-selected sets of 105 target academic words in each book. Data indicate that the Intermediate themebook offers better opportunities for consolidating and enriching vocabulary knowledge, with nearly 60% of target words from Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List occurring ten times or more, and over half spread across three or more units. Lexical profiling can therefore guide teachers and textbook writers to adjust and supplement materials so that students read texts at a suitable level, and encounter target vocabulary frequently and across varied contexts.