The Implementation of Prototypical Content Word Lists to Analyse the Vocabulary Input Contained in English Language Teaching Textbooks

Abstract

Textbooks are considered a crucial pedagogical component in foreign language teaching and learning contexts. However, analyses of the representation of prototypical patterns in the vocabulary input contained in English language teaching (ELT) textbooks have been scarce since, to the best of our knowledge, no prototypical word lists have yet been produced. This study is primarily intended to reveal whether word prototypicality is represented in two EFL learners’ ELT textbooks differing in age and course level, focusing on the 50 most frequent content words and then elaborating preliminary prototypical word lists based on the classification used in the semantic approaches proposed by Dixon (2005) and Viberg (1984). The findings revealed evidence of prototypicality in both textbooks despite the differences in their intended ages and course levels. The results also showed that, according to the type of content words found in each ELT material, there were differences and similarities related to the prototypical terms between the two books. Moreover, prototypical content words referring to concrete and abstract nouns and perception verbs were more common than other types of content words. Furthermore, the findings also indicated that verbs were the most prototypical content words found in both ELT textbooks. This research has two main significant educational implications. The first involves studying semantic prototypes in the EFL learners’ ELT textbooks, which would bring novel and more specific insights into the role prototypical words might play in vocabulary learning in formal contexts. The second refers to how word prototypicality in the vocabulary input of ELT textbooks might be analysed with the use of prototypical content word lists.

Keywords

• semantic prototypes
• vocabulary input
• ELT textbooks
• content words
• prototypical word lists