Vocabulary analysis of an EFL textbook published in Armenia

Abstract

The current study investigated the vocabulary content of English 7, one of the seventh-grade English textbooks used in the Armenian public schools. The study profiled the vocabulary of the teaching material and investigated the use of multiword units in the textbook by using computer-assisted software The Compleat Lexical Tutor. Twenty-three seventh and twenty-three eighth-grade students’ vocabulary knowledge was measured by conducting a Vocabulary Levels Test. The results of the study revealed the extent to which the vocabulary content of the textbook is relevant to the students’ level of vocabulary knowledge. It showed that ninety percent of the vocabulary content of the textbook constitutes the first few thousand word families. However, the students’ performance on the Vocabulary Levels Test suggested that the content of the textbook would negatively impact their comprehension of the texts. In addition, it was found that there is very limited use of multiword units in the textbook which is mainly distributed throughout the activities and exercises rather than the texts.