Changes in High-Frequency Vocabulary Use in Three Writing Tasks

Abstract

This study investigated vocabulary use in writing of 32 first-year Japanese ESL students at a private university in Western Japan. The participants wrote three essays under test conditions across two semesters. The essays were analyzed using VocabProfiler for use of high-frequency vocabulary (the New General Service List). One way repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to determine if changes in usage of these words across the three essays were significant. Results showed that participants statistically significantly used more high-frequency NGSL words in their second essay than their first (16.94 of the most frequent first thousand, 1.96 of the most frequent second thousand). The findings suggest that the first thousand words of the NGSL can be passively acquired. However, learning the second thousand words and beyond requires more direct intervention such as through explicit instruction or more frequent opportunities for use.