Second Language Vocabulary Use in an Academic Context

Increasingly English for Academic Purposes programmes aim to enhance vocabulary development through a content-based, integrated skills approach, but how well are learners able to demonstrate knowledge of and use the vocabulary they encounter in the longer term? This book seeks to answer this question by tracking four learners studying on a three-month EAP programme. It investigates the quality and frequency of learners' encounters with unfamiliar vocabulary in reading, listening, writing and speaking tasks. The research focuses on the contribution of four factors to vocabulary acquisition: learner perception, depth of cognitive processing, learning conditions and frequency of exposure. The book discusses the pedagogical and theoretical implications of the findings for teachers, learners and materials writers concerned with vocabulary acquisition in an English for Academic Purposes context.