A lexical analysis in the written discourse of semi-technical vocabulary in psychology : an ESP pedagogic perspective

Abstract

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has received greater attention than general English from curriculum experts and materials designers in view of the specificity of the work. In the area of ESP, vocabulary development has also received special emphasis, particularly in terms of semi-technical vocabulary. A review of the literature indicates a much needed investigation on semi technical vocabulary in introductory psychology written discourse. This study was undertaken to examine semi technical vocabulary in introductory psychology texts and provide a pedagogical framework in designing an ESP course for psychology students using semi-technical vocabulary. A combined framework of Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) of semi technical vocabulary and Widdowson (1983) framework of designing an ESP course, and the framework of McEnery and Wilson (2001) of using corpora to provide specific materials for language learning and teaching were utilized for the purpose of this study. A qualitative study was conducted on a sample of 30 students with three lecturers from the department of Psychology, of a public institution of higher learning in India. A variety of qualitative tools were employed for eliciting information, namely, discourse analysis of the authentic writing samples of the students, content analysis by language and psychology experts, and text analysis of the authentic psychology textbook used by the students and teachers. The data obtained highlights the semitechnical vocabulary from the written discourse of psychology. The discourse and content analysis findings reveal the semi-technical vocabulary used by the students and the understanding of the students of those words. The text analysis findings reveal the semi-technical vocabulary list according to the frequency of its occurrence in the text obtained by a word count and frequency statistics software. Based on the findings of the study, a pedagogical framework is recommended for designing lexical syllabus using semi-technical vocabulary for psychology students. The framework includes the approach for the lexical course, the syllabus organization, the frequency and range of the words, teaching methods, scope and sequence, and the assessment method for lexical based ESP syllabus using semi-technical vocabulary. The proposed lexical course addresses the immediate needs and interest of the ESP teachers in designing the course, while keeping in mind the course organization, teaching methods and content organization for the vocabulary needs of the students because of its relevance to their specialization and English language.