Centre for Computational Linguistics: Projects
E.E.T. - Extended English Language Teaching Vocabulary-list
Time Span: 1992 - 1998
Teacher Training Centre of the Faculty of Arts, Department of Linguistics (Applied Linguistics) of the Faculty of Arts, ILT and CLT Language Centres
U. Vanermen, M. Goethals (CCL), L. Sercu, B. van Beckhoven &
L.K. Engels (consultant)
The E.E.T.-project is a thorough update/remake of the
L.E.T.-list (cf. A.D.A.M. & E.V.E.).
The new list distinguishes 9 instead of 4 levels (``sluices''), each
covering about one year of the study of English as a foreign
language. At this stage the basis is the Dutch speaking
learner. We continue to use the clustering principles of the
L.E.T.-list, but the corpora are extended and merged with a
number of other scientific or ``official'' lists and, for the
first two levels, with a large number of textbooks for English
that are widely used in Flanders and the Netherlands. The
(inter)subjective manipulation of the data increases but
remains systematic and will be documented extensively in
reports.
The material will also be (and already partially is) made available in machine readable format
for integration in authoring programs and courseware such as
A.D.A.M. & E.V.E. and C.T.P.
Prepublication (available from the author)
- GOETHALS, M., e.a., E.E.T. Vocabulary-List. European English Teaching Vocabulary-List,
Based on objective frequency combined with criteria-guided subjective word-selection for
learners of EFL in Europe.
Version 1.0-a.(alfabetical per lemma), 49 pp
Version 1.0-b. (lemmata and word forms per ‘range’), 136 pp.
Leuven: K.U.Leuven, Aggregatie Letteren 1996.
Computerprint with frequency data and rankings for the 5000 most important
word groups
(clusters of headwords with derivations) of 'Standard English' (core
vocabulary) on the basis of 17 million words, completed with data from a
number of
other word lists, in five larning levels. A relatively objective criterion
for agreements on learning targets about a minimum vocabulary. A more
didactically oriented
grouping than in the former edition of the L.E.T.-list by L.K. Engels et
al.
This version of the E.E.T.-Vocabulary-list contains
- 10,246 lemmata
- with the 5000 highest ranking morphological word clusters,
- of word forms with frequency values as in the COBUILD data 1987,
- supplemented with a number of clusters considered useful for EFL learners,
- and in which a number of lemmata have been subjectively re-arranged,
- according to a number of criteria and inter-subjective decisions, checking esp.:
- the LET Vocabulary-list,
- the LCL-corpus,
- J. Richards' Familiarity index,
- M. West: General Service list,
- Marzano's word clusters in children's schoolbooks,
- the Council of Europe's Threshold Level,
- the defining vocabulary of LDOCE, COBUILD and CIDE,
- 10 first level and 5 second level EFL textbooks (British, Belgian and Dutch),
- arranged in 5 ranges (sluices) as learning levels:
- here (in version 1.0-a) presented per lemma
- with the corresponding (pedagogically adapted) EET-range, the ‘objective’ range according
to cluster frequency value and the cluster number (rank order according to the total frequency of
the word forms in the cluster),
- for the planning and preparation of EFL learning materials and activities.
Bibliography
The process of arranging the lemmata into learning ranges (how and why) has been described in
a number of articles :
- Engels, L.K.(1968), “The Fallacy of word counts”. IRAL, 10: pp. 213-231.
- Engels, L.K., B. Van Beckhoven, T. Leenders, I. Brasseur (1981), L.E.T.
Vocabulary-list. Leuven English Teaching Vocabulary-list based on objective frequency
combined with subjective word-selection. Leuven: ACCO, 456 pp.
- Engels, L.K., M. Goethals, U. Vanermen, B. Van Beckhoven, T. Leenders (1991), “Didactic
frequency research for English as a Foreign language at the K.U.Leuven”. In: Granger, S.
(ed.), Perspectives on the English Lexicon. A tribute to Jacques Van Roey.
Louvain-la-Neuve: Cahiers de l’Institut de Linguistique de Louvain 17.1-3, pp. 269-280.
- van Ek, J.A., Trim, J.L.M.(1991), Threshold Level 1990 , Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press
- Goethals, M. (1992), “COBUILD, BNC, LET, LCL, Marzano and the others. Forging an
instrument for vocabulary learning/teaching from word frequency counts, word clusters
and other types of vocabulary lists”. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 97-98: pp.121-158.
- Goethals, M. (1994), “Vocabulary management in foreign language teaching and learning.
The concept of vocabulary management and a case study into EFL teachers’ selection of
target vocabulary from an authentic text”. In: Carlon, K., K. Davidse, B. Rudzka-Ostyn,
Perspectives on English. Leuven: Peeters, pp.484-506.
- Goethals, M., L.K. Engels, T. Leenders (1990), “Automated analysis of the vocabulary of
English texts and generation of practice materials: from main frame to PC, the way to the
teacher’s electronic desk”. In: Halliday, M.A.K., J. Gibbons, N. Howard (eds.),
Learning, Keeping and Using Languages, Vol. II, Selected papers from the 8th
World Congress of Applied Linguistics, Sydney, August 1987, pp. 231-268.
- Marzano, R.J., J.S. Marzano (1988), A Cluster Approach. Newark (Delaware):
International Reading Association.
- Richards, J.C. (1971) “Word familiarity as an index of vocabulary selection with indices for
4495 words”. PhD dissertation, Université de Laval, Canada (unpublished ms.)
- West, M. (1953), A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman
EET Project Team:
- Initiator and initial supervisor:
- Leopold K. Engels
- Project managers :
- Michaël Goethals, Urbaan Vanermen
- Editor:
- Michaël Goethals
- Team members:
- Bea Van Beckhoven, Lies Sercu, Lut Baten and colleagues of the ILT and CLT Language Centres
- Programming:
- Theo Leenders
- Database support and reports:
- DIV, Faculty of Arts (Fred Truyen, Ivo Jossart)
- Student help:
- Stefan Couchuyt, Els Veurink, Trijn Van den Eynde, Gert Troch
- Funding:
- Teacher Training Centre of the Faculty of Arts,
Department of Linguistics (Applied Linguistics) of the Faculty of Arts,
ILT and CLT Language Centres
CCL
Layout:
webmaster@ccl.kuleuven.ac.be
Information Provider: Centrum voor Computerlinguïstiek
Comments to the Author:
Michael.Goethals@arts.kuleuven.ac.be
(C) Copyright 1996, CCL.
All Rights Reserved.