Frequency Profiles of EFL Learners’ Lexical Availability

Abstract

In the present study, we propose a complementary approach to the traditional analysis of lexical availability studies by looking at learners’ word responses from the perspective of word frequency. We apply a word frequency framework to data produced by 6th and 8th English as a Foreign Language Learners in Spanish Primary and Secondary schools in response to nine cue words traditionally used in lexical availability studies. The chapter looks at learner profiles according to the number of words produced in the nine semantic domains, and the proportion of infrequent words to frequent words in each domain. The findings are relevant for lexical availability studies as they open a new line of research in the field. They are also relevant for vocabulary research as they question the assumption of a linear pattern of vocabulary acquisition through frequency bands.