Research-based Lexical Targets in Education and Teaching Materials
Batia Laufer, University of Haifa
Saturday, September 19 · 14:30–14:55 JST · Session 1
Abstract
Non-native language users operate with significantly limited vocabularies compared to native speakers. This reality presents fundamental challenges for school education regarding the required lexical targets and their implementation in teaching materials.
Textbook design is particularly critical, as textbooks serve as the primary medium through which lexical items are introduced, practiced, and recycled. Ideally, they should align closely with the lexical targets established by educational systems. Yet research across multiple contexts reveals persistent problems: textbooks often lack clear vocabulary selection criteria, fail to match learners' proficiency levels, provide inadequate recycling of lexical items, and do not appear to be grounded in research-based principles (Antes, 2025; Bergström et al., 2025; Biseko, 2025; Brown, 2011; Konstantakis & Alexiou, 2012; López-Jiménez, 2014; Sun & Dang, 2020).
This presentation demonstrates how empirical research on vocabulary learning has informed the principled construction of a lexical syllabus for elementary and secondary education, subsequently implemented in school textbooks. The syllabus incorporates key research findings regarding: the amount of lexis necessary for performing language tasks; type of words necessary for such performance; distinctions between receptive and productive knowledge; relationships between proficiency levels and word counting units; L1 influence; multiple word meanings; the importance and acquisition of multi-word units. The implementation of the lexical syllabus in the textbooks has been informed by research findings regarding effects of repeated exposures, spacing, and recycling; and optimal types of vocabulary activities (Laufer, 2020; Nakata, 2015; Nation, 2015).
The result is a set of uniform, country-wide word lists spanning Grades 4-12 (CEFR Pre-A1 to B2), with all target words systematically integrated into level-appropriate textbooks through both texts and exercises. I examine the interface between research and policy-making, illustrating how accessible, sound research evidence can inform effective educational decision-making.
References
Antes, T. A. (2025). Addressing the vocabulary learning burden in L2 French: Factors guiding vocabulary selection in French textbooks. Foreign Language Annals, 58(3), 649-676
Bergström, D., Norberg, C., & Nordlund, M. (2025). Do textbooks support incidental vocabulary learning?–a corpus-based study of Swedish intermediate EFL materials. Education Inquiry, 16(1), 69–87.
Biseko, J. M. (2025). Vocabulary learning in EFL context: do primary school English Subject textbooks provide structured support? Cogent Education, 12(1), 2455047.
Brown, D. (2011). What aspects of vocabulary knowledge do textbooks give attention to? Language Teaching Research, 15(1), 83-97.
Konstantakis, N., & Alexiou, T. (2012). Vocabulary in Greek young learners' English as a foreign language course books. The Language Learning Journal, 40(1), 35–45.
Laufer, B. (2020). Evaluating Exercises for Learning Vocabulary. In S. Webb (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies (pp. 351-368). Taylor and Francis.
López-Jiménez, M. (2014). A critical analysis of the vocabulary in L2 Spanish textbooks.. Porta Linguarum, 21, 163–181.
Nakata, T. (2015). Effects of expanding and equal spacing on second language vocabulary learning: Does gradually increasing spacing increase vocabulary learning? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(4), 677–711.
Nation, I. S. P. (2015). Principles guiding vocabulary learning through extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 27(1), 136–145.
Sun, Y., & Dang, T. N. Y. (2020). Vocabulary in high-school EFL textbooks: Texts and learner knowledge. System, 93, 102279.