How much vocabulary is needed touse a concordance?

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver James Ballance ◽  
Averil Coxhead

Abstract Vocabulary load is a predictor of comprehension and a common concern in relation to learner use of concordances; however, vocabulary load figures for whole texts have limited relevance to learner use of concordances. This paper explores the average vocabulary load of the citations (or lines) in a concordance, reflecting how learners use concordances as reading or reference resources. Non-parametric tests are used to compare the vocabulary loads of citations from three authentic written corpora and a corpus of graded readers. The results indicate that citations from authentic corpora have an average vocabulary load of 4,000–5,000 word families, there are reliable differences in vocabulary load between citations from different corpora, and the magnitude of difference between citations from authentic corpora can be equivalent to the magnitude of difference between authentic corpora and graded reader corpora. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results in relation to language learner use of concordances.

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Schmitt ◽  
Diane Schmitt

The high-frequency vocabulary of English has traditionally been thought to consist of the 2,000 most frequent word families, and low-frequency vocabulary as that beyond the 10,000 frequency level. This paper argues that these boundaries should be reassessed on pedagogic grounds. Based on a number of perspectives (including frequency and acquisition studies, the amount of vocabulary necessary for English usage, the range of graded readers, and dictionary defining vocabulary), we argue that high-frequency English vocabulary should include the most frequent 3,000 word families. We also propose that the low-frequency vocabulary boundary should be lowered to the 9,000 level, on the basis that 8–9,000 word families are sufficient to provide the lexical resources necessary to be able to read a wide range of authentic texts (Nation 2006). We label the vocabulary between high-frequency (3,000) and low-frequency (9,000+) as mid-frequency vocabulary. We illustrate the necessity of mid-frequency vocabulary for proficient language use, and make some initial suggestions for research addressing the pedagogical challenge raised by mid-frequency vocabulary.


ASHA Leader ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-65
Author(s):  
King Kwok

A graduate student who is an English-language learner devises strategies to meet the challenges of providing speech-language treatment.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Beitz
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Suman Debnath ◽  
Anirban Banik ◽  
Tarun Kanti Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Mrinmoy Majumder ◽  
Apu Kumar Saha

2017 ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
A. A. Ermakova ◽  
O. Yu. Borodin ◽  
M. Yu. Sannikov ◽  
S. D. Koval ◽  
V. Yu. Usov

Purpose: to investigate the diagnostic opportunities of contrast  magnetic resonance imaging with the effect of magnetization transfer effect in the diagnosis of focal metastatic lesions in the brain.Materials and methods.Images of contrast MRI of the brain of 16  patients (mean age 49 ± 18.5 years) were analysed. Diagnosis of  the direction is focal brain lesion. All MRI studies were carried out  using the Toshiba Titan Octave with magnetic field of 1.5 T. The  contrast agent is “Magnevist” at concentration of 0.2 ml/kg was  used. After contrasting process two T1-weighted studies were  performed: without T1-SE magnetization transfer with parameters of pulse: TR = 540 ms, TE = 12 ms, DFOV = 24 sm, MX = 320 × 224  and with magnetization transfer – T1-SE-MTC with parameters of pulse: ΔF = −210 Hz, FA(МТС) = 600°, TR = 700 ms, TE = 10 ms,  DFOV = 23.9 sm, MX = 320 x 224. For each detected metastatic  lesion, a contrast-to-brain ratio (CBR) was calculated. Comparative  analysis of CBR values was carried out using a non-parametric  Wilcoxon test at a significance level p < 0.05. To evaluate the  sensitivity and specificity of the techniques in the detection of  metastatic foci (T1-SE and T1-SE-MTC), ROC analysis was used. The sample is divided into groups: 1 group is foci ≤5 mm in size, 2  group is foci from 6 to 10 mm, and 3 group is foci >10 mm. Results.Comparative analysis of CBR using non-parametric Wilcoxon test showed that the values of the CBR on T1-weighted  images with magnetization transfer are significantly higher (p  <0.001) that on T1-weighted images without magnetization transfer. According to the results of the ROC analysis, sensitivity in detecting  metastases (n = 90) in the brain on T1-SE-MTC and T1-SE was  91.7% and 81.6%, specificity was 100% and 97.6%, respectively.  The accuracy of the T1-SE-MTC is 10% higher in comparison with  the technique without magnetization transfer. Significant differences (p < 0.01) between the size of the foci detected in post-contrast T1- weighted images with magnetization transfer and in post-contrast  T1-weighted images without magnetization transfer, in particular for  foci ≤5 mm in size, were found. Conclusions1. Comparative analysis of CBR showed significant (p < 0.001)  increase of contrast between metastatic lesion and white matter on  T1-SE-MTC in comparison with T1-SE.2. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the magnetization transfer program (T1-SE-MTC) in detecting foci of  metastatic lesions in the brain is significantly higher (p < 0.01), relative to T1-SE.3. The T1-SE-MTC program allows detecting more foci in comparison with T1-SE, in particular foci of ≤5 mm (96% and 86%, respectively, with p < 0.05).


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