Mid Sweden University

This study sought to investigate if Swedish upper secondary school students’ vocabulary acquisition were affected by lexical input from a textbook and use of individual vocabulary notebooks. The answer to the following four research questions were sought: “What frequency levels and CEFR levels are represented in the vocabulary taught in the textbook?” “To what extent does the receptive vocabulary knowledge of the group as measured by the VLT change after exposure to the textbook?” “To what extent does the vocabulary production of the group change following exposure to the textbook?” “To what extent did the students benefit from the vocabulary notebooks?” I conducted the investigation and answered the research questions through a longitudinal study that started in August 2020 and ended in March 2021 with a group of students that I taught in a Swedish upper secondary school. The material was analysed in various ways with a particular focus on frequency and CEFR levels and the results indicate that the textbook exposed students to a sufficient amount of mid-frequency and low-frequency vocabulary. In terms of CEFR levels, the textbook presented an opportunity for students to learn how to acquire vocabulary with the help of various strategies for vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, the students’ receptive vocabulary knowledge as measured by the VLT showed a somewhat positive outcome and the group’s vocabulary production improved marginally. The vocabulary notebook did not benefit the students in this study for various reasons: this was due to, for example, lack of motivation. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is likely to have had an impact on the students’ performance. This project has resulted in several ideas for further research. It would be interesting to investigate additional textbooks to see what frequency levels and CEFR levels are represented in them and how they affect students’ vocabulary acquisition and production. Another interesting idea would be to conduct a large quantitative project with Nation’s VLT to explore how frequency levels correspond to, for example, how Swedish upper secondary school teachers assess their students’ lexical proficiency in relation to the knowledge requirements presented by the curriculum. Lastly, I would like to conduct an additional study focused on vocabulary notebooks involving more qualitative aspects to provide further knowledge about their possible usage in Swedish upper secondary school.