Short Research Papers,

Vocabulary Learning for Japanese
Chemists

Leigh McDowell
Nara Institute of Science and Technology
This study explores vocabulary learning in an ESP context. Given the vast amounts ofresearch and knowledge accumulated now in vocabulary learning and teaching, thechallenge for educators is often how best to impart this knowledge to learners. This paper,originally presented at the 2019 JALT CUE & BizCom ESP Symposium, offers an overview
of vocabulary learning research with a view towards supporting Japanese chemists in theirefforts to master their professional language; specifically, those working and engaged inresearch in their field.

English is now well-established as the lingua-franca across a broad range ofprofessions throughout the world, facilitating information exchange andcommunication on an unprecedented scale (Crystal, 2003; Kirkpatrick, 2007;
Ronen, et al., 2014). One domain where this is immediately apparent is within thephysical sciences; for example, the field of chemistry (Bornmann, Schier, Marx,& Daniel, 2012; Flowerdew, 2013). As a point of illustration, Ulrich's Periodicals
Directory—accessible online as Ulrichsweb—is a comprehensive global sourceof bibliographic and journal information that has been indexing academic andother periodicals over a broad range of languages since the 1930s. A search ofthis resource highlights the utility of English compared to Japanese in the field ofchemistry. By performing an advanced search and limiting results as listed below(Table 1), a total of 3,047 publications are returned.
However, the same search using Japanese instead of English returns only 451(Serial Solutions, 2019). As this search demonstrates, the use of English enables
Japanese chemists to access a much larger and far-reaching body of knowledge
within their field than is possible in their native language. However, this use of99

McDowell
Table 1
Advanced Search Results from Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Status:ActiveSerial Type:

JournalContent Type:

Academic/Scholarly

Subject Area:

Chemistry

Key Feature:

Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Language:

EnglishEnglish as a professional language presents significant challenges.
Among the various issues Japanese scientists face in using English as aprofessional language, vocabulary learning plays a perennial role. This paper
explores the research on vocabulary learning from an ESP perspective, specificallyfocusing on four major vocabulary groups: high-frequency words, low-frequency
words, technical words, and sub-technical words (Nation, 2013). It begins withan overview of how many words are needed to be an effective communicator in
English.

How many words?

Research indicates that native English speakers know around 20,000 words by
the time they finish high school (Goulden, Nation, & Read, 1990). That numberof words can be daunting for speakers of English as an additional language(herein, EAL users); however, fortunately, other research shows that EAL users
can understand fluent English conversation with around 6,000–7,000 words(Nation, 2006). This presents a much more realistic goal for EAL users. In
order to ascertain where a learner is in relation to this goal, there is a reliable
test freely available online: https://my.vocabularysize.com. The test is based on
Paul Nation's Vocabulary Size Test, which is a well-established, reliable measureof vocabulary size (Beglar, 2010; Nation & Beglar, 2007).
By recommending learners to take this test, which is easily accessible andfreely available online, it is immediately apparent where they stand in relation
100Vocabulary Learning for Japanese Chemists, OCJSI 2, pages 99-106

to this initial vocabulary goal of 6,000–7,000 words. But then the question
remains: Which words do they need to know?

High-Frequency Words

Not all words are equal, and some English words are used much more frequently
than others. Corpus research provides us with a list of around 2,800 highfrequency words, called the New General Service List (NGSL), which coveraround 92% of most general English texts (e.g. newspapers, novels, everyday
spoken conversations, etc.; Browne, 2014). Figure 1 illustrates the coverage of theNGSL in a short, general English text.
Generally speaking, Japanese chemists typically have a firm grasp of thesehigh-frequency words, having typically progressed through nine years of formal
language learning in secondary school and university, and often with additional
graduate studies (Mclean, Hogg, & Rush, 2014) . As such, the NGSL will notpresent good value for learning time; however, for early-career chemists, it may
be worthwhile measuring their vocabulary size to ensure that they have alreadycrossed this threshold.

Low-Frequency Words

If a word is not a high-frequency word, it can be considered a low-frequency
word. Although there is an enormous number of low-frequency words—
possibly more than 100,000—this group of words covers only a relatively small
proportion of English (Goulden, Nation, & Read, 1990). Many of these words,
EAL users will never meet or need, and for this reason, low-frequency words are
best learnt as they are met in context (i.e., not as a list of words). When an EAL

Figure 1. Words highlighted in grey italics are from the New General Service List (NGSL),
words in black are not. Total words: 36; NGSL words: 31 (86%).

101McDowelluser starts to notice a low-frequency word, it is likely because that word is now ofsome importance to them, and therefore a good time to learn it. For this type oflearning, best practices include, for example, repeating the word aloud, looking
it up in a dictionary, and writing it down on a flashcard for later review (Nation,2013).

Technical Words

Within the extraordinarily large group of low-frequency words, there is a subgroup of words that will demand more attention; these are the technical words.
Technical words are low frequency words in general English but used much more
frequently in certain domains. For example, cation, ligand, and isomer are rarely
used in general English and most native English speakers will not know what theymean, but in chemistry these words are common (i.e., relatively high frequency)
and as such, much more likely to be met and learnt by Japanese chemists. Research
indicates that in some fields, technical words can account for more than 30%of the English used (Chung & Nation, 2003). Figure 2 illustrates how heavily
technical words feature in chemistry.
Due to the relatively high saliency and frequency of technical words, theirintegral role within the field, and the prevalence of katakana versions, thesewords tend to be readily recognized and learnt by Japanese chemists, and as such,Figure 2. Text highlighting technical words (in grey italics). Total words: 75; technicalwords: 23 (31%). Reprinted with permission from T. Nakashima, M. Goto, S. Kawai, andT. Kawai.

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Vocabulary Learning for Japanese Chemists, OCJSI 2, pages 99-106

less of a concern for the language teacher. Moreover, given that the concepts thattechnical words denote require highly specialised knowledge, this set of words isbetter left to the content-specialists and Japanese chemists themselves to master.
However, given that many katakana versions may differ importantly from theirEnglish counterparts, it may be prudent for language teachers to spend time
guiding Japanese chemists through pronunciation.

Sub-technical words

Finally, in parallel with the technical words, there is another group of lowfrequency words (in general English) that occur more frequently in certain
domains, referred to as sub-technical words. Unlike technical words, sub-technicalwords do not belong specifically to one field; that is, they are used across a rangeof fields. The New Academic Word List (NAWL)—a group of 960 “academic”
words derived from large-scale corpus-based research—has been demonstrated tocover around 10% of all academic English, including chemistry (Coxhead, 2000;Brown, 2014). The NAWL in order of frequency, including Japanese translations,is freely available on the internet and can be downloaded from the following link:
http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/nawl-new-academic-word-list/. Figure 3
illustrates its coverage of an excerpt from an academic text.
For many Japanese chemists and language teachers alike, this group of words
presents good value for learning or teaching time, as it not only helps scientists

Figure 3. Text highlighting the New Academic Word list (NAWL; in grey italics). Total
words: 63; NAWL words: 10 (15%). Reprinted with permission from P. Fier and J.
Hartwig.

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to de-code the academic register typically employed in research writing, but also
to express their own research at a higher level of sophistication. Moreover, if
Japanese chemists are directly involved in the publication of their work, which
many are, a skillful application of sub-technical words may even help them toconvince reviewers and editors to accept their work for publication.

Conclusion

Vocabulary learning is an ongoing endeavor for most EAL users, including
Japanese chemists. This paper has examined this area of language learning with aview to supporting Japanese chemists in their efforts to master their professional
language. Research in vocabulary learning has identified four distinct groups ofwords; namely, high-frequency words, low-frequency words, technical words,
and sub-technical words. For Japanese chemists striving to master English as
a professional language, and the language teachers that support them, thesegroupings provide an insightful view towards sound vocabulary learning targets.
This study has asserted that while technical words are an integral partof Japanese chemists’ professional language, they do not necessarily demandpriority from language teachers. Much like the group of high-frequency words,
the high saliency and frequency of technical words within the Japanese chemists’daily working lives, combined with the prevalence of katakana versions, makes
them readily learnable with minimal pedagogical intervention from language
teachers. Furthermore, learning the concepts that technical words denote
is a defining aspect of being a chemist, and a task that is typically beyond thelanguage teacher. In contrast, sub-technical words, for example the NAWL,
present good value for teaching and learning effort, as they are a relatively small
group of words that cover a relatively large proportion of the type of English thatJapanese chemists are likely to use in their professional lives (e.g., journal articles,
conference presentations, etc.).

References

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serialssolutions.com/Author bio

Leigh McDowell is an Associate Professor at the Nara Institute of Science andTechnology in Japan, where he teaches research writing, academic presentation anddiscussion skills, and professional communication to graduate students. His researchinterests include English for Research Publication Purposes, Error Analysis, Systemic
Functional Linguistics, and Corpus Linguistics. <leigh-mcdowell@ms.naist.jp>
Received: October 20, 2019
Accepted: September 9, 2020

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