Nurturing Academic Vocabulary Knowledge Growth with Learner-Inspired Materials

Abstract

Having knowledge of the meaning and appropriate use of academic vocabulary can be crucial in learnersʼ academic success. However, finding or creating materials to assist academic vocabulary learning that are at an appropriate level and that also stimulate ESL/EFL learners can be a tremendous challenge for teachers. This paper examines the development of a learner-inspired, fictional graded reader series that incorporates (and systematically recycles) all of Coxheadʼs (2000) Academic Word List items. Its implementation in a Japanese medical university EAP course resulted in positive feedback from learners and also substantial academic vocabulary knowledge growth. And despite the potential for generative AI to develop similar learning materials, our experiment using ChatGPT (with a variety of prompt configurations) revealed that it was not able to successfully produce similarly graded reading materials. Thus, teachers may still have an important role as moderators in managing generative AIʼs output of learning materials.