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Are TED Talks Potential Materials for Learning Specialized Vocabulary? A Case of Medical Vocabulary

TED Talks是學習專業詞彙的潛在資源嗎?:以醫學詞彙為例

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Abstract

Specialized vocabulary is essential to second language (L2) students studying English for specific purposes (ESP) because it makes up a great proportion of words in specialized texts. While the potential for learning specialized vocabulary through audiovisual inputs (e.g., TV programs and movies) have been recognized, the potential for learning specialized vocabulary from the widely used audiovisual resource, TED talks, has not been explored. This study thus aims to explore if TED talks can be potential materials for improving students’ knowledge of specialized vocabulary through examining the vocabulary on the Medical Spoken Word List (MSWL) in medicine-related TED talks. Results show that 861 out of the 895 MSWL words (96.2%) occur in the TED talks, and an average of 100 MSWL words appear in a single TED talk, suggesting that students are very likely to encounter much specialized vocabulary when viewing TED talks. Compared to medicine-related TV drama series, another audiovisual resource supportive for learning the MSWL words, the TED talks actually contain a higher density of MSWL words, suggesting that it might be more efficient for students to view TED talks for improving their medical vocabulary. This study also provides pedagogical implications regarding the application of TED talks for ESP instruction.

摘要

專業詞彙對於學習專業英文的學習者而言相當重要, 因為這些詞彙在專業文章中占了相當大的比例。雖然許多研究已認同視聽資源(如:電視節目和電影)於輔助專業詞彙學習上的潛在幫助, 但透過常用的視聽資源-TED Talks學習專業詞彙的可能尚未被探討過。因此, 本研究旨在基於醫學口語詞彙表(MSWL)分析醫學主題相關的TED Talks的專業詞彙涵蓋, 以探討TED Talks是否可能為輔助專業詞彙習得的潛在資源。結果顯示, 在895個MSWL詞彙中, 有861個(96.2%)出現在TED Talks中, 而每個TED Talks中平均會出現100個MSWL詞彙, 這表明學生在觀看TED Talks時很可能會遇到許多專業詞彙。而與另一個有益於MSWL詞彙習得且同為視聽資源的醫學主題電視劇相比, TED Talks中的MSWL詞彙密度更高, 顯示觀看TED Talks在醫學詞彙的學習上可能效率更高。本研究亦提供了關於應用TED Talks於專業英語教學中的相關建議

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  1. English Language Center, Ming Chuan University, Gui Shan District, 5 De Ming Rd, Taoyuan City, 333, Taiwan

    Chen-Yu Liu

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Table 6

Table 6 The 36 MSWL word types not appearing in the medicine-related TED talks
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Liu, CY. Are TED Talks Potential Materials for Learning Specialized Vocabulary? A Case of Medical Vocabulary. English Teaching & Learning 47, 97–118 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-021-00105-2

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