Research Information System
FOCUS ON ELT JOURNAL, vol.4, no.3, pp.34-45, 2022 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
English-medium instruction (EMI) and English for specific purposes (ESP) go hand
in hand in higher education, and the demand for those has risen significantly over
the last two decades. Studying in an EMI economics program requires a certain level
of language proficiency. In most cases, students in these programs are provided with
additional language support in the form of an ESP program. Mastering in an EMI
economics program challenges students with a number of new and often technical
words. Corpus linguistics is, therefore, one of the great tools to answer the
vocabulary needs of ESP students. While Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List
(AWL) has been a satisfactory source for academic programs, its being too limited
for diverse academic fields has also been criticized. In the current corpus-based
study, two separate field-specific keyword lists – (1) Economics Textbook Keyword
List (ETWL) and (2) the Economist Magazine Keyword List (EMWL) - were created
and the coverage of the AWL in these lists was measured. The correspondence ratio
between the ETWL and the EMWL was also measured and reported by percentages.
In the light of the results, it is argued that the AWL on its own may not be a sufficient
source for students of economics and language given in non-academic authentic
materials should also be placed in corpus and curriculum design. Thus, for the
vocabulary needs of ESP students in an EMI Economics program, it is substantially
important that a keyword list covering both academic and non-academic contexts be
provided.