EFL textbooks for young learners: a comparative analysis of vocabulary

Figures & data

Table 1. Number of tokens and types in corpora and sub-corpora

	Tokens	Types
Good Stuff	41,033	3,186
Good Stuff 4	9,500	1,293
Good Stuff 5	13,916	1,658
Good Stuff A	17,617	2,126
New Champion	26,428	2,344
New Champion 4	5,758	797
New Champion 5	9,678	1,402
New Champion 6	10,992	1,758

Table 2. Adjective type frequencies in percentage of the total number of adjective types

	1 time	2–4 times	Sum 1–4 times	5–12 times	>12 times
GS4	43.2	38.1	81.3	15.5	3.2
GS5	44.3	34.7	79.0	17.4	3.6
GSA	44.8	31.9	76.7	18.8	4.5
NC4	43.9	33.3	77.2	20.3	2.5
NC5	42.9	39.1	82.0	15.8	2.2
NC6	58.6	31.3	89.9	8.0	2.1

GS, Good Stuff; NC, New Champion.

Table 3. Noun type frequencies in percentage of the total number of noun types

	1 time	2–4 times	Sum 1–4 times	5–12 times	>12 times
GS4	45.6	37.9	83.5	13.0	3.5
GS5	49.1	34.1	83.2	13.7	3.1
GSA	47.3	31.4	78.7	15.5	5.8
NC4	51.0	38.1	89.1	9.8	1.1
NC5	48.0	34.2	82.2	15.6	2.2
NC6	51.6	35.7	87.3	10.7	2.0

Table 4. Verb type frequencies in percentage of the total number of verb types

	1 time	2–4 times	Sum 1–4 times	5–12 times	>12 times
GS4	38.8	31.9	70.7	17.3	12.0
GS5	37.7	29.4	67.1	19.9	13.0
GSA	40.6	27.1	67.7	19.7	12.6
NC4	36.4	33.3	69.7	22.0	8.3
NC5	38.3	36.6	74.9	15.2	9.9
NC6	45.9	30.4	76.3	15.2	8.5

Table 5. Percentage of recycled word types within each set of teaching materials

	Occurrence in one book		Occurrence in two books		Occurrence in three books
	GS	NC	GS	NC	GS	NC
Adjectives	62.2	62.0	19.5	16.7	18.3	21.3
Nouns	64.9	70.6	19.8	19.3	15.3	10.1
Verbs	51.7	49.2	20.2	25.0	28.0	25.8
Total mean	59.6	60.6	19.8	20.3	20.5	19.1

Table 6. Percentage of word types within and outside the two 1,000-word bands in the GSL

	First 1,000		Second 1,000		Not in list
	GS	NC	GS	NC	GS	NC
Adjectives	36.03	41.03	25.64	27.35	38.33	31.62
Nouns	29.37	35.59	22.70	23.49	47.93	40.92
Verbs	45.84	53.63	28.40	26.32	25.76	20.05

GSL, General Service List of English Words

Adjectives with a frequency of at least 13 tokens. The exact number of tokens is given in brackets. Words in the same cell have the same number of tokens.

GS4	GS5	GSA	NC4	NC5	NC6
Good (32)	Big (37)	Good (65)	Good (29)	Good (29)	Old (39)
Little, red (28)	Good (32)	Big (58)	Nice (16)	Old (24)	Good (27)
Big (20)	Little (28)	Old (28)	Big (14)	Big (23)	Big (16)
White (13)	Old (26)	Small (25)	Right (13)	Nice (14)	Nice (15)
	Happy, new (23)	Bad (22)			Long (13)
	Hot (18)	Long (19)
	Great (13)	Little, strange (18)
		Black (15)
		Red (14)
		Dead, great, nice (13)

Nouns with a frequency of at least 13 tokens. The exact number of tokens is given in brackets. Words in the same cell have the same number of tokens.

GS4	GS5	GSA	NC4	NC5	NC6
Dad (48)	Mum/mom (44)	People (63)	Mum (41)	Dad (59)	Chapter (33)
Mum/mom (38)	People (43)	Man (57)	Dad (33)	Chapter (31)	Woman (31)
Day (36)	Day (40)	Dragon (42)	Chapter (31)	Mum (25)	Day, time (29)
dog (29)	Dad (38)	Day (41)	Morning (18)	Time (23)	Text (27)
Friend (25)	Man (32)	Food, snake (36)		People (20)	People (26)
Bed, name (23)	Friend (30)	Friend (35)		Day (18)	Girl (21)
Time (21)	Time, wolf (26)	Mum (33)		Girl (17)	Hand, thing (19)
Doctor (20)	Honey (24)	Time (31)		Room (15)	Dad (16)
Monkey (19)	Film (19)	Witch (29)		Dolphin, year (14)	Year (15)
Summer, week (18)	Australia, hand, zoo (17)	Dad, water, year (28)		Man (13)	Door, name, shop assistant (13)
School (16)	Life, school (15)	Animal (26)
Fish (15)		Pirate, story (25)
		Woman (24)
		Assistant (23)
		Boy, home (22)
		Human (21)
		Clothes, thing (20)
		Cane toad, child, school, world (19)
		Country, door, house, name (18)
		Fire, narrator, soldier, way (17)
		Hand, ship (16)
		Christmas, head, night (15)

Verbs with a frequency of at least 13 tokens. The exact number of tokens is givenin brackets. Words in the same cell have the same number of tokens.

GS4	GS5	GSA	NC4	NC5	NC6
Be (438)	Be (609)	Be (811)	Be (337)	Be (438)	Be (427)
Like (83)	Say (70)	Have (108)	Get (41)	Look (59)	Get (52)
Go (68)	Get (64)	Go, say (70)	See (35)	See (45)	Go (50)
WANT (55)	Go (63)	Look (68)	Go (24)	Get (41)	See (41)
come (54)	See (60)	Know (58)	Have (22)	Go, say (36)	Have (40)
Get (52)	Look (55)	Want (56)	Know, look (21)	Take (35)	Know (38)
Say (47)	Know, have (50)	Come, think (55)	Like (20)	Want (34)	Say (37)
Love (41)	Do (47)	See (50)	Think (14)	Come, have (30)	Do (30)
Have (40)	Want (46)	Take (48)		Think (28)	Want (28)
Know, see (27)	Take (41)	Eat, get (45)		Make (21)	Look, take (24)
Live (26)	Come (34)	Do (40)		Do, know (20)	Call, think (20)
Jump (24)	Think, walk (30)	Make (39)		Let (18)	Make, mean (18)
Call, let (22)	Learn (28)	Live (37)		Start (17)	Start (17)
Look, play (21)	Play (26)	Like (35)		Find (16)	Feel, like (16)
Wear (20)	Eat, run (24)	Call, put (34)		Call, walk (15)	Ask, give (15)
Need (18)	Make (23)	Tell (33)		Stop, watch (14)	Come, try (14)
Think (16)	Like (22)	Find (28)		Hear (13)	Play (13)
Make, take (15)	Hear, live, try (20)	Walk (27)
Eat (14)	Stop (19)	Run (26)
	Ask, fall, find, sit (18)	Try (23)
	Start (17)	Fly, give (22)
	Love, watch (16)	Hear (21)
	Call (15)	Kill (19)
	Put (14)	Help, lovestart (18)
	Hold, need, shout, stand, talk (13)	Fight, jump,talk, work (17)
		Believe, sit (16)
		Bring (15)
		Climb, mean, throw (14)
		Become, die, happen, leave, move (13)