Philip Riccobono
Himeji Dokkyo University
Philip S. Riccobono is a lecturer of English at Himeji Dokkyo University and a professional baseball scout. He is the author of Triangulating Diamond Talk: Identifying Technical Spoken Vocabulary in English For Baseball Purposes. His work has appeared in such publications as Journal of English for Specific Purposes at Tertiary Level, STEM Journal. Philip has served as a language consultant for professional baseball teams in Japan and South Korea. Originally from the United States, he lives in Kobe, Japan.
Sessions
Academic Vocabulary Acquisition: EFL-ESL Variations
Academic Vocabulary Acquisition (AVA) represents a major concern in ESL and EFL contexts (Cox, 2013; Nation, 2012). However, a gap in AVA research between and within English as Second Language (ESL) and English as Foreign Language (EFL) university cohorts still exists. Thus, this pilot study examines variances in academic vocabulary acquisition utilizing Stoeckel and Bennett’s (2015) New Academic Word List (NAWL). During the Spring 2019 semester, the researchers administered Stoeckel and Bennett’s (2015) New Academic Word List Test (NAWLT) as pre and posttest to evaluate AVA variations amongst ELLs at a national university in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan (n= 261) and an intensive English language program at a state university in Nevada, USA (n= 53). Results highlighted statistically significant differences (p < .05) from pre to posttest between and within ESL and EFL cohorts in motivation, length of self-study, between different modality (e.g. reading versus speaking/listening), English usage outside of the classroom, and future career goals. This study suggests concrete pedagogical implications for EFL/ESL practitioners and researchers focusing on academic vocabulary acquisition.