Abstract:

It is argued that grammatical competence is not a sufficient indicator of language competence, and lexis plays a significant role as well. In the case of students learning English for academic purposes (EAP) or specific purposes (ESP), the significance of lexis becomes even more evident but also more challenging. Given their relatively limited exposure to academic contexts, this is likely to put freshman students under heavy pressure. This may lead many to depend more on general word lists when they are required to productively use more specialized vocabulary. With this given importance of lexis for EAP/ESP students, I carried out a study into the development of communication students’ vocabulary knowledge and their use of lexis in a writing examination during their studies at the Communication Department, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE. In this session, I will outline the kind of initiative taken to increase the lexical competence of the students in the experimental group. I will share samples of particular instructional activities and materials with the audience. More specific results of the study related to word forms, spelling mistakes, collocational difficulties etc will be presented, and possible reasons for the difficulties will be discussed. I will also offer suggestions on different ways of promoting EAP/ESP students’ lexical competence with a heavier focus on academic words.

Keywords:

EAP, vocabulary competence, communication.