The lexical profile of the textbook of Spanish Español Moderno 1 from the standpoint of Lexical Availability: possible improvements for vocabulary selection

Abstract

The interest in vocabulary teaching has been revitalized in recent years, as well as lexical selection. In this paper we try to leave proof of this reality by analysing from the standpoint of Lexical Availability the vocabulary included in the most used textbook of Spanish as a Foreign Language for beginners in Mainland China (Español Moderno 1). For that purpose, through different parameters (lexical richness, recurrence, productivity and density), a comparison between the lexical content of the abovementioned coursebook and the available vocabulary of native Spanish-speakers—which represents a thematic ideal of vocabulary—is carried out. In addition, a third element of collating has been incorporated: the available lexicon of Chinese-speaking learners of Spanish, who are direct users of this textbook, so that learners’ lexical needs can be determined and, thus, more can be known about what vocabulary should be added, eliminated or modified. The results show significant qualitative and quantitative shortcomings of the textbook regarding lexical selection and presentation, so there is space to improve the lexical input learners are exposed to.