CHEMISTRY EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2003, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 233-247	RESEARCH REPORT (EMPIRICAL STUDY) Methods and issues of teaching and learning

Peter E. CHILDS¹ and Finbar J. O’FARRELL^2
1 University of Limerick, Department of Chemical & Environmental Sciences
² International School of Düsseldorf, Niederrheinstrasse 336, D-40489, Düsseldorf, Germany

LEARNING SCIENCE THROUGH ENGLISH: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE VOCABULARY SKILLS OF NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a study carried out at nine international schools in Europe and Asia, to investigate the command of non-technical vocabulary amongst native and non-native speakers of English. A total of 758 pupils participated in the study. Data were collected using multiple-choice tests designed and administered in the early 1980s in a large sample of schools in Great Britain to test secondary school pupil’s command of ninety difficult non-technical terms. In this paper, our data are compared with the British sample and the findings are set in the context of theories relating to English as a Second Language (ESL) learning. Non-native speakers attending the schools in the study sample show a deficit in their command of non-technical vocabulary, compared to their native speaking counterparts, amounting to about two years at each grade level tested. Native speakers surpass or equal their counterparts in the original British study. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.: 2003, 4, 233-247]

KEY WORDS: vocabulary skills; scientific literacy; non-technical terms; English as a Second Language; International schools; second language learners; science education

CORRESPONDENCE: Peter E. CHILDS, University of Limerick, Department of Chemical & Environmental Sciences, Limerick , Ireland; e-mail: peter.childs@ul.ie

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