A practical guide to the Swedish L2 lexical profile

Abstract

Vocabulary is a fundamental aspect of any language since without words you cannot communicate, nor learn other aspects of a language, such as grammar or pronunciation. The Swedish L2 profile offers many ways in which researchers can explore the vocabulary which learners can produce and are expected to understand at different proficiency levels. It also provides a foundation for innovative ways of teaching Swedish, for instance, through Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and Data Driven Learning (DDL). In this chapter we show how the lexical part of SweL2P can be used to explore the vocabulary growth of language learners both receptively and productively in a step-by-step overview. Starting from a bird’s eye view of vocabulary in course books and learner essays we show how to zoom in on some specific aspects of vocabulary, choosing adjectives as an example. We use SweL2P to show how adjectives occur in course books and how they appear in learners’ texts – comparing the lexis in both, but also showing the potential to explore the way learners acquire vocabulary more broadly. Finally, we present how results in SweL2P can be easily compared to other Swedish corpora.