Improving the Method to Analyze English Vocabularies Using Computer Software

Abstract

Leaning English vocabularies is essential for acquiring English as a foreign language and the better communications in English. For Japanese teachers of English, it is very important to choose appropriate words and teach them to their students effectively. In this study,the method to analyze English vocabularies using computer software,which had been developed in 2005 by the author, was improved to speed up the process of analyzing English vocabularies. To carry out the analysis with the improved method, a text file sorting tool, spreadsheet software and text editor were used. The Specific goals of this study were (1) to make a character translation file which could be used to convert graphic words into lemmas and assess the efficiency of it, and (2) to examine how much processing time could be shortened by using the improved method. In order to achieve the goal (2), a procedure to make vocabulary lists was developed and three types of analyses were conducted. As a result, (1) using the character translation file developed in this study, 2,442 out of 5,380 graphic words (45.4%) were converted into lemmas automatically, (2) the improved method in this study made it possible to shorten the amount of analysis time remarkably.