Vocabulary plays a significant role in language learning and language development. It is important to acquire sufficient vocabulary to ensure effective communication. Some studies show the efficiency of narrow reading for general and academic vocabulary learning, but fewer studies investigate the effects of narrow reading on technical vocabulary, such as Business English vocabulary. This study aimed to investigate Business English vocabulary acquisition through theme-based narrow reading. The main purpose of this study was to fill the literature gap on learning Business English vocabulary through narrow reading, thereby contributing to the broader field of second language acquisition. This study employed a one-group quasi-experimental design and utilized purposive sampling to recruit twenty-five Chinese first-year students majoring in Business English, together with one Business English teacher as an instructor. This study covered quantitative and qualitative data, but this article only focuses on the quantitative part. The findings showed that students performed better in vocabulary recognition than in vocabulary mastery during the narrow reading process, and their overall performance fluctuated. However, they made significant progress after the narrow reading training. The findings indicated that narrow reading significantly improved participants’ Business English vocabulary acquisition. This study will be beneficial to English learners, teachers, vocabulary researchers, reading material designers, and curriculum developers. For future studies in this field, researchers can use more groups in the experimental designs to investigate other variables of narrow reading on other branches of technical vocabulary. Besides, narrow reading can be explored more using other research methods on technical vocabulary acquisition.

Cite as:

Wu, C., Sulaiman, N. A., Wahi, W. & Azmuddin, R. A. (2026). The Effects of Theme-Based Narrow Reading on Business English Vocabulary Acquisition among Chinese EFL College Students. Arab World English Journal, 17(3): 296-312

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol17no3.16

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Keywords

Business English vocabulary, Chinese EFL college students, narrow reading, technical vocabulary, vocabulary acquisition

About the author

Chunlian Wu is a PhD student at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interests include vocabulary acquisition, narrow reading and Business English. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1116-4893

Nur Ainil Sulaiman (PhD) is a senior lecturer at the Centre of Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interests include second language reading and vocabulary acquisition. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6212-7494

Wahiza Wahi (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Liberal Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interests include language literacy, TESL and higher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5120-1038

Ruhil Amal Azmuddin (PhD) is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Modern Languages, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah. Her main research interests are reading in ESL, e-learning and online reading. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6998-6099

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