Are TED Talks Potential Materials for Learning Specialized Vocabulary? A Case of Medical Vocabulary

Specialized vocabulary is essential to second language (L2) students studying English for specific purposes (ESP) because it makes up a great proportion of words in specialized texts. While the potential for learning specialized vocabulary through audiovisual inputs (e.g., TV programs and movies) have been recognized, the potential for learning specialized vocabulary from the widely used audiovisual resource, TED talks, has not been explored. This study thus aims to explore if TED talks can be potential materials for improving students’ knowledge of specialized vocabulary through examining the vocabulary on the Medical Spoken Word List (MSWL) in medicine-related TED talks. Results show that 861 out of the 895 MSWL words (96.2%) occur in the TED talks, and an average of 100 MSWL words appear in a single TED talk, suggesting that students are very likely to encounter much specialized vocabulary when viewing TED talks. Compared to medicine-related TV drama series, another audiovisual resource supportive for learning the MSWL words, the TED talks actually contain a higher density of MSWL words, suggesting that it might be more efficient for students to view TED talks for improving their medical vocabulary. This study also provides pedagogical implications regarding the application of TED talks for ESP instruction.