LEXICAL COMPLEXITY IN ENGLISH LISTENING MATERIALS OF THE CAKE APPLICATION

Abstract

Lexical complexity plays an important role in determining the linguistic characteristics and difficulty of English listening materials. This study examines lexical complexity in English listening materials presented in the Cake Application, with particular attention to lexical diversity, lexical density, and lexical sophistication. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, using listening transcripts, students’ vocabulary findings, observations, and interviews as sources of data. The analysis focused on Type-Token Ratio (TTR), the proportion of content words, and the occurrence of sophisticated or less frequent vocabulary. The results indicated that the listening materials demonstrated relatively diverse vocabulary, with an average TTR of 64%. The lexical density analysis produced an average score of 51.6%, with scores ranging from 39% to 61%, suggesting a moderate to relatively high concentration of meaningful lexical items. In terms of lexical sophistication, several intermediate and less frequent words, including exactly, journey, canoe, horrible, embarrassed, and ambiance, were identified. These findings indicate that the Cake Application provides authentic listening input with varied lexical features and a manageable level of lexical challenge. Therefore, the density; lexical sophistication; Cake Application; listening materials potential as a supplementary digital resource for English listening instruction and vocabulary development.