This introduction looks at where vocabulary fits in a language course, particularly in relation to the four strands of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development. It explores the main themes of the book through a small set of very powerful learning principles. It concludes by looking at how this third edition differs from the second edition which appeared in 2013.

In the reading section of this chapter, we look at how much vocabulary is needed to gain meaning-focused input through reading material written for native speakers. We then look at what a well-balanced reading program for learners of English as a foreign language should contain to maximise vocabulary growth, stressing the need to use vocabulary graded material, particularly graded readers. Such a course should provide opportunities for extensive reading, a focus on language features through intensive reading, and the development of reading fluency though speed reading. Finally, we look at how learners can be supported to read ungraded texts, using techniques such as narrow reading, pre–teaching, intensive reading, and glossing. In order to gain 98 per cent coverage of unsimplified text, learners need to know most of the high-frequency and mid-frequency words, totalling around 8,000–9,000 word families. In the writing section of this chapter, we look at the effect of vocabulary use on the quality of writing, measuring written productive knowledge of vocabulary and how to improve learners’ vocabulary use in writing.

Vocabulary-learning strategies are not only a means to improving the quality of vocabulary learning, but are a part of encouraging learners to take control of their own learning. That is, to become autonomous learners. It is useful to distinguish between knowledge of vocabulary strategies and the ability to use strategies. To be truly useful, a strategy needs to be practised until it is very easy to use. However, knowledge of the principles of learning that lie behind strategies is also important, because this knowledge allows learners to look critically at their own learning and to reflect on ways to improve it. A good language course should introduce learners to the most important principles of learning and should inform them of ways in which they can improve their language learning both inside and outside of the classroom. A good language course book should also include this information, and in this chapter, we will look at how this can be done. Strategies can involve choosing what to focus on and when to focus on it, finding information about words, establishing knowledge, and enriching knowledge.

This chapter draws together many of the ideas discussed in other chapters by looking at the points to consider when doing curriculum design on the vocabulary component of a language course. It also describes important vocabulary principles by seeing how learners can be encouraged to take control of their vocabulary learning. This chapter follows a traditional model of curriculum design consisting of goals, needs analysis, environment analysis, principles of vocabulary learning, format and presentation, content and sequencing, monitoring and assessment and evaluation. It also considers how the essential vocabulary learning conditions of repetition and quality of processing can be built into a language course, and presents eight practical recommendations for improving the opportunities for repetition and quality of processing of the target vocabulary in a course. The chapter also explores how learners can be helped to become autonomous in their vocabulary learning using principles based on the parts of the curriculum design model.

This chapter covers three situations of vocabulary learning, all of which can occur outside the classroom. The first situation has been called extramural English or extramural learning, and could be called learning through entertainment. It involves largely incidental learning through watching TV or movies, surfing the Internet, online social interaction, playing online games, listening to songs, or reading or listening for pleasure. It can also include social interactions with native speakers. Extramural learning is not a part of a regular English course and is not under the control of a classroom teacher. The second situation is supplementary learning. This involves learning outside the classroom which is related to a course occurring inside the classroom. It is largely directed by the classroom teacher. It may involve extensive reading, extensive listening, interacting with others, and writing, and could also involve the deliberate learning of vocabulary and other language features. The third situation has been called self-directed learning and involves the learner organising their own language course without the help of a teacher.

There is now plenty of evidence that the learning of multiword units can occur across the four strands of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development, although the largely unresearched strand with regard to multiword units is fluency development. There are now many useful well-researched lists of multiword units of various kinds. Multiword units tend to be acquired late and are one of the signs of high proficiency in a language. This chapter looks at various ways of classifying multiword units according to their form, meaning, and storage. It has many practical suggestions for supporting the learning of multiword units. These include learning through input, learning through output, consciousness raising, using flash cards, using mnemonic tricks such as alliteration and considering their origins, looking for patterns, using concordances, and fluency development.

This chapter looks at what vocabulary and how much vocabulary needs to be learned. It is useful to use frequency and range of occurrence to distinguish several levels of vocabulary. Distinguishing these levels helps ensure that learners learn vocabulary in the most useful sequence and thus gain the most benefit from the vocabulary they learn. Making the high-frequency/mid-frequency/low-frequency distinctions ensures that the teacher and learners deal with vocabulary in the most efficient ways. High-frequency words are the most useful words of the language and should be learned first. There are 3,000 high-frequency words. These should be followed by mid-frequency words or specialised vocabulary. The mid-frequency and low-frequency words should not be taught but should be learned through extensive listening and extensive reading, along with the use of vocabulary learning strategies such as flash cards, word part analysis. and dictionary use.

Learning vocabulary through listening is one type of learning through meaning-focused input. Learners need at least 95 per cent coverage of the running words (around 3,000 word families) in the informal spoken input in order to gain reasonable comprehension and to have reasonable success at guessing unknown vocabulary from context clues. A well-balanced listening and speaking course includes opportunities to learn through listening to monologues and interactive communication, opportunities to learn from speaking and interacting with others, the deliberate study of pronunciation, vocabulary and multiword units, and grammar, and opportunities to become fluent in listening and speaking. This chapter includes a large range of activities to provide these opportunities, and describes how teachers can design speaking activities so that vocabulary is more likely to be learned. The research shows that those who observe speaking activities are just as likely to learn the vocabulary in the activities as those who actively participate

Words are not isolated units of the language but fit into many related systems. Because of this, there are many things to know about any particular word and there are many degrees of knowing. The aims of this chapter are to examine what could be known about a word, to evaluate the relative importance of the various kinds of knowledge, to see how they are related to each other, and to broadly suggest how learners might gain this knowledge. The chapter also looks at the learning burden of words, that is, what needs to be learned for each word and what is predictable from previous knowledge. The chapter is based on the division of what it means to know a word into nine aspects of knowledge – spoken form, written form, word parts, form–meaning connection, concepts, associations, grammatical functions, collocations, and constraints on use. The chapter concludes with the description of a model of vocabulary learning.

Testing vocabulary is similar to testing in other areas of language knowledge and use. The same criteria of reliability, validity, practicality, and washback need to be considered when designing and evaluating vocabulary tests. In some ways testing vocabulary is easier than testing grammatical knowledge or control of discourse because the units to test are more obviously separate. It is not too difficult to identify what a word type is. However, there are problems and issues and we look at these in this chapter. This chapter has two major divisions. The first major division looks at the purposes of vocabulary tests, covering diagnostic, placement, achievement, and proficiency tests. The second major division looks at different test formats, answering questions like: Should choices be given? Should words be tested in context? How can I measure words that learners don’t know well? This section covers a wide range of vocabulary test formats, along with comments on their design and use.

When learners have mastered the 2,000–3,000 high frequency words of general usefulness in English, it is often efficient to direct vocabulary learning to more specialised areas depending on the aims of the learners. It is possible to specialise by learning the shared vocabulary of several fields of study, for example, academic vocabulary, or the vocabulary of the hard sciences or soft sciences. It is also possible to specialise by focusing on the specialised vocabulary of one particular field or part of that field, that is, technical vocabulary. There are several lists of academic vocabulary including the Academic Word List, the Academic Vocabulary List, the Academic Spoken Word List, the Hard Science Spoken Word, List and the Soft Science Spoken Word List. Technical word lists usually consist of one or two thousand words, but some specialist areas like medicine, botany, or zoology have very large technical vocabularies. The chapter looks at how academic and technical vocabulary can be learned. It also looks at the various roles that vocabulary plays in texts.

The main idea behind this chapter is that the research on deliberately learning vocabulary shows that it is such an efficient and effective way of learning that, in terms of speed of vocabulary growth, a course that includes both incidental learning from communication-focused activities and deliberate learning will be much better than a course that relies only on incidental learning. Moreover, flash-card learning should be done so that the vocabulary worked on is repeatedly met until it is thoroughly learned. This goal of a high level of knowledge contrasts with the uncertain learning that occurs through other activities. Deliberately learning vocabulary before it is met in communication-focused activities means that the difficulty of such activities is reduced. Deliberately learning vocabulary after it has been met in a communication-focused activity means that the deliberate learning will be more meaningful and motivated. This chapter describes a list of well-supported guidelines for learning using flash cards. These principles should also be used in electronic flash-card programs.