A Fresh Approach To Vocabulary: Using a Word Knowledge Framework

The necessary first step is to define what those various kinds of word knowledge are. Nation (1990, p.31) presents a list of the word knowledge types that native-speakers typically possess. The assumption is made that if EFL learners aspire to native-like proficiency in the use of words, these are the kinds of word knowledge that they must acquire as well. Another important characteristic of vocabulary acquisition is that it is incremental. Teachers are well aware of this incremental nature, especially of words that students know receptively, but are not yet able to use productively. There is also empirical support for this concept; studies summarized by Nation (1990 p. 44) place the number of exposures necessary to learn a word from five to over sixteen. The above list of types of word knowledge can help illustrate this incremental nature of vocabulary acquisition. It is obvious that L2 learners do not initially have full control of every type of word knowledge. Their overall knowledge of a word is more likely to develop in something like the following manner. After the initial exposure, a learner may have an idea of one of the words possible meanings, along with an impression of its form: perhaps its first letter, how many syllables it has, and a rough idea of how it sounds. As the learner repeatedly comes into contact with and uses the word, understanding of the words form and meaning are strengthened, while other word knowledge aspects are gradually added. This may continue until the learner finally controls the collocational and stylistic aspects. These final two kinds of word knowledge may well be the last to be controlled, since they seem to require a great deal of exposure to a language, and arguably, only a minority of L2 learners ever achieve native-like competence of these two aspects.