How muchdoes a second language learner need?
There are three ways of answering this question. One way is to ask “How many words are there in the target language?” Another way is to ask “How many words do native speakers know?” A third way is to ask “How many words are needed to do the things that a language user needs to do?” We will look at answers to each of these questions. This discussion looks only at vocabulary and it should not be assumed that if a learner has sufficient vocabulary then all else is easy. Vocabulary knowledge is only one component of language skills such as reading and speaking. It should also not be assumed that vocabulary knowledge is always a prerequisite to the performance of language skills. Vocabulary knowledge enables language use, language use enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge, knowledge of the world enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge and language use and so on (Nation, 1993b). With these cautions in mind let us now look at estimates of vocabulary size and their significance for
Related Questions
- My child is an English Learner, and scored "Above, At, or Close To Grade Level". Why is he/she expected to continue next year in a special English Language Development class?
- Who should decide about the participation of an English language learner in an assessment?
- What are the characteristics of a successful language learner?
