Vocabulary KnowledgeWord knowledge is an essential component of communicative competence, and it is important for production and comprehension of a second language (Coady & Huckin, 1997). What does it mean to know a word? Vocabulary knowledge includes both the number of words one knows and the depth of knowledge about those words. Depth of knowledge refers to the pronunciation, spelling, and various meanings of the word; the contexts in which it can be used; the frequency with which it is used; its various parts of speech and forms; and how it combines (or collocates) with other words (e.g., vocabulary item "squander" is often combined with "time," "money," or "resources," as in "squander resources") (Folse, 2004; Qian, 1999). Recent research has focused on incidental vocabulary, new words that are learned when one is focused on a meaningful task, such as hearing or reading a story, rather than specifically on learning new words. Learners figure out the meanings of words by paying attention to "clues" in the context; for example, learning that "picnic" means a meal outside when hearing about a family that has a picnic at the beach. (See Gass, 1999, for a summary of research on incidental vocabulary acquisition.) However, researchers argue that learners need to understand about 3,000 word families in order to pick up word meaning from context (Laufer, 1997). (For example, the family of "think" includes think, thinks, thought, thoughtful, thoughtfully.) Teachers then need to help learners build their vocabulary. One way to approach vocabulary instruction is to organize the words to be learned into thematically related units (e.g., vocabulary related to eating out with friends or taking a trip to the mall) (Folse, 2004). Research also suggests that learners gain vocabulary knowledge through extensive reading, especially when reading is accompanied by vocabulary building activities (Paribakht & Wesche, 1997; Wesche & Paribakht, 2000). Teachers should include opportunities for reading to be done in class and assist learners in selecting texts that are of high interest to and at the appropriate level for them. Teachers should preview the important vocabulary in a reading passage before learners read it and teach words that are key to the meaning and that occur frequently. They also should show learners how to use dictionaries effectively. Negotiation of meaning seems to have a positive effect on vocabulary acquisition (de la Fuente, 2002; Ellis & He, 1999; Ellis, Tanaka, & Yamazaki, 1994). Teachers can provide learners with multiple opportunities to use new vocabulary in interactive situations in the following ways:
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