For native speakers, the grammar of a language is made up of a limited set of rules that are acquired in childhood, whereas vocabulary continues to be acquired throughout adulthood. Therefore, the vocabulary learning strategies we use with our students will be of long term benefit to them. For most learners, the number of words that are recognized when seen or heard (receptive use) is greater than the number of words that can be used actively (productive use), though it is not necessary for receptive knowledge always to precede productive use (Melka, 1997; Meara,1997). Some coursebooks provide two word lists, as in the following, where the first extract provides language needed for productive use and the second for understanding only:

These days, it is recognized that both explicit and implicit learning are important, ie that we need at times to actively notice and focus on the form of new items, but at other times to acquire new vocabulary by unconscious means. Explicit learning may take longer but be more thorough. Implicit learning is used during communication, as learners pick up the word they need by hearing or reading it in context. At the explicit end of this continuum, rote learning and bilingual translation may be useful at lower levels, while at the implicit end, inferring new words from context is a necessary skill at higher levels. (For further reading on explicit and implicit learning, see Meara,1997; Coady and Huckin, 1997; Schmitt and McCarthy, 1997).

We know that the more we engage with a word and process it consciously, the better we retain it. But we can also learn from repeated exposure to a word. In fact, through exposure, we learn much about our native language even before birth, and, with simplified input from our parents or carers, we acquire a vast vocabulary by the time we reach school age. As teachers, we must therefore expose our learners to as much of the target language as we can during their short time with us, especially if they do not hear it much outside our classroom.

How do we acquire a new vocabulary item? Schmitt (2000) presents the following ideas. On the first exposure to a new word, we pick up some sense of word form and meaning. If we have heard the word spoken, we might not remember the pronunciation perfectly, but we may know another word that rhymes with it, or we may know how many syllables it has. If we have seen the word written, we might not remember the spelling perfectly, but we might know the first few letters. We might also remember something about how the word functioned in the sentence, or have a vague idea of its importance in the whole context of what was said or written. On subsequent exposures, we notice more about the word: how formal or informal it is, perhaps, and which other words tend to occur around it. It also helps if we have some idea about word roots and derivations. Vocabulary acquisition is a complicated and gradual process.

Activity 7

In this activity, you will test yourself on implicit learning: your ability to decipher meaning from context.

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