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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Learning
Vocabulary size
A few questions that occur to me after attending a CELTA course.
I hear that a vocabulary of about 3000 words (base forms I assume) is adequate for communication in English. Can someone qualify this more closely - e.g. what degree of proficiency would such a speaker have reading books/papers.
Is a list of such high frequency words available somewhere?
Does the same go for languages such as Spanish (again, if so, where is such a list)?
On a separate note, I hear that Swedish speakers of English, though often as proficient as native English speakers have little knowledge of grammar (again like native speakers). What method do they use to teach English in Sweden?
Thanks for any replies William
I hear that a vocabulary of about 3000 words (base forms I assume) is adequate for communication in English. Can someone qualify this more closely - e.g. what degree of proficiency would such a speaker have reading books/papers.
Is a list of such high frequency words available somewhere?
Does the same go for languages such as Spanish (again, if so, where is such a list)?
On a separate note, I hear that Swedish speakers of English, though often as proficient as native English speakers have little knowledge of grammar (again like native speakers). What method do they use to teach English in Sweden?
Thanks for any replies William
Top answer
[/nq] This is completely misleading. With 3000 words one would not be able effectively to communicate - though most native British speakers use far fewer than this in day to day communication. One needs approximately 100,000 lexical phrases to communicate effectively and naturally.
- [/nq] This is completely misleading.
- With 3000 words one would not be able effectively to communicate - though most native British speakers use far fewer than this in day to day communication.
- One needs approximately 100,000 lexical phrases to communicate effectively and naturally.
- However, bear in mind Krashen's observation that a vocabulary of 100,000 items does not imply either 100,000 fill-in exercises or 100,000 trips to the dictionary.
- We have acquired, rather than formally learned, most of the vast mental lexicon which we carry prefabricated and ready for use (see "The Power of Reading" by Stephen Krashen, publ.
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]I hear that a vocabulary of about 3000 words (base forms I assume) is adequate for communication in English.[/nq]
This is completely misleading. With 3000 words one would not be able effectively to communicate - though most native British speakers use far fewer than this in day to day communication.
One needs approximately 100,000 lexical phrases to communicate effectively and
This is completely misleading. With 3000 words one would not be able effectively to communicate - though most native British speakers use far fewer than this in day to day communication.
One needs approximately 100,000 lexical phrases to communicate effectively and
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[nq:1]A few questions that occur to me after attending a CELTA course. I hear that a vocabulary of about 3000 ... grammar (again like native speakers). What method do they use to teach English in Sweden? Thanks for any replies William[/nq]
Depends what you mean by adequate.
(Native English speaking children arrive in 1st grade of school at age 6 with vocabs in the 3,000 - 5,000 word
Depends what you mean by adequate.
(Native English speaking children arrive in 1st grade of school at age 6 with vocabs in the 3,000 - 5,000 word
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[nq:1]This is completely misleading. With 3000 words one would not be able effectively to communicate - though most native British ... which we carry prefabricated and ready for use (see "The Power of Reading" by Stephen Krashen, publ. Libraries Unlimited, Inc.).[/nq]
Thanks for that Mike. Looking at some lists I have been sent, I have gathered that it is not as simple as it seems.
B
Thanks for that Mike. Looking at some lists I have been sent, I have gathered that it is not as simple as it seems.
B
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[nq:1]By the way, is Krashen's book worth buying from an EFL teaching viewpoint, or is it more for parents etc?[/nq]
Krashen's book is an academically oriented treatise, which I believe should be compulsory for all EFL teachers who are interested in the lexical approach.
Krashen's book is an academically oriented treatise, which I believe should be compulsory for all EFL teachers who are interested in the lexical approach.
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John Ramsay | misc.education.language.english in
[nq:2]A few questions that occur to me after attending a ... to teach English in Sweden? Thanks for any replies William[/nq]
[nq:1]Depends what you mean by adequate. (Native English speaking children arrive in 1st grade of school at age 6 with ... tests, etc 30,000 Lorge-Thorndike - Most common 30,000 words. Used to develop vocabulary sect
[nq:2]A few questions that occur to me after attending a ... to teach English in Sweden? Thanks for any replies William[/nq]
[nq:1]Depends what you mean by adequate. (Native English speaking children arrive in 1st grade of school at age 6 with ... tests, etc 30,000 Lorge-Thorndike - Most common 30,000 words. Used to develop vocabulary sect
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