2. Word frequency
• Some words are more useful than others
– High frequency words
– Low frequency words
• Some words are technical – for specific topic areas
• Learn the general high frequency words first
3. Two states of vocabulary learning
Form-meaning relationship
- matching the spelling and/or sound to a meaning
The ‘deeper’ aspects of vocabulary learning
- multiple meaning senses / nuances of use
- frequency, usefulness etc.
- use in context
- domain (lexical set)
- restrictions on use / pragmatic values
- register (polite, casual, rude), spoken, written, formal, informal
- lexical access speed, fluency, automaticity
- collocation and colligation
- etc.
4. Types of vocabulary
Individual words: book, table, life, chance, walk, airplane…
Affixes: used, user, usefulness, user-friendly, disuse…
Multi-part words: traffic jam, the day after tomorrow, lunch box…
Lexical phrases: by the way, to and fro, a kind of,…
Idioms: let the cat out of the bag, raining cats and dogs
Sentence heads: Do you mind if I…, If I were you,.. Could you…?
Collocations: High season, mild cheese, blonde hair…
Colligations: agree to do x, agree on X, rely on someone,
have an effect on x, x affects y...
Others: SONY, Paul, twenty-seven, etc. , UNESCO…
5. What's a collocation?
Collocations are words which often appear together.
We say We don't (usually) say
beautiful girl handsome girl
blonde hair yellow hair
mild cheese weak cheese
big surprise large surprise
go to work go to job
catch fire do fire / go fire
high cost expensive cost
demand a response ask a response
make a mistake do a mistake
6. What’s a colligation?
Colligations are words which often appear together grammatically
We say We don’t (usually) say
depend on someone depend of someone
be good at something be good on something
ask for something ask on something
give something to someone give something someone
7. They need thousands of Expressions, Idioms and
Phrases
traffic jam
lunch box
by and large
get along with
put back
set out on
the day before yesterday
How's things?
If you don't mind, would you…?
I'd rather not …
I'd like to …
If it were up to me, I'd …
So, what do you think?
What's the matter?
8. What happens to things we learn?
We forget them over time unless they are recycled and
memories of them strengthened
Our brains are designed to forget most of what we meet - not to
remember it
Time
Knowledge
The Forgetting Curve
