Focus on Vocabulary Learning

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2795

Marlise Horst

Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780194003131

This 173-page book gave me fresh insights into teaching vocabulary. It covers familiar ground, such as corpora, frequency and ‘coverage’. The description of how learners move from partial knowledge to a more precise knowledge of words is fascinating. An initial task asks readers to decide how much they agree or disagree with several thought-provoking statements like: “Adolescents learn L2 vocabulary more quickly than younger learners.” In the fifth, final chapter, we reflect on whether reading the book has changed our views. The focus is on 5 to 18-year olds, and I was surprised to see the term ‘Academic Vocabulary’ used, something I had previously associated with students over 18. More could be included on ‘adaptive learning’ for vocabulary review. Successfully links theory with practice. Recommended.

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