Vocabulary Expansion in the TESOL Classroom

Abstract

The precise when of massive vocabulary expansion depends on the learer's maturity. It follows the phase during which the goal is reliable control of basic pronunciation and grammatical habits. Overlapping that phase and becoming dominant in the intermediate stage is the development of skills of comprehension and the build-up of vocabulary resources. At first skills are more important than resources for the learner. The fact that words have multiple meanings, and the huge proportion of low-frequency words in any text, make it impossible to anticipate the specific vocabulary needs of a FL learner. Learners must acquire courage and skill; they must be helped to avoid panic and be willing to guess at the meanings of unfamiliar words. Developing this skill calls for using-ultimately using unconsciously-the clues in a total context, both the grammatical and the pragmatic clues. This includes practice in skimming as a necessary part of an intermediate FL program. All experienced readers skim a great deal of what they read, and almost all listening is with less than 100% attention. To neglect skimming is to leave a major gap in FL instruction. Skimming skill is not only in itself an indispensable part of language competence; pedagogically it is the way to build up habits of guessing at meanings and realistically tolerating a certain amount of vagueness. It is from extensive contact with the FL and skill in intelligent use of clues in context, not from word-matching or laborious pseudo-translation, that vocabulary expands.