Vocabulary research and pedagogy: Introduction to the special issue

Abstract

The impetus for this special issue came from the Vocab@Vic conference, which was hosted in December, 2013 at Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The aim of the conference, and of this special issue, was to focus on current trends in vocabulary research in second or foreign language teaching and learning. An unstated secondary aim of the conference was to honour Emeritus Professor Paul Nation for his continued contribution to research and learning and teaching vocabulary in another language. Paul is the author of one of the best known volumes on vocabulary, Learning vocabulary in another language (now in its second edition, 2013), and each contribution in this special issue is related to topics which Paul has written about and researched. He also reviewed a number of articles for this special issue. From experience, I know it can be difficult to thank Paul to his face, so I am dedicating this special issue to him. At the suggestion of Frank Boers, another vocabulary researcher and enthusiast, the organization of this special issue follows that of an earlier collective volume on vocabulary edited by Bogaards & Laufer (2004). The themes of that volume were selection (or prioritization), acquisition (and instruction), and testing (or assessment). Laufer (2014) comments on four studies from a special interest group on vocabulary in the Japanese Association of Language Teachers (JALT) using this same framework, which suggests that these areas of interest remain current in vocabulary studies. Batia Laufer is another stalwart of the vocabulary research community, and drawing on her work is also a way to recognize her considerable impact on the field. It is fitting to lead off the special issue with an article co-authored by Norbert Schmitt, a dedicated and prolific scholar in vocabulary studies, whose review article published in Language Teaching Research (Schmitt, 2008) is one of the most cited pieces in the 20-year history of the journal. Melodie Garnier and Norbert Schmitt’s contribution exemplifies the theme of selection. Selecting items for teaching is a major area of concern because of the cost–benefit equation, and learners and teachers need to get the best return for effort. The focus of Garnier and Schmitt’s contribution is phrasal verbs (a term they use to also encompass prepositional verbs). As there are several 604788 LTR0010.1177/1362168815604788Language Teaching ResearchCoxhead research-article2015