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How many
English words do you know? This is an unfair
question, because it is impossible to answer
accurately. It is difficult to count the number
of words a person knows. One difficulty is in
the definition of word. Should we
consider be, am, is,
are, was, were six
different words, or persuade,
persuasive, persuasion three
different words? If a student knows that
spring is the name of a season, but he
doesn't know that it also means "the place
where water
comes out of the earth," or "to leap," or "a
part of a watch," does he know the meaning of
spring, or only one of several different
meanings of the word?
Another
difficulty is in the definition of the word
know. What does it mean "to know" a word? A
person may organize the meaning of a particular
word when he reads it, lint he may never use it
in his daily speech or writing. Can he be said
to "know" the word?
Many books
for foreign students use a vocabulary count.
This is a method of controlling the number of
words that is used at any level and
systematically introducing new words at a
certain rate. Thus, at the end of a reading book
it may claim, "You now know 1,248 words," This
may be encouraging, but the truth of the
statement depends upon the definition of know
and word. The size of one's native
language vocabulary reflects his education,
reading, and range of interests. There is a very
clear relationship between vocabulary size and
professional success. To a certain extent, the
same is probably true for foreign students of
English. A
student's vocabulary will reflect his experience
of the language. If he has no contact with
English except through his school books, he will
know only the words in his books. If he has the
chance to meet English-speaking people, or to
read English magazines, or to see English motion
pictures without subtitles, he will be able to
extend his vocabulary into areas that are not
included in his books. Obviously, the more a
student hears, speaks, reads, and writes
English, the more opportunity he has to increase
his vocabulary. As a measure of his interest and
experience in English, the relative size of a
student's vocabulary is meaningful—even if it
cannot be measured accurately.
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