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Teaching and learning vocabulary

Paul Nation

This chapter looks at the teaching and learning of vocabulary both in classrooms and in independent
learning. It recommends a principled approach based on a small set of well-established principles
of learning and curriculum design. These principles are described as we look at various parts of a
vocabulary program.
There is only a small difference between the parts of a general language course and the parts of
the vocabulary components of a language course. This is because all courses should have a balance
between learning through language use and deliberate learning. The learning through language use
components, which should make up around three-quarters of the course time, will be the same no
matter what the focus. These involve learning through the four skills of listening, speaking, reading
and writing including fluency development in each of those skills.
The deliberate learning parts of a course can focus on particular skills, on particular language fea-
tures such as pronunciation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary and discourse, and on the development
of autonomy in language learning through training in language learning strategies and developing
knowledge of how to learn a language. We will look at both learning through language use and
deliberate learning in this chapter.

Providing a balance of learning opportunities through the four strands

The principle of the four strands says that a well-balanced language course should provide oppor-
tunities for learning through four equal strands – meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output,
language-focused learning and fluency development (Nation, 2007, 2013b). Ideally, each strand
should cover the same content material to maximise and vary the repetition of language features.
Copyright © 2022. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

While there is no research showing that the four strands should involve a roughly equal amount of
time, there is a large amount of research showing the value of each of the strands. Let us now look
in detail at each of the four strands.

Vocabulary learning through meaning-focused input

Meaning-focused input involves learning through the receptive skills of listening and reading. While
extensive reading has received a lot of attention (Nation & Waring, 2020), it is only recently that
extensive listening has begun to receive similar attention (Nation & Newton, 2020).

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 Paul Nation

Extensive reading
Research shows that the single most effective change a teacher could make to a language course is
to include an extensive reading program. Extensive reading involves each learner independently and
silently reading large amounts of material which is at the right level for them. The reading needs to
be independent because within a class all learners are typically not at the same level of proficiency and
do not always share the same interests. The reading needs to be silent because reading aloud occurs at
a slower speed than silent reading and learners need to read as much as they can at a reasonable speed.
The learners need to read a lot of material so that they meet the words they need to learn and meet
them enough times to ensure learning. The material needs to be at the right level so that the learners
are not meeting words that are way beyond their current level and that are not as useful as other words
at their present level of knowledge. Because the reading material needs to be at the right level, graded
readers written within a controlled vocabulary are essential for learners at the beginning, elementary
and intermediate levels. Fortunately, for the learning of English, there are several thousand graded
readers available at a range of levels from a vocabulary size of 75 words up to 8000 words.
There has been considerable research and discussion on what is the right level. The pioneer of
extensive reading, Michael West, suggested that from a vocabulary perspective, the right level should
be around one unknown word in every 50 words (West, 1955). So, on a page of 300 running words
there should be no more than 6 unfamiliar words. Comprehension improves as the number of
unknown words decrease (Hu & Nation, 2000; Schmitt et al., 2011) and research largely supports
West’s figure of one unknown word in 50 or 98% coverage.
There is a very large amount of research on extensive reading showing that extensive reading has
positive effects on motivation, reading fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, writing
skills, grammar knowledge and general language proficiency (Nation & Waring, 2020).
Although extensive reading is classified under the strand of meaning-focused input, an exten-
sive reading program should spend about one-third of the time on fluency development. Fluency
development in extensive reading involves reading easy graded readers which contain little or no
unknown vocabulary. Easy graded readers are ones that are from levels way below the learners’ cur-
rent level, or they may be books that the learners have read before. When they read them, learners
should be trying to read them as quickly as possible with acceptable comprehension. As we shall see
later, following a speed reading course can also be considered as part of an extensive reading program.
It is not difficult to set up an extensive reading program. The major requirements are books at
the right level, and time to read them. Setting up a program has become even easier with availability
of online extensive reading programs such Xreading. Xreading provides a wide range of excellent
graded readers from most of the major publishers and provides tests and monitoring data to keep the
learners on task. The cost is low.
The principle of the four strands and research on reading texts provides guidelines for how
much extensive reading learners should do. Half of the meaning-focused input strand should involve
Copyright © 2022. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

extensive reading. This would occupy one-eighth of the course time. Fluency development in read-
ing should take up one-quarter of the fluency development strand, which would be one-sixteenth
of the total course time. One-eighth plus one-sixteenth equals three-sixteenths of the course time.
If there were four English classes a week of around 50 minutes each, then about 40 minutes a week
should be spent on extensive reading. Corpus-based research suggests that working on a 40-week
school year and a five-day week (Nation, 2014a), learners should be reading around 40 minutes a
week at a rather slow speed to meet the second 1000 word families of English enough times to learn
them within a year and around an hour and 20 minutes a week to learn the third 1000 word fami-
lies. At a moderate speed of 200 words per minute, these times would be halved, or better still, the
amount of reading doubled. Learning 1000 words a year is a native-speaker rate of learning. A good
extensive reading program should be able to achieve such rates.

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 Teaching and learning vocabulary

When learners are introduced to extensive reading, the reading should be done in class time so
that the learners truly understand the nature of extensive reading and are forced to do the reading.
When they experience the success and enjoyment of extensive reading, some or all of the reading
can be done outside of class time. Such reading should be monitored to make sure it is done. The
Extensive Reading Foundation web site and Extensive Reading Central have many free resources to
support extensive reading, including Moodle reader and a guide to extensive reading.
Extensive reading is easier to implement than extensive listening because there are now so many
resources available to support it. Reading and reading-while-listening are also more effective at
promoting vocabulary growth than listening (Brown et al., 2008). However, with more research
and practice on extensive listening, extensive listening can also be a major contributor to vocabulary
growth.

Extensive listening
The other half of the meaning-focused input strand is extensive listening. The requirements for
extensive listening are similar to those for extensive reading. Extensive listening involves learners
listening to large amounts of material which is at the right level for them. Extensive listening can
include several different kinds of input – listening, listening while reading, viewing (watching films
and TV series), and viewing with captions. Because it is difficult to control the vocabulary level of
listening material, extensive listening requires various kinds of support so that the material is com-
prehensible and supportive for vocabulary learning. This support can include the use of written ver-
sions for study before listening or while listening, captions, the choice of familiar topics, pictures and
visual accompaniment, repetition, support from the speaker, peer interaction and narrow listening.
Extensive listening can include a wide variety of material. Some may involve interaction with
a speaker or speakers as in conversation and formal discussions. Some may involve listening while
viewing, such as movies, TV programs or YouTube clips. Some may involve listening where a written
version may also be available, as with listening to graded readers, pop songs or TV shows and movies.
Informal spoken material tends to use a smaller vocabulary than written material but a vocabulary
size of at least 2000 to 5000 words is needed to cope with such listening. Fortunately, technology
now allows the slowing down and speeding up of listening material without much distortion of the
sound and, combined with repetition and the use of transcripts, this can make listening easier.
As with extensive reading, an extensive listening program should include fluency development,
with around one-third of the time in the extensive listening program given to easy extensive lis-
tening including activities such as repeated listening, listening to stories, 4/3/2 (Nation, 2013b),
Quicklistens (Millett, 2014) and listening to easy graded readers.
Even with various kinds of support, knowing the vocabulary in a listening activity is important
for successful listening.
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Vocabulary learning through meaning-focused output

Meaning-focused output involves speaking and writing, and speaking and writing activities can push
learners to make productive use of their vocabulary. This can strengthen and enrich knowledge of
words. Being ready to make productive use of vocabulary requires stronger and more knowledge than
is required for receptive use in listening and reading. This knowledge can be developed through the
deliberate study of vocabulary and can also be at least partly developed through substantial receptive use.
Although we talk of extensive reading and extensive listening, there is no mention of exten-
sive speaking and extensive writing, although there is plenty of justification for using such terms.
“Extensive” needs to include the idea of large amounts but it also needs to include the idea of a vari-
ety of different uses of a skill. Extensive reading needs to include not only large amounts of reading

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 Paul Nation

but also a variety of different kinds of reading – fact, fiction, short pieces of writing, novels, aca-
demic books, recipe books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, instructions, texts and emails. Similarly,
extensive speaking and writing need to cover a variety of text types that are relevant to learners and
that take account of the growing digital and multimodal nature of communication (Hockly, 2012).
Digital story-telling has become a focus in some classrooms (Hafner, 2014) involving video produc-
tion which integrates a range of receptive and productive language skills.
The integration of the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing increases the opportunities
for the repetition and varied use of vocabulary. Covering the same content through different skills
sets up ideal conditions for informal vocabulary learning. In classes which have an academic focus,
the process of gathering information about a topic from a variety of sources, discussing it with oth-
ers, organising ideas and making written, oral and audiovisual presentations of the data is likely to
greatly benefit vocabulary learning. Because around 20% to 30% of the running words (tokens) in
an academic text involve topic-related vocabulary (Chung & Nation, 2003), it is important that each
learner has a topic that is particularly relevant to their academic study or professional needs. Where
it is not possible to match a learner to a highly relevant topic, it is useful to choose a topic where the
topic-related words are high frequency or mid-frequency words.

The deliberate learning of vocabulary

The language-focused learning strand includes various ways of giving attention to vocabulary and
other aspects of language learning. Some of the ways involve teaching and others involve the learn-
ers taking responsibility for their own learning. A course in English as a foreign language which
includes deliberate attention to vocabulary will have advantages over a course that does not have a
focus on vocabulary. This is largely because the deliberate learning of vocabulary using word cards
or flash card programs is so effective in quickly expanding a learner’s vocabulary knowledge up to
a level where they can more easily deal with text which is written within a controlled vocabulary.
The kind of knowledge focused on learning from flash cards is largely familiarity with the form of
a word and its form-meaning connection. While this is very limited knowledge, it is nonetheless
essential knowledge for using a word, and is readily enriched through meetings in context during
language use.
There are very useful guidelines for making and using word cards which are well supported by
research (Nakata, 2020). There are also useful related guidelines when designing or choosing flash
card programs (Nakata, 2011). These guidelines include doing spaced retrieval, using a first language
translation to represent the meaning, doing both receptive and productive learning (look at the
word, recall the meaning, and look at the meaning and recall the word form) if the words are needed
across all the four skills, using a core meaning that covers all the senses of the word, using mnemonic
tricks like word part analysis and the keyword technique (Nation, 2013a) to help difficult words stick
Copyright © 2022. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

in memory, saying the word aloud when learning it and generally keeping the cards simple.
The research on word card and flash card learning (Nation, 2013a, Chapter 11) shows that a large
number of words can be quickly learned, the learning is retained for a long time and the learning
helps language use. The research also shows that learners differ considerably in their skill at learning
from word cards, so systematic training in this very useful strategy is necessary.
There are other word learning strategies that fit into the language-focused learning strand. These
include using word parts (Wei & Nation, 2013), guessing from context and using dictionaries to help
vocabulary learning. These strategies all require training. The time spent on training is well justified
by the large number of words that the strategies can be applied to.
The language-focused learning strand also includes intensive reading which may be in the form
of grammar-translation, teaching vocabulary and doing vocabulary exercises such as those in course
books.

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 Teaching and learning vocabulary

The language-focused learning strand also includes activities that do not have a vocabulary focus
such as pronunciation practice, grammar learning, discourse skills and guided activities for listening,
speaking, reading and writing such as dictation, substitution tables, blank filling and cloze activities,
and picture composition. The time given to the language-focused learning strand should be no more
than one-quarter of the course time, so it is very important that teachers prioritise activities that are
most effective so that the language-focused learning strand does not take over most of the course
time as it does in many poorly planned courses.

Vocabulary learning through fluency development

The fluency development strand involves a separate focus on each of the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading and writing. The fluency development strand has the goal of helping learners
make the best use of what they already know. Fluency development activities should not involve
unfamiliar language features. Useful fluency development activities include listening to stories,
speed-controlled listening, 4/3/2, repeated speaking, easy extensive reading, speed reading, repeated
writing and 10 minute writing (Nation, 2013b).
Fluency development activities strengthen and enrich knowledge of words that the learners have
already met and encourage the development of collocational knowledge through repetition and
restructuring. They also increase the speed with which learners can use the language and thus
increase the opportunities to learn from input and output.

Planning a vocabulary program

There are two major focuses when planning a vocabulary program: deciding what vocabulary will
be focused on and deciding how to focus on it. Let us look first at what vocabulary to focus on.
If we look at a frequency count of vocabulary in a text or a collection of texts, we will see that
some of the words occur very frequently and well over half of the different words occur only once
or twice. The most efficient way to learn vocabulary is first of all to learn the words that occur many
times because learners will meet these words often and it will help comprehension if they already
know them. These frequent words are also words that are needed for speaking and writing. The
3000 most frequent words of English cover around 90% of the running words of written text and
around 95% of spoken text. These are clearly very useful words to know. There are several available
lists of these high frequency words and while some are more carefully made than others, learners
would gain great benefit by learning the words in any of the frequency-based lists. The BNC/
COCA lists can be downloaded from the Victoria University of Wellington web site (www.wgtn.
ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/vocabulary-analysis-programs) and an account of them
and the research on them can be found in Nation (2016). Other high frequency lists include those
Copyright © 2022. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

made by Brezina and Gablasova (2015), and Browne (2014). Although graded readers use various
word lists produced by publishing houses, most of the words in the graded reader lists are from the
3000 high frequency words of English.
The 3000 high frequency words are not enough to deal with listening to and reading unsimpli-
fied texts, so from a frequency perspective the next words to learn are the 6000 mid-frequency
words which include the fourth to ninth 1000 word families. The 9000 high and mid-frequency
words provide learners with over 98% coverage of the running words in most written text includ-
ing newspapers, magazines and novels. The high and mid-frequency words need to be learned by
meeting them across the four strands of a course, including listening, speaking, reading and writing,
and deliberate study of vocabulary. Native speakers learn the first 9000 words of English at a rate of
roughly 1000 words a year (Coxhead et al., 2015), and largely know them by the time they enter
secondary school around the age of 13. Non-native speakers can also learn the vocabulary of English

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at this rate, especially where English is learned as a second language. To reach this rate learners of
English as a foreign language, especially those whose first language is not related to English, would
need very large amounts of input over many years.
Using word frequency lists to plan the vocabulary learning in a course is applying the cost/benefit
principle. The cost/benefit principle says that the cost of learning should be repaid by getting the
greatest possible benefit from the learning. The cost of learning is the time and effort involved in learn-
ing. The benefit from learning vocabulary comes from the opportunities to meet and use the vocabu-
lary. By learning high frequency vocabulary first, learners get the greatest benefit from their learning.
A well-planned vocabulary course is based on knowledge of learners’ current vocabulary size and
ensures that the high frequency words are well-known through large amounts of extensive reading
and extensive listening and through deliberate study using word cards or flash card programs. It also
involves training learners in the use of vocabulary learning strategies and making them aware of the
nature of word frequency and the levels of high, mid- and low frequency words.
The second major focus in planning a vocabulary course is providing a balance of opportuni-
ties for learning across the four strands. Each lesson need not contain a balance of the four strands
but over the period of a month or two, there should be a roughly equal amount of time given to
each strand. This calculation of time should include work done in class and also work done outside
class. The way to check if there is a balance is to keep a record of the activities done in class and the
amount of time spent on each activity. Each activity then needs to be classified into the appropriate
strand and the time spent added up. It should be roughly equal for each strand, and if it is not, then
some adjustments need to be made to the running of the course.

Knowing where learners are in their vocabulary growth

Planning a course involves knowing where learners are in their vocabulary growth. There are tests
available to help with this. For elementary and intermediate learners of English as a foreign language,
the recent vocabulary level tests are the best measures (Webb et al., 2017; McLean & Kramer, 2015).
Both of these tests are available from Paul Nation’s web site. These level tests look at each of the first
five 1000 word levels, and determine if each level has enough test items to ensure a good degree of
reliability for each level. For low proficiency learners it may be enough to use just the first two or
three levels to measure knowledge of the high frequency words. For intermediate learners, it may be
enough to assume knowledge of the first 1000 or 2000 words and just use the third to fifth 1000 levels.
For advanced learners of English, particularly those learning English as a second language, the
Vocabulary Size Test may be the most appropriate measure (Nation & Beglar, 2007). For young
learners of English as a second language and for learners who are not literate in English, the Picture
Vocabulary Size Test is an appropriate measure. This test is available from Laurence Anthony’s web site.
Copyright © 2022. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.

Autonomy and vocabulary learning

There is such a lot of vocabulary to learn that it is important that learners take control of their own
vocabulary learning. Taking control involves understanding the nature of vocabulary, understanding
the principles of vocabulary learning and becoming skilled at using vocabulary learning strategies.
Understanding the nature of vocabulary involves knowing about the frequency levels of vocabulary
(high, mid- and low frequency words), and knowing that many words are not repeated enough to
ensure learning and so learners need to use word cards or flash card programs to support the learn-
ing of those words. In the next section we will bring together the principles of vocabulary learning.
Learners should explicitly memorise these principles and be aware of how to apply them. There
is a free electronic book, What do you Need to Know to Learn a Foreign Language?, on Paul Nation’s

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 Teaching and learning vocabulary

web site that draws on the principles (Nation, 2014b). Now, however, let us look at the most useful
vocabulary learning strategies.
The strategy of guessing from context involves the use of context clues, background knowledge
and common-sense to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words met in reading and listening. The skills
and conditions needed for guessing from context are the same skills and conditions needed for read-
ing with good comprehension. Guessing is a trainable strategy (Walters, 2004, 2006), and there is a
test to measure learners’ control of the strategy (Sasao & Webb, 2018). A guess from context typically
results in small increases in knowledge of the word, but this knowledge accumulates with each guess
as long as there is plenty of comprehensible input. Training in guessing can occur during intensive
reading. Training can focus on context clues in the immediate and wider context (Clarke & Nation,
1980). Guessing from context is most likely to be successful if it occurs in meaning-focused input
where the unfamiliar words make up 2% or less of the running words.
We have already looked at the word card or flash card strategy and the guidelines for using it.
Learners should practice the strategy in class, perhaps working in pairs, and should be able to state
and apply the principles of spaced repetition, retrieval and quality of processing.
The word part strategy involves the skill of breaking a complex word into known parts and relat-
ing the meaning of the parts to the meaning of the whole. Developing skill in this strategy involves
learning a relatively small group of prefixes and suffixes and practising breaking up words into their
parts. Sasao and Webb (2017) have developed a test of the most useful prefixes and suffixes of English.
Wei and Nation (2013) provide lists of the most frequent and useful word stems. Because English
borrowed vocabulary from French, Latin and Greek, the word part strategy is one that can be used
a lot when learning English. The word part strategy is a kind of mnemonic, helping words stick in
memory. It is a dangerous strategy to use when guessing words from context, but can be used to
check guesses.
The dictionary strategy is more than just looking up a word in a dictionary. It involves gathering
as much information as possible from the dictionary to enhance the learning of a word. This can
involve giving attention to the pronunciation of the word, looking at any examples of the word in a
sentence to see what words it occurs with and in what patterns, and looking at other entries near the
word to see if there are morphologically related words. It also involves looking through the various
senses of the word to work out the core meaning of the word.
Each of these strategies requires repeated attention in the classroom in order to help learners gain
the knowledge needed to understand and apply the strategy. Learners also need plenty of practice
in applying the strategy so that it becomes easy to use the strategy. This all involves the investment
of classroom time little by little over several months. The use of this time is easily justified by the
usefulness of the strategies.

Principles of vocabulary learning and learning conditions

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We have looked at the principle of the four strands as a way of making sure that learners get a bal-
ance of opportunities for learning. The most important part of understanding the four strands is
understanding the conditions that typify each strand. If these conditions do not exist, then the strand
does not exist.
The meaning-focused input strand requires only a small proportion of unfamiliar language items.
If there are a lot of unfamiliar words, then it becomes hard to focus on the message and it is difficult
to cope with large amounts of input. The research suggests that no more than 2% of the running
word should be unfamiliar (Schmitt et al., 2011). These unfamiliar words provide opportunities for
learning new words through guessing from context or dictionary look-up, and yet are few enough
to allow reasonably fluent reading or listening. Having a focus on the message encourages enjoyment

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Table 28.1 The four strands and the conditions needed for each strand
Strand Conditions

Meaning-focused input Some unfamiliar vocabulary (2%)

A focus on the message
Large quantities of input
Meaning-focused output Slightly challenging output
A focus on communicating
Large quantities of output
Language-focused learning A focus on language items
Deliberate study
Fluency development No unfamiliar vocabulary or grammar, and familiar content
Pressure to perform faster
Quantity of practice
Focus on the message

and feelings of success which will help to maintain further reading. Having large quantities of input
supports the critical condition of repetition which is needed for learning to occur. Table 28.1 sum-
marises the conditions for each strand.
The meaning-focused output strand requires similar conditions to meaning-focused input, except
that the focus is on output. Challenging output includes having to use partly unfamiliar vocabulary,
having to deal with unfamiliar topics and having to perform with real-time pressure.
Language-focused learning involves focusing on vocabulary, grammar, sounds, spelling or dis-
course. It involves learning language features and learning about language. There has been some
debate about whether the deliberate study of language provides the kind of knowledge needed for
normal language use (Krashen, 1985). Research on vocabulary learning (Elgort, 2011), however, has
shown that the deliberate learning of vocabulary establishes both explicit knowledge and the implicit
knowledge needed for normal language use. The major problem with language-focused learning is
that it tends to occupy too much course time, taking time away from meaning-focused input and
fluency development.
The major condition for the fluency development strand is that the activities should be easy. That
is, they should not involve unknown vocabulary or grammar and should draw on existing content
knowledge. Because the activities are easy, they allow learners to perform at a higher than usual
speed. Fluency development activities should contain some pressure to increase the speed of lan-
guage use largely through time pressure. As with the other message-focused strands, fluency devel-
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opment requires time-on-task. The time-on-task principle says that if you want to become good at
doing something, spend a lot of time doing it. If you want to be good at reading, read a lot. If you
want to be good at speaking, speak a lot. Although this is a simple, quantity-focused principle, it is a
very effective principle. Courses which provide plenty of opportunities to use the language produce
learners who are good at using the language. As with meaning-focused input and meaning-focused
output, fluency development is focused on language use. It involves the communication of messages.
Fluency is not of great use unless it is connected to the communication of meaning either receptively
as in listening and reading, or productively as in speaking and writing. That is why speed reading
courses (see Sonia Millett’s material, www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/speed-
reading-and-listening-fluency) contain comprehension questions.
Vocabulary learning does not occur through some magic process. It occurs because various prin-
ciples are applied that put good learning conditions into practice. Let us look at two examples before

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we bring together a set of vocabulary learning principles. The first example, extensive reading, is a
message-focused activity, and the second example, learning from word cards, is a deliberate learning
activity.
When learners do extensive reading, they may meet words that they have not met before. This
provides an opportunity to focus deliberately on vocabulary through guessing from context or
through dictionary look-up. Ideally, less than two words in every one hundred should be new words
so that learners’ reading is not interrupted too much by the need to deal with words. If learners
apply the time-on-task principle and read a lot, they are also increasing the likelihood that previously
met words will occur again, thus allowing the very important condition of repetition to occur. The
more words are repeated, the more likely they are to be remembered. The most effective repeti-
tion is spaced repetition. Spaced repetition occurs when an item is met and then some time passes
before it is met again. Reading sets up good opportunities for spaced repetition, especially for high
frequency words and topic-related words. The best repetition also involves good quality processing.
The quality of processing principle says that the more deeply and thoughtfully words are processed,
the more likely they are to be remembered. One way of adding quality to a repetition is by deliberate
attention. Words that are deliberately focused on are more likely to be remembered. In language use,
a very important way of adding quality of processing is through retrieval (Nakata, 2020). Retrieval
occurs with words we already know something about. When we read and we meet a word that we
have met before, we have the opportunity to retrieve the meaning of this word from our memory.
Each successful retrieval strengthens the connection between the word form and its meaning. It
also provides us with a successful recognition of the word form. Because in extensive reading we
are likely to meet more partially known words than completely unknown words, extensive reading
provides lots of useful opportunities for retrieval. There is a further way in which quality is added
to a retrieval in extensive reading. When we meet a word we have met before and this word is in
a different form or in a different context, then that varied meeting helps learning much more than
if the word was met exactly as it appeared before. In reading, repetitions of words typically involve
new phrase and sentence contexts and some words may occur with a different inflected form or
with a derivational suffix or prefix (sing-singer, cover-uncover). So, in extensive reading, quality is added
to meetings with words through spaced repetition, through retrieval and through varied meetings.
Extensive reading is a very effective way of increasing vocabulary knowledge because it sets up effec-
tive conditions for learning.
Let us now look at the conditions for learning in our second example. Learning from word cards
involves putting words on to small cards and writing their first language translation on the back of
the card. The cards should be small enough to be easily carried around in a bag or a pocket. The
learners should know how to check which words to put on to cards by referring to frequency lists or
by considering the possible future opportunities to meet or use the word. When learners work with
the cards, each learner goes quickly through their own pack of cards, looking at the word form and
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trying to recall (retrieve) the first language translation. The reason for writing the translation on the
back of the card is so that learners have an opportunity to retrieve the meaning rather than just seeing
it written next to the word. Unfortunately, the retrievals from word cards are not varied retrievals
but they do involve the condition of deliberate attention. Because there can be up to 50 words in a
pack of cards, when a learner goes through the pack of cards several times in one session, meeting the
same word again is a spaced repetition. In addition, learners should come back to their pack of cards
several times after a few days. This also provides spaced repetition. As learners use the cards, they
should keep changing the order of the words in the pack so that the preceding word does not end
up triggering the meaning of the next word. A good flash card program takes care of reordering the
words and keeps a record of successful and unsuccessful retrievals using multiple-choice items. So,
word cards and flash card programs set up good conditions for vocabulary learning through spaced
repetitions, deliberate learning and retrieval.

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 Paul Nation

We have looked at some principles that help vocabulary learning. The cost/benefit principle
makes sure that the learners are making the best use of their learning by focusing on the most useful
vocabulary. The principle of the four strands makes sure that there is a range of opportunities for
deliberate learning and learning through use. The principle of the four strands also sets up opportu-
nities for the very important principle of spaced repetition. Repetition is more likely to be effective
if each repetition involves the principle of a deep quality of processing through retrieval and varied
meetings and use.
Learning a language involves hard work and learners need to spend time working on what they
need to learn (time-on-task). They need to do lots of listening, speaking, reading and writing and
lots of well-directed language study.
The principles of cost/benefit, the four strands, spaced repetition, quality of processing and time-
on-task are not just principles for the teacher to understand. Learners should also memorise these
principles and understand how to apply them in their learning. They need to become autonomous
language learners, taking responsibility for their own learning. When learners do this, they will find
that these well proven principles apply not only to vocabulary learning but to all kinds of learning.

Activities for learning vocabulary

As a way of summing up what has been covered in this chapter on the teaching and learning of
vocabulary, let us look at the major activities that can contribute to the learning of vocabulary.
Each of these activities are analysed in detail in Webb and Nation (2017, Chapter 5) to show what
conditions are involved in their use and how to optimise these conditions. Several of the activities
can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/Language-Teaching-Techniques.
In Table 28.2, conversation appears in both the meaning-focused input and meaning-focused
output strands because it is a mixture of listening and speaking. Problem-solving speaking involves
activities like ranking, role play and simulation focused on a problem, and problem-solving tasks
(Nation, 2013b). Vocabulary learning in such activities is helped by support from others through
negotiation of meaning and through repetition which arises from having to keep dealing with the
problem until a solution is found. Repetition of vocabulary can be increased by organising the

Table 28.2 The most useful vocabulary learning activities in each strand

1 Meaning-focused input Extensive reading

Extensive listening
Conversation
2 Meaning-focused output Problem-solving speaking
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Prepared talks
Conversation
3 Language-focused learning Intensive reading
Strategy training
Word card and flash card learning
Deliberate study and exercises
Teaching
4 Fluency development Listening to stories, Quicklistens
4/3/2
Speed reading, Easy extensive reading
10 minute writing

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 Teaching and learning vocabulary

activity into a series of steps (a procedure). These steps can include preparation for the task, doing the
task and reporting back on the proposed solution to the task. The pyramid procedure (Jordan, 1990)
involves thinking of an individual solution to the task, then working in pairs to reach agreement,
then working in a group of four and then finally as a whole class. Each step of increasing group size
means that the same material needs to be covered again, thus increasing repetition of the vocabulary.
In the language-focused learning strand, intensive reading can involve individual or pair work, or
more typically can involve the teacher guiding the class through a text. Vocabulary and collocations
can be one of the many possible focuses in intensive reading. Intensive reading may also be a useful
source of vocabulary for word card learning. Strategy training in Table 28.2 involves a deliberate
focus on how to learn. Most of the strategies also involve deliberate attention to vocabulary and
collocations.
The fluency activities in Table 28.2 strengthen and enrich knowledge of vocabulary. One effect
of fluency activities is to push the learner to work with larger units of language, words rather than
letters, word groups rather than individual words.
The learning of vocabulary does not just occur where there is a deliberate focus on vocabulary.
It should occur across all four skills and all four strands. In well-planned courses, using the language
through listening, speaking, reading and writing is supported by deliberate learning and using the
language also provides vocabulary for later deliberate learning. Through all the opportunities for
learning vocabulary both teachers and learners should be trying to put the principles of cost/benefit,
the four strands, spaced repetition, quality of processing and time-on-task into practice so that the
most favourable conditions for vocabulary learning occur.

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