Focus on Vocabulary Learning

2899

31st October 2019

by Pete Sharma

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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Pete Sharma

Pete is a teacher and teacher trainer with a Masters in Educational Technology and ELT from Manchester University, and a background in business English teaching. He is a lecturer in EAP at Warwick University, and an active consultant with many organisations. Pete's book reviews are provided courtesy of BEBC: www.bebc.co.uk.