Is it important?
It is probably as important as the other parts of a language. In the learning process, one cannot escape from any of them. One cannot spend his whole life to checkout grammar, or vocabulary. So, people should have a knowledge of vocabulary. However, when it comes to the rules of this knowledge, it can be sometimes confusing because people do not have the same interests with the others. On the contrary, one may just want to know the words that he is going to use in his business life. So why do he need to learn, the words related to pop culture? Then, why do we need to use articles in English/artikers in German in a context? If we are speaking with a close friend, she would just understand what we are talking about. Anyway, there are several possible questions while someone is learning vocabulary. However, it is claimed in the presentation that people who are learning English need to know the common words which are 2,709 words at total. The common words mentioned in the presentation are the %95 percent of the words that occurs in every each of the texts. And here is the link of this presentation, if you want to check it out!
One another theory about vocabulary learning related to the presentation is that why don't people learn it naturally if they are the common words. Well, when we are dealing with teaching a language, we are focusing on something specific at a time, which is usually grammar because English is a language that has strict grammar rules. Therefore, there will be only a little information about vocabulary learning, and how they will study vocabulary. I know that there is sometimes none. Teachers are not usually familiar with the techniques, or they may not even know the basics. So, they just follow the instructions that others prepared. It is the problem of humankind, they don't really like doing researches. However, I believe that in learning a language, the most important thing is to internalize. In this sense, I do remember that I have two words that I confuse all the time until my girlfriend give an example like 'you appeal to me.' The words that I confuse were 'appeal' and 'appear' by the way. So, I had the connection between the word, and the sentence; thus, I'm never going to confuse them again. The other possible problem with the vocabulary is people are going to memorize it by studying them over and over instead of trying to learn them instead of learning them.
2,709 words... Okay, so what? People have feelings that they even cannot understand, and they are trying to express. Therefore, it may not be enough. For the learning part, it is alright to use 2,709 words but when it comes to such superior thoughts than just simple actions, it can be difficult and it may not stay in %95.
Contrary to the common belief, I think that non-native speakers can have better results in tests because they learn it systemically, rule by rule.
Choosing a text proper text for the students can be a difficult task. However, I believe it depends mostly on timing. For example, if I have 3 hours of classes with per-intermediate students, I would choose the second text; thus, when they are done with the text, they would have learned more information. However, for one of class, it would be nothing but torturing. Another important thing to know when to select a text for the students is directly related with student's interests. Thus, they can be motivated easily to study the text in front of them. However, there is always a risk while doing it because they can already know the topics and they wouldn't care maybe. Also, it seems that the shorter the words become the easier in English. People are lazy and this can be the reason for it. Since they are lazy, it is possible to avoid longer words to pronounce or write.
Wordle vs Lextutor
Wordle is cool, it produces nice images from the texts. It probably uses an algorithm that allows more frequent words to be written in higher fonts. However, Lextutor is more advanced since it can give more statistical values and can give examples as well. The only problem with Lextutor is the non-user friendly interface. It can be hard to use it for the first time and maybe even for the second and third time.
Possible Strategies
Teachers can use vocabulary profiling systems to find out the rarity of the words so that they can prepare a text by find the rarest words and listing them as the unknown vocabulary and give the meaning of them to the students. So that, they can read the text and find out the meanings of the common words that they do not already know and ignore the ones that are rare.
To be honest, I am a narcissist person and I don't want to share my tools with my students. I would pet them, and feed them with lots of exercises, materials but my tools? Oh, no way! :D
And this my example to cloze test, http://www.lextutor.ca/cloze/vp/users/A_review_of_Veronika_decides_to_die[2].html
And this is the key words of the text according to Lextutor,
2,709 words... Okay, so what? People have feelings that they even cannot understand, and they are trying to express. Therefore, it may not be enough. For the learning part, it is alright to use 2,709 words but when it comes to such superior thoughts than just simple actions, it can be difficult and it may not stay in %95.
For example, the statistics of the common words that are meant to be the be %95 decreases in Shakespeare's Sonnet #40 to the percentage is 74,6.
- Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all:
- What hast thou then more than thou hadst before?
- No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call;
- All mine was thine before thou hadst this more.
- Then, if for my love thou my love receivest,
- I cannot blame thee for my love thou usest;
- But yet be blamed if thou this self deceivest
- By wilful taste of what thyself refusest.
- I do forgive thy robb'ry, gentle theif,
- Although thou steal thee all my poverty;
- And yet love knows it is a greater grief
- To bear love's wrong than hate's known injury.
- Lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows,
- Kill me with spites; yet we must not be foes.
Contrary to the common belief, I think that non-native speakers can have better results in tests because they learn it systemically, rule by rule.
Choosing a text proper text for the students can be a difficult task. However, I believe it depends mostly on timing. For example, if I have 3 hours of classes with per-intermediate students, I would choose the second text; thus, when they are done with the text, they would have learned more information. However, for one of class, it would be nothing but torturing. Another important thing to know when to select a text for the students is directly related with student's interests. Thus, they can be motivated easily to study the text in front of them. However, there is always a risk while doing it because they can already know the topics and they wouldn't care maybe. Also, it seems that the shorter the words become the easier in English. People are lazy and this can be the reason for it. Since they are lazy, it is possible to avoid longer words to pronounce or write.
Wordle vs Lextutor
Wordle is cool, it produces nice images from the texts. It probably uses an algorithm that allows more frequent words to be written in higher fonts. However, Lextutor is more advanced since it can give more statistical values and can give examples as well. The only problem with Lextutor is the non-user friendly interface. It can be hard to use it for the first time and maybe even for the second and third time.
Possible Strategies
Teachers can use vocabulary profiling systems to find out the rarity of the words so that they can prepare a text by find the rarest words and listing them as the unknown vocabulary and give the meaning of them to the students. So that, they can read the text and find out the meanings of the common words that they do not already know and ignore the ones that are rare.
To be honest, I am a narcissist person and I don't want to share my tools with my students. I would pet them, and feed them with lots of exercises, materials but my tools? Oh, no way! :D
And this my example to cloze test, http://www.lextutor.ca/cloze/vp/users/A_review_of_Veronika_decides_to_die[2].html
And this is the key words of the text according to Lextutor,
(1) 320.13 suicide
(2) 152.60 teenage
(3) 98.08 mental
(4) 62.53 institute
(5) 61.46 youth
(6) 52.31 repeat
(7) 50.44 wake
(8) 27.28 death
(9) 25.07 process
