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If a person is living in a country where their target language is spoken, what should they prioritize in their learning?
If a person is living in a country where their target language is spoken, what should they prioritize in their learning?
What is a recommended approach for someone learning a language to communicate effectively with a native family member?
What is a recommended approach for someone learning a language to communicate effectively with a native family member?
What is the primary focus for someone learning a language out of mere interest?
What is the primary focus for someone learning a language out of mere interest?
When someone is learning a language primarily for travel, what vocabulary should they focus on?
When someone is learning a language primarily for travel, what vocabulary should they focus on?
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What should a learner do first to understand their language learning needs?
What should a learner do first to understand their language learning needs?
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Which principle suggests that repeated practice leads to better language learning outcomes?
Which principle suggests that repeated practice leads to better language learning outcomes?
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Why might focusing solely on quality rather than quantity be criticized in language learning?
Why might focusing solely on quality rather than quantity be criticized in language learning?
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What type of vocabulary should someone prioritize if they want to travel in countries where their target language is spoken?
What type of vocabulary should someone prioritize if they want to travel in countries where their target language is spoken?
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What should you focus on first if you need to learn a language for reading specialized texts?
What should you focus on first if you need to learn a language for reading specialized texts?
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What is an effective strategy for studying unknown vocabulary?
What is an effective strategy for studying unknown vocabulary?
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When learning a language for business, what should be prioritized in learning?
When learning a language for business, what should be prioritized in learning?
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What is the most common motivation for learning a language according to the provided content?
What is the most common motivation for learning a language according to the provided content?
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What percentage of words in a typical text do the most frequent ten words cover?
What percentage of words in a typical text do the most frequent ten words cover?
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Which strategy is least effective for someone who needs to study for a degree using a new language?
Which strategy is least effective for someone who needs to study for a degree using a new language?
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What percentage of words do the most frequent 1,000 words typically cover in texts?
What percentage of words do the most frequent 1,000 words typically cover in texts?
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What is one key benefit of learning high-frequency words first?
What is one key benefit of learning high-frequency words first?
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What is the approximate number of high frequency words in English identified by vocabulary specialists?
What is the approximate number of high frequency words in English identified by vocabulary specialists?
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What type of words constitutes most of the high frequency vocabulary?
What type of words constitutes most of the high frequency vocabulary?
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What percentage of words in a typical text will usually only appear once?
What percentage of words in a typical text will usually only appear once?
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How many words and phrases are needed for basic communication as a foreign tourist?
How many words and phrases are needed for basic communication as a foreign tourist?
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What should language learners focus on to maximize their study effectiveness?
What should language learners focus on to maximize their study effectiveness?
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How long would it take to learn the basic vocabulary for tourist needs?
How long would it take to learn the basic vocabulary for tourist needs?
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What is a key aspect of learning vocabulary according to the passage?
What is a key aspect of learning vocabulary according to the passage?
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Where can one find frequency ranked lists of words for language learning?
Where can one find frequency ranked lists of words for language learning?
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How many different words do you need to know to be familiar with 98% of the words in a friendly informal conversation?
How many different words do you need to know to be familiar with 98% of the words in a friendly informal conversation?
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What is the main focus of the principle of balance in language learning?
What is the main focus of the principle of balance in language learning?
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What is one benefit of having a teacher to assist with learning a foreign language's sound system?
What is one benefit of having a teacher to assist with learning a foreign language's sound system?
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What should you do if your goal is primarily to read the language?
What should you do if your goal is primarily to read the language?
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How many useful words are sufficient to hold adequate conversations?
How many useful words are sufficient to hold adequate conversations?
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Which of the following is NOT one of the four strands mentioned for a balanced language course?
Which of the following is NOT one of the four strands mentioned for a balanced language course?
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What aspect of language learning becomes more critical if the target language's sound system differs significantly from your native language?
What aspect of language learning becomes more critical if the target language's sound system differs significantly from your native language?
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What rate of word acquisition is typical for native speakers until reaching a vocabulary size of close to 20,000 different words?
What rate of word acquisition is typical for native speakers until reaching a vocabulary size of close to 20,000 different words?
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What is the primary purpose of a concordancer?
What is the primary purpose of a concordancer?
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Which of the following statements about online concordancers is true?
Which of the following statements about online concordancers is true?
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What advantage does a concordancer provide when learning a word or phrase?
What advantage does a concordancer provide when learning a word or phrase?
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Which of the following is NOT considered a useful function of a concordancer?
Which of the following is NOT considered a useful function of a concordancer?
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Which of the following concordancers is best known for being free and downloadable?
Which of the following concordancers is best known for being free and downloadable?
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What type of information can a concordancer provide regarding word collocations?
What type of information can a concordancer provide regarding word collocations?
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What is a corpus in the context of using a concordancer?
What is a corpus in the context of using a concordancer?
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When is it recommended for language learners to start using survival vocabulary?
When is it recommended for language learners to start using survival vocabulary?
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Study Notes
Vocabulary Size
- To be familiar with 98% of the running words in a friendly informal conversation or a movie, you need to know around 6,000 different words.
- To be familiar with 98% of the running words in a novel or newspaper, you need to know around 8,000-9,000 different words.
- Native speakers learn around 1,000 different words a year until they reach a vocabulary size of close to 20,000 different words.
- With a vocabulary of 1,000 to 2,000 of the most useful words, you can hold adequate conversations and get most things done.
Four Strands of Language Learning
- Learning from meaning-focused input (listening and reading) /
- Learning from meaning-focused output (speaking and writing)
- Language-focused learning (studying pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, etc.)
- Fluency development (getting good at using what you already know)
Principle of Repetition
- The more time you spend on something, the better you will become at doing it.
Defining Language Learning Needs
- Focus on what you already know and what you plan to do with the language you are learning.
- Determine your reasons for learning the language, as this will affect what you need to learn.
Table 2.1: Reasons for Learning a Language and Corresponding Learning Focuses
- Reason: I am just interested in the language. Focus: Spoken language should be your major focus at the beginning.
- Reason: I am living in a country where this language is spoken and I want to be able to communicate with others. Focus: Spoken language should be your major focus. Make a list of your speaking needs and keep adding to it. Start with some of the Survival vocabulary.
- Reason: My partner or another family member is a native speaker of that language. Focus: Spoken language should be your major focus. Start with useful repeated routines such as greetings and talking around daily repeated activities.
- Reason: I want to travel in countries where that language is spoken. Focus: You do not need to learn a lot of the language. Learn the Survival vocabulary. Aim for a high degree of spoken fluency with the items in that very limited vocabulary. Put all of the survival vocabulary on to word cards.
- Reason: I need to know this language to read books related to my work or subject area. Focus: Begin working with the texts you want to read. Technical words in the subject area make up a very large proportion of the running words in such texts.
- Reason: I need to study for a degree using this language. Focus: Start working with the texts you will use in your study. Put unknown words onto word cards and do the same with repeated phrases. Study these cards every day.
- Reason: I want to use this language to do business with people who speak this language. Focus: Start working with conversational spoken language and then move to business-focused conversation.
- Reason: It is a university or school requirement and I want to pass the final exam. Focus: Get examples of the final exam and prepare for the kinds of questions the exam asks.
Word Frequency Distribution
- There is a pattern of word frequency: a small number of words are very frequent, and a large number of words are very infrequent.
- The ten most frequent words in English cover around 25% of the words in any text.
- The 100 most frequent words cover around 50%.
- The most frequent 1,000 words cover around 80% of the words in most texts.
- When learning words, it is good to learn the high frequency words first.
- Vocabulary specialists typically see the high frequency words of English as consisting of around 2,000 to 3,000 words.
- Most high-frequency words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs (content words or meaning words).
- Half of the words in any text will occur only once in that text.
- One of the skills in learning a language is to know what words are worth learning at each stage of your proficiency development.
Survival Vocabulary for Foreign Tourists
- With around 120 words and phrases, you can deal with the most basic requirements as a foreign tourist.
- These basic requirements include meeting and greeting people, being polite, going shopping, ordering food, seeking directions, reading signs, finding somewhere to stay, talking about yourself, and controlling language input.
Concordancers for Language Learning
- Definition: A concordancer is a program that searches for examples of words or phrases in a collection of texts (a corpus).
- Benefits: Concordancers show you the range of senses of a word or phrase, how a word or phrase is used, how frequent a word or phrase is, and what words a particular word occurs with.
- Online Concordancers: Netspeak, Just the Word, Wordneighbours, Word and Phrase, Compleat Lexical Tutor, and Sketch Engine.
- Downloadable Concordancer: AntConc.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
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Description
Test your understanding of key concepts in language learning, including vocabulary size and the four strands of learning. This quiz covers the importance of repetition and practical usage in mastering a new language. Challenge yourself to see how well you grasp these foundational principles!