International scholars and researchers present cutting edge contributions on the significance of vocabulary in current thinking on first and second language acquisition in the school and at home. By pursuing common themes across first and second language and bilingual contexts, the editors offer a collection that tackles the most important issues.

Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition provides an examination of the background to testing vocabulary knowledge in a second language and in particular considers the effect that word frequency and lexical coverage have on learning and communication in a foreign language. It examines the tools we have for assessing the various facets of vocabulary knowledge such as aural and written word recognition, the link with word meaning, and vocabulary depth. These are illustrated and the scores they produce are demonstrated to provide normative data. Vocabulary acquisition from course books and in the classroom in examined, as is vocabulary uptake from informal tasks. This book ties scores on tests of vocabulary breadth to performance on standard foreign language examinations and on hierarchies of communicative performance such as the CEFR.

The book discusses vocabulary learning strategies as an integral subgroup of language learning strategies. It defines language learning strategies in general and their features on the basis of cognitive theory and relevant models of second language acquisition as the basis for empirical research. Furthermore, the book gives a survey of research on vocabulary learning strategies and describes three original empirical studies. Thus, the book attempts at integrating the approaches of theories of second language acquisition, the theory and practice of instructed foreign language learning, and the findings of current empirical research.

Incidental language acquisition is the language that is learned informally, outside the constraints of the typical classroom, and vocabulary is one of the key elements in language learning and knowledge. This unique text is the first comprehensive overview and hands-on methodological guide for researching second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition. Expert contributors from around the world synthesize the state of the art by defining key concepts and laying out the major theoretical perspectives, research methodologies, empirical findings, and pedagogical considerations involved in incidental L2 vocabulary learning research. By connecting research techniques to the theory that underpins them, detailing practical steps for designing and conducting rigorous new studies, and highlighting areas that deserve additional research attention, they further set the agenda for future work in this field and put readers in a strong position to understand and carry out this research independently. This book will be an invaluable resource to advanced students and researchers of second language acquisition, vocabulary studies, applied linguistics, education, and related areas.

A collection of articles on direct and indirect second language vocabulary acquisition.

This volume features eight articles on writing and vocabulary acquisitiontwo crucial areas of study in foreign language learning and teaching. Five contributions have come from notable research environments in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland and Wales. The first section is devoted to studies of writing in a second or a foreign language (L2). The second section deals with vocabulary acquisition illustrating the wide scope of the issues open to investigation.