SECOND LANGUAGE

Importance Of Vocabulary In Second Language

Important Of Vocabulary In Second Language

In the Longman Advanced American Dictionary, vocabulary is defined as “all the words that someone knows, learns, or uses” (2003: 1612). In the process of learning language, vocabulary plays a significant role in developing the skills including listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. Vocabulary is regarded as a foundation for the mastery of the language and it goes without saying that great importance should be attached to vocabulary. Hence, learners are supposed to enrich their vocabularies for the sake of proficiency in the language learning. However, as for most non-English majors, English vocabulary has been their big concern. Facing the pressure of passing CET 4 and CET 6, they devote a large amount of time to the vocabulary learning, but the progress isn't obvious. Thus, the researcher aims to explore English vocabulary learning strategies employed by non-English majors at the undergraduate level in order to seek ways of helping them for the improvement of English vocabulary learning.

Previous studies have shown that strategies can facilitate the language learning. Hence, during the process of learning vocabulary, the application of strategies will make it more effective. In this part, the theoretical basis for the present research is brought into discussion. The researcher introduces language learning strategies, vocabulary learning strategies and related studies on this issue at home and abroad.

It is often assumed that children can learn languages faster than adults, that immigrant children translate for their parents who have not learned the language, and that child learners grow up to speak without a foreign accent, whereas this is impossible for adult learners. Most commonly people claiming the superiority of child learners cite to the critical period hypothesis that argues that children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brains are more flexible. They can learn languages easily because their cortex is more easily manipulated than that of older learners. However, the critical period hypothesis is quite controversial. It has been proposed that differences in the rate of second language acquisition may reflect psychological and social factors, rather than biological ones, that favor child learners. For instance, children may be more motivated than adults to learn the second language due to more incentive to fit in than for an adult on the job where they can get by with simply phrases or with friends who probably speak the individual's native language anyway. It more commonly happens that children are placed in more situations where they are forced to speak the second language than are adults. However, experimental research in which children have been compared to adults in second language learning has consistently demonstrated that adolescents and adults perform better than young children under controlled conditions. One exception is in the area of pronunciation, although even here some studies show better results for older learners. Similarly, research comparing children and adults learning second languages does not support the notion that younger children are more efficient at second language ...