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L2 learners, a foundation of higher-frequency vocabulary is needed,
in addition to specialized vocabulary for that area.
Frequency is one of the key criteria for choosing which words
to teach or learn. Several lists had been compiled to include the
most frequent lexical items; however, nowadays language corpora
provide updated information about the most useful words in many
natural languages, including frequency and collocation.
Most textbooks for Italian and other foreign languages take into
account the frequency feature in selecting the vocabulary items to
present and practise in their units. They also consider the relevant
topics of interest for different types of learners and the use of class-
room language.
2. Importance of vocabulary in language learning
Vocabulary acquisition plays an essential role in language learning,
particularly in L2 learning. Communication is an exchange of
mean ings, and the main carrier of meaning is vocabulary. If a learn-
er does not grasp the sense of the lexical items he is reading or lis-
tening to, there is neither real understanding nor personal response,
as stated in the frequently quoted sentences below:
Without grammar little can be conveyed; without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed.10
A lexical mistake often causes misunderstanding, while a grammar
mistake rarely does.11
A more radical view was introduced by Michael Lewis in his book
The Lexical Approach12 and the follow-up Implementing the Lexical
Approach, where he pointed out that “language consists of gram-
maticalised lexis”13, emphasizing the vital importance of vocabu-
lary to convey meaning by learning not just words, but multi-word
VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
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10 David A. Wilkins, Linguistics in Language Teaching, London: Arnold, 1972, p. 111.
11 John Sinclair, “Speaking Englishes, Speaking Cultures”, 30th IATEFL Conference at University
of Keele, April 1996, quoted by Michael Lewis, Implementing the Lexical Approach, p. 16.
12 Michael Lewis, The Lexical Approach, Hove: Language Teaching Publications, 1993.
13 Michael Lewis, Implementing the Lexical Approach, p. 102.
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