I think this kind of lists is usually prepared for educators and syllabus designers to help them choose from the most useful words for their students depending, of course, on the learning context. But to make this list as part of the our students' teaching is like assigning the students a dictionary to study which is surely against the recommended and agreed upon methodology of teaching vocabulary. I believe that vocabulary should be taught in context where the students not only learn the meaning of the new word but also know how to use it.
Wafa, I definitely agree with you that exposing students directly to such a list would backfire ( I remember, I took one look at my 33,000-word GRE list and was so overwhelmed, I failed to study even one word). Contextual-learning is the way to go. If, however, it is true as the website asserts that the words in question are ones “which should receive priority in vocabulary study because of their importance and usefulness,” then a selection from the list might be carefully chosen by the teachers themselves (as you say) to provide the students with in-context exposure. Certainly, having the students study what are recognized by “language experts” as important and useful terms would be much more relevant to their future academic success than having them expend energy on vocabulary such as “thrillers” and “Salsa.” By the way, Hamid, thanks for the resource. I’ve saved the link for future reference.
I think this kind of lists is usually prepared for educators and syllabus designers to help them choose from the most useful words for their students depending, of course, on the learning context. But to make this list as part of the our students' teaching is like assigning the students a dictionary to study which is surely against the recommended and agreed upon methodology of teaching vocabulary. I believe that vocabulary should be taught in context where the students not only learn the meaning of the new word but also know how to use it.
ReplyDeleteWafa, I definitely agree with you that exposing students directly to such a list would backfire ( I remember, I took one look at my 33,000-word GRE list and was so overwhelmed, I failed to study even one word). Contextual-learning is the way to go. If, however, it is true as the website asserts that the words in question are ones “which should receive priority in vocabulary study because of their importance and usefulness,” then a selection from the list might be carefully chosen by the teachers themselves (as you say) to provide the students with in-context exposure. Certainly, having the students study what are recognized by “language experts” as important and useful terms would be much more relevant to their future academic success than having them expend energy on vocabulary such as “thrillers” and “Salsa.”
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Hamid, thanks for the resource. I’ve saved the link for future reference.