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"Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed."
(Wilkins, 1972, p. 111)
The English language is considered to have the largest vocabulary in the world (Crystal, 2002). Educated native speakers of English are expected to know approximately 20,000 word families or 70,000 words (Nation, 2001); however, educated non-native speakers of English know less than one quarter of the native speakers' vocabulary (Laufer & Yano, 2001). Nonnative speakers of English must increase their vocabulary knowledge in order to become successful in their academic endeavors in English-medium educational environments. A solid foundation of vocabulary knowledge is essential at every stage of the learner's second language (L2) development. Regardless of the degree of the learner's competency in grammar and pronunciation; one cannot have effective communication without sufficient vocabulary knowledge. Developing the learner's vocabulary skills ultimately facilitates richer listening and speaking abilities (Chang, 2007; Joe, 1998; Joe, Nation, & Newton, 1996; Newton, 1995), reading abilities (Cobb, 2008; Haynes, 1993; Laufer, 1992; Nation, 2001; Nation & Coady, 1988; Wesche & Paribakht, 2000), and writing abilities (Engber, 1995; Ferris, 1994; Hinkel, 2004; Laufer, 1998; Laufer & Nation, 1995). Research highlights that learning words in a systematic manner is very important for both word retention and the facilitation of the learner's later production (Carter, 1998; McCarthy, 1996; Nation, 2009; Roberts, 1999). This paper presents effective vocabulary learning strategies that students who use English as their second language (ESL) can use to enhance their vocabulary acquisition and the learning of English.
Process of Vocabulary Acquisition
There have been two differing perspectives about L2 vocabulary acquisition: implicit learning and explicit learning. The implicit vocabulary learning theory holds that subconscious vocabulary acquisition during reading is more effective than learning words through purposeful vocabulary exercises because the learner's conscious focus is on the story, not on the items to learn (Krashen, 1987, 1993). However, numerous studies have convincingly shown that extensive reading is not sufficient to improve the learner's L2 vocabulary knowledge (Carter 1998; Carter and McCarthy 1988; McCarthy, 1996; Nation 2009; Wesche & Paribakht, 2000). Although solely relying on reading for vocabulary development may lead to the learner's ability to recognize a large number of words, it is not likely to advance the learner's ability to use words in a...