Popular Posts

Blogger templates

Blogger news

Blogroll

About

Thursday, January 10, 2013
 

Vocabulary and language skills

Any language dictionary contains about 300,000 words. This fact for a beginner to learn the language is interesting in so far as. The main principle for a reasonable study of language must have at to learn more words, and to do so as better.

There are different ways to learn a language. Stop on the way, which is the complete opposite of those methods that are focused on the study of a large number of words.

There is no doubt that the study of the vast number of words in a short time, enjoy people, after a few days they will forget.

Better if the training program will be designed so that at the end of a certain stage of the pupils will know fewer words well, than it will be bad to remember a large number.

The misconception that the initial stage of training you need to learn as many words to learn the language more. Only the student can and must decide whether he knows the word, is good if his vocabulary in order to achieve the purpose for which he began to study a foreign language.

As the experience of approximately 400 words that are chosen correctly, can replace about 90% of the volume of the dictionary, you will use in daily communication. And in order to understand what you read, will be sufficient to know 1,500 words, and many of these words you need to know is passive.

The best option - it is the development of the words that you will be the most important as the day to take up the study of more and more new words, perhaps, and you do not need them.

In the vocabulary of speech about forty words chosen correctly, the words that are most commonly used in the construction of phrases, covering around 50% of their use in everyday speech. So, 200 words - 80%, 400 - about 90%, and 1000 words - about 95% of the vocabulary needed in everyday life. It follows that helps to understand a lot of the number of learned words and qualitative vocabulary (chosen correctly).

Calculate the percentage, of course, are not the result of mathematical calculations. Rather, they make it clear how many words you need to, engaging in dialogue, to be confident and feel comfortable. When checking in practice, it appears that if a properly chosen 400-800 words carefully to remember, you can easily feel comfortable with a simple dialogue, as they will cover almost 100% of the words, without which it is impossible to do.

Take a look at what is needed vocabulary when reading. If you choose and memorize 80 words that occur frequently, then you can understand about 50% of the simple text as 200 words - about 60%, 400 - 70% 800 - 80%, in 2000 - about 90%, and 800 words - almost 99% of the text. For example, if you read the text, which amounts to about 10 000 words (about 40 pages long), then learning the advance 400 most essential words, you will see the text of about 7,000 words out of use 10 000.

It should be remembered that the figures given in the article - approximately. It all depends on different conditions: in some cases, knowledge of 50 words will cover about 50% of the text, and in other cases, to get the same result, you need to learn three times more words.

Consider, as classified by the number of vocabulary.

Active vocabulary for basic level - 400-500. Vocabulary (active) needed to be able to explain or passive vocabulary needed to read (base) - is 800-1000 words. 1500-2000 - the active vocabulary, which is enough for everyday and for sure reading. Vocabulary of 3000-4000 words - enough to read the literature and newspapers. Free communication provides for a European reserve of 8,000 words. In practice, knowledge bόlshego word count is not necessary. When vocabulary of 8,000 words can not only communicate freely verbally and in writing, and read all kinds of books.

Vocabulary (active) of 10 000-20 000 words in their native language is characteristic of educated European, out of 50 000-100 000 words - is his passive vocabulary.

However, if you learn the vocabulary you want, it does not mean that you are free to communicate in a foreign language. The very need to learn additional methods of training to be able to speak freely. Without knowledge of "live" speech, without communicating with native speakers can not learn the language.

In the study of technical terms commonly difficulties arise, as in the majority, they belong to the international vocabulary, sounding understandable to all.

When your vocabulary consists of 1,500 words, you are free to read simple texts. With passive vocabulary 3000-4000, you are at a good level will be able to read the professional literature (technical, medical, scientific and so on) from the desired area.

The results of the studies by linguists the average citizen of Europe, having a degree, has an active vocabulary, which consists of 20 000 words, half of which he uses infrequently. A passive vocabulary - 50 000. But these figures are for the mother tongue.

There is such terminology as basic vocabulary. So, according to linguists, as required at the level of the active vocabulary of a foreign language - it is about 8000 words. No need to learn the words again and again, except for the case where the individual words are needed for certain purposes. Otherwise, the 8000 words is quite enough for a full, normal communication with people.

In practice, identified three main levels of vocabulary, which you can navigate. First - Level A - basic vocabulary (400-500 words) covers up to 90% of the use of the word in everyday speech, and 70% of plain text. Second - level B - minimal vocabulary (800-1000), is sufficient to cover 95% of the use of words in speech and 80-85% of the text. Third - level B - is the average vocabulary (1500-2000 words), which is sufficient to cover 100% of word occurrences in everyday speech, and 90% of the text.

As an example of a dictionary containing the basic vocabulary, you can cast your E. Klett. It is called «Grundwortschatz Deutsch» («basic vocabulary of German"), was released in 1971 in Stuttgart. It presented a 2000 words on each of the selected language (German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian).

So we've seen quite an easy method of learning a foreign language. If you are an acceptable method, and you have decided to learn from the above program, then good luck to you!