Foreword by Paul Nation I am pleased to be able to write an introduction to this book. I have been involved in research on vocabulary teaching and learning for many years and I am always pleased when I see textbook writers giving very careful thought to what learners should be learning. A great deal of thoughtful work has gone into the preparation of the word lists in this book. I am sure that both teachers and learners will find them extremely useful, and that they will see the benefits of using them in the planning of their courses and as a source of material for deliberate learning.
The second type of planning the vocabulary teacher should do is to make sure that there are opportunities to learn vocabulary across the four strands of the course. These strands are (1) learning through listening and reading, (2) learning through speaking and writing, (3) learning through the deliberate study of vocabulary, and (4) becoming fluent in using vocabulary in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This book is useful for the deliberate learning strand of a course. It provides useful information about each word, which will take learners forward in their vocabulary growth.
Planning vocabulary instruction
Deliberate learning
The most important job of the vocabulary teacher is to plan. This planning is of two types. Firstly, the teacher needs to plan what vocabulary the learners need to be working on. That is, should they be working on high-frequency vocabulary, academic vocabulary, technical vocabulary, or low-frequency vocabulary? This planning is very important because the words of a language are not all equally useful. Some words occur very frequently and in many different kinds of texts and uses of language. Clearly this is true for words like the, of, and, and when, but it is also true for words like ground, walk, sometimes, trade, except, and special. It is important to learn these very frequent and useful words before learning the less common words of the language. This book contains lists of these very useful words. The words are arranged in order to show their usefulness. That is why the lists in the book are not alphabetical.
Deliberate study is very important for the learning of vocabulary. There has been published research on deliberate vocabulary learning for well over 100 years, and it shows that the deliberate rote learning of vocabulary is efficient, results in the kind of knowledge that is needed for normal language use, and results in knowledge that is remembered for a long time.
Let us look at some data that shows the usefulness of these words. The most frequent 100 words of the language cover around 50% of the running words in any spoken or written text. That means if you know these 100 words, then you will be familiar with half of the words in every line of a text, and half of the words on every page of a book. Unfortunately this does not mean that you will understand half of the book. Many more words are needed for that. If you know 1000 words, then you will be familiar with at least 80% of the running words on any page, and around 90% of the running words in a friendly conversation. If you know 2000 words, then you will be familiar with close to 85% of the running words on any page, and around 95% of the running words in a conversation. Learning these very useful words is a very important goal for a learner of English.
4
Let us look briefly at each of these three features of deliberate learning. Deliberate learning is efficient because by using word cards, learners can learn the meanings of a large number of words in a fairly short time. Knowing the meaning is only one step towards truly knowing a word, but it is a very important step. Knowing a word well involves knowing its spoken and written forms, knowing its related inflected and derived forms, knowing its meaning and its range of senses, knowing how to use it in a sentence, knowing the other words that it typically goes with, and knowing any restrictions or limitations on its use. This book will provide very useful help with all of these aspects of knowing words. There has generally been a belief that the deliberate rote learning of vocabulary is not a good thing to do. There is no research evidence to support this belief, and plenty of research evidence to show that the belief is not true. The deliberate learning of vocabulary can result in a large number of words being learned in a very short time. Learners differ in the speed with which they learn words, and words differ in difficulty. However, the deliberate learning of vocabulary can be very efficiently done if a few simple guidelines are followed. These guidelines are best applied through the use of
small word cards that have the word to be learned on one side and its first language translation on the other. When using word cards, the learner should try to recall the meaning on the other side before turning the card over to look. It is not a good idea to spend a lot of time in one session working on the cards. It is much better to go through the cards once or twice and then put them away for an hour or two before working on them again. Then they should be looked at again the next day, and from then on every day or two until they are known. It is advisable to keep changing the order of the words in the pack so that one word does not remind you of the meaning of the next word. It is a good idea to say the word aloud to yourself when looking at the cards, because having a secure pronunciation of the word helps it enter long-term memory. If some words are particularly difficult to learn, then some memory tricks should be used. Another objection to deliberate learning is that words need to be learned in context. This is also incorrect. Clearly learners should meet words in context and be able to use and understand them in context, and it is very important in a well-balanced course that learners have the opportunity to meet and use words in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, deliberate learning has a very important role to play in helping learners make a quick step forward in their knowledge of vocabulary. There is now research that shows that deliberately learned vocabulary not only results in conscious knowledge of the form and meaning of words, but also results in subconscious knowledge that is fluently accessible. The restrictions that exist on the deliberate learning of grammar do not apply to the deliberate learning of vocabulary. One more objection made to deliberate learning is that such learning will be quickly forgotten. This is simply not true. There are plenty of studies that show that the deliberate learning of vocabulary results in knowledge that lasts not only for months but for years. Of course, although deliberate learning is efficient, useful, and long-lasting, it should only be part of a course, and should be well supported by the meaning-focused strands of input, output, and fluency development.
Choosing useful words How do we know which are the most useful words to learn? One way of course is to use this book, which has made the choice for you. But how has this choice been made? An increasingly common way of finding out whether a language feature is useful or not is to get a very big collection of texts and to see how commonly and how widely this feature occurs in this collection of texts. Such a collection is called a corpus, and the corpus used in this study is a collection of over 100 million words representing various kinds of uses of English. The corpus is called the British National Corpus. Around 10% of the corpus is spoken language and includes friendly conversations, radio broadcasts, Parliamentary debates, and interviews. Around 90% of the corpus is written language and includes novels, magazines, academic texts, newspapers, and a wide variety of other uses of the language. Having such a big and well organized corpus is very useful because it makes sure that the important words in the language have a chance to occur and thus be well represented in any word list made from the corpus. Because the lists in this book have been carefully and systematically made using the corpus, we can be sure that the words on the lists are very useful ones to learn. Learning the words in this book is a very good use of learning time and will result in knowledge that can be immediately put to a wide range of uses. Paul Nation, University of Wellington Paul Nation is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has taught in Indonesia, Thailand, the United States, Finland, and Japan. His specialist interests are language teaching methodology and vocabulary learning. His many publications include Reading for Speed and Fluency (Compass Publishing, 2007), Teaching Vocabulary: Strategies and Techniques (Cengage Learning, 2008), Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking (with Jonathan Newton) and Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing, (Routledge Taylor and Francis, 2009).
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Contents References and Sources
2
Foreword by Paul Nation
4
Vocabulary Learning Points
Word Lists & Tables
#1: Frequency
6
Formation of Regular English Words
30
#2: Study Techniques
8
Irregular Verbs and Nouns in the 2000-Word List
31
#3: Range of Meaning
10
English Key for the 2000-Word List
32
#4: Word Families
12
Japanese Key for the 2000-Word List
33
#5: Syllable Patterns
14
2000-Word List
34
#6: Word forms
16
3000-Word Index
114
#7: Collocations
18
My Vocabulary Notebook
129
#8: Multi-Word Items
20
Vocabulary Test Score Record Card
178
#9: Marked Words
22
#10: Example Sentences
24
#11: Cost & Benefit
26
#12: Independent Learning
28
3
Vocabulary Learning Point
1
#
Learn high-frequency words first
Frequency Some people estimate that English has more than a million words. Some of these words are used a lot, but many are not used very often. Words that are used a lot are called high-frequency words. (Frequency means 頻度.)
You can check the frequency of a word by looking at the 3000-Word Index. The number next to the word tells you how often it is used compared to other words. For example, number 100 is used more than number 150, and number 150 is used much more than number 2000.
✎✎Exercise
✎✎Exercise
The five words with the highest frequencies in English are:
be
of
a
the
Here are some pairs of words. Circle the one that you think has the higher frequency.
and
The word of is number three. Which do you think is number one? What about the other numbers? Write your answers in pencil below. 1.
2.
3. of
4.
5.
What do you think the next five words will be? Write your ideas below. 6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
This book contains a list of the 2000 most frequently used words in English. Check your answers to the questions above by looking at page 34.
The Top 2000 Words It is important for learners of English to know the 2000 words that have the highest frequencies. This book gives you those words in the 2000-Word List, which begins on page 34. The 3000-Word Index, which begins on page 114, shows all the words in the 2000-Word List in alphabetical order. It also contains the next most frequent 1000 words as a reference. If you know the top 2000 words and their families, you will know around 85% of the words in any general English text, and around 95% of the words in an everyday conversation.
6 7
east / west
mother / father
student / teacher
dog / cat
Check your answers by looking at the 3000-Word Index. Remember that a lower number means a higher frequency.
Parts of Speech Part of Speech means 品詞. In the 2000-Word List in this book, frequencies are given for different parts of speech of the same word. For example, work as a verb (動詞) and work as a noun (名詞) have different numbers.
✎✎Exercise
Here are some pairs of words that are in the 2000-Word List. Circle the one that you think has a higher frequency. Check your answers in the 3000-Word Index.
fight (v) / fight (n)
love (v) / love (n)
future (n) / future (adj)
Some words change slightly to make different parts of speech. Which do you think has the higher frequency in these pairs? Check your answers in the 3000-Word Index. power (n) / powerful (adj) possible (adj) / possibly (adv)
beauty (n) / beautiful (adj) safe (adj) / safety (n)
Learning English Vocabulary
The 2001-3000 Range
✎✎Exercise
✎✎Exercise
Use your dictionary to find the meanings of the words in the 2001-3000 range in the last exercise. Write them on the appropriate pages in My Vocabulary Notebook.
Look at the wordsbelow. Some of them are in the 1-2000 range, some are in the 2001-3000 range, and some are not in the top 3000. There are five in each group. Write your ideas, and then use the index to check your answers. Check the meanings of the words that are in the 2000-Word List if you do not know them.
Vocabulary Tests
adopt (v) cautious (adj) currently (adv) pose (v) spare (adj)
✎✎Exercise
bath (n) complicated (adj) delete (v) presumably (adv) suspicious (adj)
broad (adj) cult (n) investment (n) secret (n) unknown (adj)
Top 2000 2001-3000 Not in the top 3000
Frequency
If a word in the 3000-Word Index has a number higher than 2000, it is not in the 2000-Word List but may still be useful for you. If a word is not in the 3000-Word Index, it is not one of the most frequent 3000 words in English.
range, write it on the appropriate page of My Vocabulary Notebook at the back of this book. If it is not in the top 3000, you should only learn it if you think it will be useful. (You will learn how to make this decision later in the book.)
In your next class, you will have a test on the first words in the 2000-Word List. Your teacher will tell you what you need to learn. Look at those words now. Read the Japanese Key for the 2000-Word List on page 33.
Look at the words you are going to learn for three minutes, then close your book. Work with a partner and test each other on the words. Partner A looks at the book and reads out an English word and the part of speech. Partner B spells the word, and then says the Japanese translation.
Checking the Frequency of New Words Did you know all the words in the last exercise that were in the top 2000? How about the 2001-3000 words? When you meet an English word that you do not know, always check in the index of this book before you check in your dictionary. (Electronic dictionaries usually do not give information about frequency.) If you do not know the frequency of a word, it will be difficult to decide whether you need to learn it or not. If you find that a word you do not know is in the 2000-Word List, you should learn it. If it is in the 2001-3000
Learning English Vocabulary
7
near
prep
O
727
refer
v
oO
１. …に言及する (refer to sb/sth) ２. …を参照する (refer to sth)
728
capital
n
Ooo
１.（C）首都 ２.（U）資金
729
round (BE)
adv
O
１. 周りに（同意 around） ２. 回って（同意 around）
730
hotel
n
oO
１.（C）ホテル
731
player
n
Oo
１.（C）選手 ２.（C）演奏者
732
above
prep
oO
１. …の上に ２. …を上回って
733
forward
adv
Oo
１. 前へ ２. 前進して (move forward)
734
act
v
O
１.（I）行動する ２.（I）ふるまう
735
village
n
Oo
１.（C）村 ２. 村人たち（the village）
736
station
n
Oo
１.（C）駅 ２.（C）署
737
individual
adj
ooOoo
１. 個々の ２. 独特の
738
film
n
O
１.（C）映画（BE） ２.（カメラの）フィルム
739
attempt
n
oO
１.（C）挑戦
740
association
n
oooOo
１.（C）協会 ２. 交際（formal）
741
feature
n
Oo
１.（C）特徴 ２.（C）顔だち
742
individual
n
ooOoo
１.（C）個人
743
per
prep
O
１. …につき
744
income
n
Oo
１. 収入
745
effort
n
Oo
１. 努力
746
following
adj
Ooo
１. 翌日［年］など ２. 以下の
747
relate
v
oO
１.（I）関係がある ２.（T）…を関連づける
748
cup
n
O
１.（C） （取っ手付きの）カップ ２.（C） （プラスチックなどの）コップ
749
nice
adj
O
750
manage
v
Oo
726-750
a seat near the exit; a house near the station near the beginning/end of a movie He referred to his wife as ‘that woman’. refer to your notes when you give a presentation the capital city of a country raise capital for a construction project gather round; stand round go round and round stay at a hotel; check into/out of a hotel; a five-star hotel
near (adj); near (adv); nearly (adv); nearness (n)
a football/basketball/tennis player a trumpet player a picture above a bed; Raise your hands above your head. be above average step forward; push forward move forward with a project act in self-defence; act out of kindness act strangely; act like a child a small village; come from a village the whole village meet sb at Tokyo Station; get on/off a train at a station a police/fire station the needs of each individual student sb has a very individual style see/watch a film (AE movie); a film about John Lennon put a new film in a camera; record sth on film make an attempt to do sth; a successful attempt; sb’s first attempt at sth
play (v)
the National Basketball Association (NBA) have a long association with sb/sth an important feature; a safety feature sb has pretty features a talented individual; treat sb as an individual
disassociation (n); (dis)associate (v); associate (n); associated (adj) feature (v); featured (adj); featureless (adj)
25 kilometres per hour (kph); 1000 yen per hour; The hotel costs 10,000 yen per person per night. sb has an annual income of 50,000 dollars; have a low income; income from investments; income tax make an effort to do sth; sth requires a great deal of effort
reference (n); referral (n); referential (adj) capital (adj) round (prep) hotelier (n)
above (adv); above (adj) forward (adj) act (n); action (n); (in)active (adj); actively (adv); activist (n); (in)activity (n) villager (n)
individual (n); individually (adv); individualized (adj); individualist (n) film (v) attempt (v); (un)attempted (adj)
1000
726
１.（距離的に）…の近くに［で］ ２.（時間的に）…に近く
individual (adj); individually (adv); individualized (adj); individualist (n)
effortless (adj); effortlessly (adv) follow (v); follower (n); following (prep); following (n) related (adj); relative (adj); relatively (adv); relativity (n); relation (n); relationship (n) cupped (adj); cupful (n)
１. 素敵な
the following day; the following year Read the following instructions. How does this relate to what we were discussing? relate theory to the real world a coffee cup; a cup of tea a plastic/paper cup nice clothes; That’s a nice jacket.
１.（T）…を何とか成し遂げる ２.（I） （うまく）やる
manage to do sth; It was difficult, but we managed it. Can you manage on your own?
manager (n); management (n); mismanage (v); managerial (adj)
nicely (adv); niceness (n)
Learning English Vocabulary
67
Word and Forms
PoS Syllables
Notebook
T
172
Learning English Vocabulary
Translations
Collocations
T
Family