How many words does a learner become fluent in English as a foreign language



How many words does a learner become fluent in English as a foreign language

Vocabulary；Foundation；Foreign language

一、 Introduction

With the globalization of economy develop all over the world，English become popular and useful，a large number of people learn and speak English.But it is not easy for learners，there are many problems with learning English.

二、 What is vocabulary

For learners more easy and convenience，vocabulary means the word of ‘words’.Word is basic unit of whole sentence，it depends on how you master them.There are high frequency words，academic words，specialist words and infrequent words(Milton，J，2009).

三、 How many words are needed

(一)What kinds of words

There are high frequency words，academic words，specialist words and infrequent words(Milton，J，2009).

(二)How many words should learners master

According to Nation，17，000 words suggest to the native speakers.There is a simple recovery analysis of the digitals show us a predictable relationship between the unknown vocabularies and the degree of comprehension.It shows that approximately 98% of words are needed for learners to gain substantive comprehension of a text about novel(Hu，M and Nation，I.S.P，2000).There are two sets of score standard and analysis one is the reading comprehension score(RC)and the lexical coverage score(LC).The 95% coverage can be gained by learning approximately 5000 words.Therefore，another experiment finally show that the 98% is a much more wise coverage target for learners of academic texts(Schmitt，N，Jiang，X and Grabe，W，2011).And many learners who start their academic studies possess have much poor vocabularies lasting vocabulary expansion should be one of the important goals of any class in Language for Academic Aims.(Laufer，B，1989)

There is a large vocabulary is necessary for learners to gain English of 8000 to 9000 words for reading，and 5000 to 7000 families for communication.Nation suggested that there are four parts of meaning-focused input，meaning-focused output，language-focused learning and fluency development are four study strands.(Schmitt，N，2008).

四、 Where do the words come from

Learners can learn words from classroom，course books are characterized by huge variety.Teachers should have the plan of lexical syllabuses of textbook(Alsaif，A and Milton，J，2012).

Meanwhile，vocabulary acquisition can from extensive reading outside the class，there can be much more methods for learners get the knowledge.Vocabulary can learn from reading comic books，sing songs，watch DVDs with subtitles，wordlists，and study or visits abroad.(Konstantakis，N and Alexiou，T，2012).

五、 Conclusion

As Jim said that，8000 words there might be enough to the foreign language speakers(Milton，J，2009).As far as I concern，there would like to be more words you know，more comprehensive you can understand.Therefore，for learners，the more practice of the language，the more fluent you can master the language.

[ Bibliography ]

[1]Alsaif，A.and Milton，J.(2012)Vocabulary input from school textbooks as a potential contributor to the small vocabulary uptake gained by English as a foreign language learners in Saudi Arabia.Language Learning Journal，40(1)：21-34.

[2]Hu，M.and Nation，I.S.P.(2000)Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension.Reading in a Foreign Language，13(1)：403-430.

[3]Konstantakis，N.and Alexiou，T.(2012)Vocabulary in Greek young learens Ebgoish as a foreign language course books.Language Learning Journal，40(1)：35-46.

[4]Laufer，B.(1989)What percentage of text is essential for comprehension? In Lauren，C.and Nordman，M.(eds)Special Language；from Humans Thinking to Thinking Machines.Cleveden；Multilingual Matters，316-323.

[5]Milton.J(2009)Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition.Bristol；Multilingual Matters.

[6]Schmitt，N(2008)Instructed second language vocabulary learning.Language Teaching Research，12(3)：329-363.

[7]Schmitt，N.，Jiang，X.，and Grabe，W.(2011).The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension.Modern Language Journal，95，1：26-43.

曹青青(1991-)，女，新疆克拉玛依人，研究生，克拉玛依职业技术学院，助教，研究方向：对外英语教学。

曹青青*

克拉玛依职业技术学院，新疆 克拉玛依 834000

语言学习者用外语听读时，习得的词汇量越多，文章的理解力就越强。同样，语言学习者掌握的单词越多，他们就越能很好地在说写中表达自己。

词汇量；基础；外语

H

A

1006-0049-(2017)10-0087-01Abstract:As we know，the more words learners know，the better learners can understand，while learners are reading or listening in the foreign language.Also，the more words learners can master，the better learners can express themselves in speaking and writing