[Corpora-List] Re: Numbers of English vocabulary required for students

[James_L._Fidelholtz]

Hi, Su-hsun, 

Brett Reynolds's suggestions seem to me pretty sound. Just a couple of 
comments: 

Aside from his comment about 'knowing' a word, you also have to have clear 
what you mean by 'word'. I'm assuming Brett is including word derivation in 
what he calls 'word families'. Most theorists, as well as most 
practitioners, would call derived words separate words (eg, they have a 
separate entry in a normal dictionary). For at least some practical 
applications, we also need to have separate distinctly inflected words 
listed separately, or at least derived or derivable (eg, spell-checkers). 

In the first half of the last century, there was published a book which 
listed about 800 'basic' words of English, with the claim that virtually all 
communication in English (except, perhaps, the very most technical) could be 
carried out with just those 800 words. They were, of course, approximately 
the 800 most common words. This was clearly a cheat, since many such word 
are highly polysemous and, in some cases, even homonymous. I think nowadays 
most people would accept Brett's +/- 2500 words (plus close relatives) as 
(maybe a sub-) minimum for the number of words necessary to 'manage' English 
in an academic context. 

One needs to keep in mind also that, if the student is entering a 
predominantly or largely English-speaking environment, that their productive 
and receptive control of the language will naturally get better with the 
exposure to many different communicative contexts within and outside of the 
academic context. 

Jim 

PS: My specific context (Mexico) is not very relevant for your interests, I 
don't think. Of course, Spanish is the national language, though English is 
very widely (and often very lousily) taught in schools, and even used on 
occasion in academic contexts. Like Brett, I know of no university in the US 
or in Mexico that requires (control of) a certain number of words in English 
or in Spanish. Many do require or test for a certain level of (general or 
specific) knowledge, which would require being able to take and pass a test 
written in the language, with the answers likewise written in the language. 
The test, of course, would vary in generality and difficulty, depending on 
the level the student is aspiring to. 

Su-hsun Tsai escribió: 

> Dear Corpora-Lers, 
> 
> I am writing to ask some information about learning English (or textbook
> compilation info) in your country. 
> 
> I would like to know how many words of English vocabulary required for a
> high school graduate entering a college/university program?  Do you have a
> similar requirement for students entering into high schools? 
> 
> Thank you for your response.  When you respond, please also indicate 
> whether
> English is an official/mother/second/foreign language in your context.  
> This information would be useful, too. 
> 
> Best regards,
> Su-hsun
> Su-hsun Tsai
> Assistant Professor
> Taipei Municipal University of Education
> Taipei, Taiwan
 


James L. Fidelholtz
Posgrado en Ciencias del Lenguaje, ICSyH
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla     MÉXICO