Word watching Understanding and enhancing word learning in English as a foreign language

Vocabulary is crucial for understanding and expression in any language. A great deal of research has been carried out regarding vocabulary acquisition and language learning in the first language (L1). However, around the world there are more people learning English as a foreign language (EFL), an estimated 700-800 million, compared to L1 learners, a ‘mere’ 400 million. Therefore, it is important to gain understanding of EFL vocabulary acquisition, as well as evaluating whether EFL vocabulary can be fostered. In this dissertation, we took vocabulary knowledge to consisting of knowledge about the spelling (orthography), pronunciation and meaning of a word. In this view, knowing a word well also entails reading and spelling a word well. This dissertation focused on the questions of how we can predict progress in EFL development and how the different word elements are learnt, in order to provide tools for improving EFL learning in practice. Taken together, the findings of the current studies have a number of important implications. Regarding the process of vocabulary learning and how the different word elements are learnt, we found mostly that learning a word’s spelling can facilitate learning a word’s pronunciation. In turn, knowledge of pronunciations seems vital for vocabulary knowledge and reading skill. The EFL findings reported in this dissertation generally resemble findings from previous L1 studies. This suggests that the challenges in the development of EFL are similar to the difficulties that children experience when they learn English as an L1.