active and passive vocabulary

**ACME** · 12-12-2009, 07:37 PM

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COLOR="DarkRed"]Active and Passive Vocabulary[/COLOR]

A learner's passive vocabulary is the words that they understand but don't use yet. This can be compared with active vocabulary, which are words that learners understand and use in speaking or writing. The active and passive vocabulary of a learner changes constantly. They start using words, try new meanings, forget words, abandon words that have no use, revise words, etc.

learners often have an extremely large passive vocabulary but a considerably smaller active one.

Don't worry about your active vocabulary

Many advanced English learners have a large "passive vocabulary", but they worry about the size of their "active vocabulary". They can understand many difficult English words when reading or listening, but they don't use most of them when speaking or writing in English. They feel this is a problem. They would like to use all the difficult words that they know.

If you are a learner who worries about his active vocabulary, this article may convince you to stop worrying.

People understand many more words than they use in their own conversations. One's passive vocabulary is much larger than one's active vocabulary. The total number of words actively used in one's whole life is much smaller than the total number of words understood in one's whole life.

This statement has nothing to do with foreign languages. It is about how people use their native language.

We think that in your native language, there are thousands of words that you don't use (but you understand them all). There are literary words, formal words, scientific terms, slang phrases, etc. which you understand, but you don't use. If you open a book written in your native language, you will see many such words.

So your own active vocabulary in your native language is much smaller than your passive vocabulary. And we guess that you don't mind it. We guess that you are not worried about the difference between your active and passive vocabulary in your native language.

But you're learning English as a foreign language. And you notice all the words that you understand but never use. Your perspective as a learner makes you regret this fact.

You don't need to worry about using "too few" English words. You will learn to use some number of English words and they will be enough for you! At some point, your English active vocabulary will simply let you express anything you want. Just like your active vocabulary in your native language.

The next time you see a difficult English word, you don't need to worry "Will I be able to use this word in conversation?". If you can say anything you want with your active vocabulary, you should be happy with your English. And you don't need to worry about those thousands of words which you will never use.

Don't worry about your active vocabulary
Many advanced English learners have a large "passive vocabulary", but they worry about the size of their "active vocabulary". They can understand many difficult English words when reading or listening, but they don't use most of them when speaking or writing in English. They feel this is a problem. They would like to use all the difficult words that they know.

If you are a learner who worries about his active vocabulary, this article may convince you to stop worrying.

People understand many more words than they use in their own conversations. One's passive vocabulary is much larger than one's active vocabulary. The total number of words actively used in one's whole life is much smaller than the total number of words understood in one's whole life.

This statement has nothing to do with foreign languages. It is about how people use their native language.

We think that in your native language, there are thousands of words that you don't use (but you understand them all). There are literary words, formal words, scientific terms, slang phrases, etc. which you understand, but you don't use. If you open a book written in your native language, you will see many such words.

So your own active vocabulary in your native language is much smaller than your passive vocabulary. And we guess that you don't mind it. We guess that you are not worried about the difference between your active and passive vocabulary in your native language.

But you're learning English as a foreign language. And you notice all the words that you understand but never use. Your perspective as a learner makes you regret this fact.

You don't need to worry about using "too few" English words. You will learn to use some number of English words and they will be enough for you! At some point, your English active vocabulary will simply let you express anything you want. Just like your active vocabulary in your native language.

The next time you see a difficult English word, you don't need to worry "Will I be able to use this word in conversation?". If you can say anything you want with your active vocabulary, you should be happy with your English. And you don't need to worry about those thousands of words which you will never use.

How to learn vocabulary

Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language. The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing

Which words to learn
Every day you hear or read many new English words. You also find them in your dictionary when you are translating from your own language. You can’t possibly learn all these new words, so your first problem is to decide which ones to concentrate on. Here are some suggestions:

learn the words that are important to the subjects you are studying
learn the words that you read or hear again and again
learn the words that you know you will often want to use yourself
do not learn words that are rare or not useful (your teacher can help you with this)

How to learn words
Once you have chosen which words to learn, you next have to decide how you are going to learn them. Here are a few ideas:

write the words in a notebook (with their translations or definitions)
write the words and definitions on small cards
say the words many times (if you have an electronic dictionary you can hear how the word is pronounced)
put the words into different groups (you could use a graphic organiser)
write them in a file for use with a computer program
make associations (in pictures or with other words)
ask someone to test you
use the words in your own speaking or writing

Some students put a tick or cross in their dictionary next to every word they look up. The next time they turn to a page with a marked word, they quickly check to see if they remember the meaning of that word.

In all of the above ways, you are doing something with the words. It’s usually not enough to just read through a list of words with their definitions or translations and try to remember them. Most students find that they memorise words better if they do something with them. Even better is to try and learn the word in a typical combination with other words. Learning that to apologize means to say sorry is a good start, but it's much better to learn a whole expression containing the word, e.g. He apologized for being late. Not only is this often easier to remember, but you are also learning some very important information on how the word is used.

Learning vocabulary by reading

The way you learned very many of the words in your own language was by meeting them in the books and magazines you read. The context of a new word in a sentence or story was often enough for you to guess the meaning. Meeting the word again and again in your reading helped you learn it for use in your own speaking and writing. Doing lots of extra reading for pleasure - both fiction and non-fiction - is an excellent way to learn new English words, too. But choose books that you find quite easy to read. Difficult stories or texts that you struggle to understand will not help you to develop your vocabulary the natural way. But remember: to learn new words from reading you have to read A LOT!

More information about learning words

The vocabulary you know can be divided into two groups - passive vocabulary and active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary contains all the words that you understand when you read or listen, but which you do not use (or cannot remember) in your own writing and speaking. Active vocabulary is all the words you understand, plus all the words that you can use yourself. Your active vocabulary, in English and your own language, is probably much smaller than your passive vocabulary.

The more you work on learning a word, as suggested above, the more likely it is that it will become part of your active vocabulary.

Things to know about the words you learn
Usually the first things you learn about a new English word are what it means and its translation in your own language. But there are other things you need to find out before you can say that you know a word like a native speaker does. For example, you have to learn:

how it is spelled
how it is pronounced
how it is inflected (i.e. how it changes if it is a verb, noun or adjective)
other grammar information about it
how it collocates (i.e. what other words are often used with it)
if it has a particular style or register

Native speakers learn these things about words by hearing them and reading them again and again. This is the best way for you to learn them, too.