On The Role And Application Of Context In Vocabulary Acquisition

Context, in which the information exchange in communication is affected, greatly influences the understanding of word meanings. The connotation of a word can hardly be identified without the help of context, which always results in the failure of information exchange. Learning new words in context is essential to both intentional vocabulary learning and incidental vocabulary acquisition. So context is of vital importance to vocabulary teaching and learning.This paper expatiates on the role of context in vocabulary acquisition and explores the possibility of application of context theories in vocabulary acquisition. Based on the actual situation of college students in China, this paper attempts to introduce context theories into vocabulary teaching of college students, so as to improve students' word power and their ability to use English appropriately. The author briefly reviews the study of context by introducing Malinowski, Firth and Halliday's contextual theories. Context is classified into three categories: linguistic context, context of situation and context of culture, which, according to the author's experiences, are closely related to the vocabulary acquisition of college students. The author illustrates the close relationship between wordmeaning and context——context restricts the interpretation of word meaning while theexpression of word meaning depends on the context. Limitations of definition-based vocabulary instruction are analyzed so as to highlight the advantages of vocabulary acquisition in context. On the basis of the analysis of present situation in current college English teaching in China, the author applies context theories to the teaching of words and draws the conclusion that vocabulary acquisition in context can help students get a deeper understanding about word meanings and use the words they have learned appropriately. In addition, the author points out that students' ability to make use of contextual information can be enhanced through instruction in English classes.