The Study Of The Relations Between English Lexicology And English Word Acquisition

It is generally acknowledged that any language is composed of three elements, and they are Phonology, Grammar and Vocabulary, so learning a language is to learn its Phonology, Grammar and Vocabulary. And among these elements, vocabulary plays a decisive role. Therefore, we can say:without grammar, very little can be conveyed, while without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed. If putting it more simply, we can say:no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he masters the sound of L2, without a word to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way. Before the 1980s, although there are only few books of Lexicology published in the market and teachers do not take much time to explain the vocabulary in the classroom, foreign language learners on the contrary pay much attention on vocabulary. Studies on foreign language acquisition reported that vocabulary is the area that learners seem most conscious of.Therefore, in order to learn English well, the learners must first have a good command of its vocabulary, because vocabulary is the cornerstone of English language, and listening, speaking, reading, writing, even communication fail to conduct without enough words.At present, it is not the grammar or learning skills, but the vocabulary size that is the obstacle to learners'progress. There is possibility to master the grammar in a short period of time; however, it is impossible to acquire the vast vocabulary even with life energy. Thus, it is self-evident for the importance of vocabulary accumulation in learning English language. Yet, where should we get started in the acquisition of English words? What methods should we consult to improve the outcomes? Since the 1980s, the vigorous development of the lexical field provides an effective solution for English learners. Some scholars take roots, prefixes and suffixes as the three keys in expanding vocabulary. Nation concluded learning words by the analysis of each word in terms of affixes and roots as one of the three major strategies to learn English words. This is the early study of the relationship between English Lexicology and English words acquisition, namely the application of lexical theories to the study of English words.The author get the following conclusion after the study of English lexicology:the great difficulty in learning English words lies in the complication of the vocabulary system in English language, but more in the misunderstanding that learners hold in their learning process, that is, the enhancement of learners'ability of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation relies completely on their vocabulary size. Therefore it is common that learners who take English as their second language attempt desperately to memorize words and enlarging their vocabulary. In English language, even native speakers know only a fraction of the vast total of words. Thus L2 learners need to realize that they will never learn all the words, and so need to concentrate their limited resources on learning the most useful ones.In response to this phenomenon, the author proposes two research questions in this paper:1. What words enjoy priority in the process of English word acquisition?2. How to learn and master these key words effectively?Based on the theories of English Lexicology and the latest achievement of this field, this paper draws the following conclusions:Firstly, the basic, namely "core vocabulary" enjoy priority in English words acquisition, and these "core vocabulary" have their unique characteristics.Secondly, the synonymous words in English language enjoy priority in the learning process as well. Because it's said that learners who is proficient in English language is also proficient in English synonyms. Thirdly, vocabulary learning is indispensible from context, so both "core vocabulary" and English synonyms should be learned in the context. Lastly, attention must be paid to the supplementary role which dictionary plays while learning words in context.Finally, the author points out the limitation of this paper and put forward the direction for the further study.