L2 English Vocabulary Learning Through Reading

The present paper is a tentative study of L2 English vocabulary learning through reading. During my study for die completion of my MA in Western Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in the Foreign Languages College of Ocean University of China, while taking the compulsory courses seriously, I have read many books on Second Language Acquisition (SLA), especially those on vocabulary learning and teaching. Vocabulary learning through reading has long been my interest of study in my English teaching career. However, the books on vocabulary teaming awl teaching that I have read made me feel a little disappointed because they do not offer the specific strategies of vocabulary learning that I have been trying to find out for my students and other 12 English learners. And this is the reason that I choose this topic ?L2 English Vocabulary Learning through Reading as the thesis for my Master's Degree in Western Linguistics and Applied Linguistics.After the Introduction (Chapter one), Chapter 2 provides the definitions for such terms as Language, NL, FL, SL, L2, Word, Word Family, Vocabulary, Learning and Acquisition. Then in the following part (Chapter 3|, fee paper discusses the bases that an L2 learner needs for the learning of vocabulary titeurough reading, such as the basic vocabulary size, the linguistic knowledge, and strategic knowledge.Most researchers and practitioners agree to Wilkins' claim that "without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." There are many ways of learning vocabulary, but most researchers and linguists agree that vocabulary learned through reading account for a large proportion of anyone'svocabulary size. Of course, there are many factors that influence vocabulary learning through reading and there are also many limitations to it. So learners need to use this strategy according to their own individual situations. (Chapter 4)As for whether we should teach the learners the vocabulary learning strategies and what we should teach, different linguists have different ideas. After looking at the studies of other researchers and my own experience, I think that instruction in vocabulary learning is necessary, and it is especially useful for beginners and intermediate learners. (Chapter 5)Vocabulary learning can be incidental and explicit. This paper includes all conscious learning of vocabulary into explicit learning, because tilt learners are aware of it. Examples are also given in order to show and teach the learners how to learn vocabulary through reading. (Chapter 6)Based on some statistics provided by researchers, the paper has supposed that an L2 English learner with 3,000 wotd families and a good memory (good enough to remember a new word after one exposure) may tape a voeataulwy body of a near native speaker in seven weeks if he can read one took (250 pages) each week for seven weeks successively. Even the poor L2 English learner with 3,000 word families may achieve a near native speaker's vocabulary in 221 weeks if he can read one book (250 pages) every two weeks for 221 weeks without intemiption, (Chapter 7)Of course, there are many questions that me waiting for answers. But we need to be sure that vocabulary is important for learning a language and reading is an efficient method of enlarging our vocabulary. Every L2 English leamer can have a body of vocabulary near a native speaker's as long as he wishes and works hard at it.Although this thesis lacks data from my own fast-handexperiments, I hope that it can arouse more linguists, researchers and practitioners' interest in the study of Vocabulary Learning through Reading, and that more and better reading materials forL2 English learners at different levels will be prepared, so that L2 learners will feel it enjoyable to learn vocabulary and the overall efficiency in English language learning and teaching will be improved.