Vocabulary

1. English,  like all languages, has many thousands of words.  Nobody has been able to count how many words there are, but the Oxford English Dictionary estimates that there are at least a quarter of a million, many of them technical or rarely used words,  and estimates of the vocabulary size of university graduates indicate that they probably know around 20, 000 words.
   
   
2. This is a huge number for second language learners to learn!  However,  there is good news for second language learners, too.  Although there are many words, some of them are much more frequent (common) than others.  Researchers in the area of vocabulary have created frequency lists, which are divided into groups of 1, 000 words.  The first frequency lists were devised in the 1950’s, and these lists are still used today.   The first thousand words are the most common ones in English; they include function words like “the”, “and”, “in” “to”, etc, and some common nouns and verbs.  These words account for, on average, 79% of the words used in all situations, though they are more common (84%) in conversations,  and less common (75%) in newspapers and academic text. If learners know all of the first two thousand words, they will know approximately 80% of the words in newspapers and academic texts.
   
   
3. What does this mean for learners? It means that if they know all of these words,  they will be able to understand 8 or 9 words out of every 10 in any written text.  Thus, learners need to focus on being able to understand all of these if they want to be able to read fluently in English.  The first two thousand word lists are freely available on the Web (link here) and learners should have access to these words, and make sure that they can recognise them and understand their meanings.  One way to practice these words is by using graded reading books; these are stories in English that have been written with a carefully chosen vocabulary so that readers will encounter only high frequency words.  These graded reading books are published by many different publishers, and some graded readings are available on the Web, too (web site here).  The best way to learn all the first two thousand words is to read many of these graded readers.  They should not be difficult to read; if the reader has to use his dictionary for many words, they are too hard.  Ideally, there should be only one or two new words on every page. Learners should do some easy reading every day, and write word cards for the words they don’t know.  A word card has the English meaning on one side, and the translation into the first language or a definition, on the other side.  Learners can practise with these cards until they are familiar with the words.  This is what you need to do to build up your fluency in English.
   
   
4. So, what comes after the first two thousand words?  If learners intend to study at University or another tertiary institution, the next list they should concentrate on is the Academic Word List, which was revised in 1998 by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University in New Zealand.  This is a list of 570 words which are used in academic text for all subject areas.   It includes words such as “area”, “process”  “issue” “concept’’ and “aspect,” and learners need to be able to understand and use most of these words if they want to be successful at University study.  The vocabulary building exercises in this IELTS package focus exclusively on these words.  If learners know the first two thousand words and the academic words,  they will know 90% of all the words in an academic text.
   
   
5. Finally, there are all the other words, called low frequency words.  There are a huge number of these and they include names and technical words for one subject area; for example,  “monitor”, “mouse” and “USB port” for Information Technology,  or “noun”, “verb” and “adjective” for English grammar.  There are other,  general,  low frequency words as well,  and learners need to be able to use clues to guess some of these words from context when they are practising for IELTS reading.  Guessing exercises are also included as part of this package.
   
   
6. To sum up, the most important words for learners to learn are the high frequency words.  They can learn these from extensive reading of all sorts, and graded reading books will provide a good place to start.  Next, they need the academic words, and finally they need to learn some of the low frequency words and some strategies to help them to guess others.  Most IELTS readings consist of about 80% of high frequency words, about 10% of academic words and 10% of low frequency technical words.  If you know most of the first two groups, you will be able to read fluently and you will have a better chance of gaining a good score on the IELTS reading test.  As an indication for you, this text is long, but relatively easy; it contains 834 words,  84.5% of first thousand words,  5% of second thousand words,  7% of academic words,  and only 3.5% of low frequency words.

Vocabulary

1. English,  like all languages, has many thousands of words.  Nobody has been able to count how many words there are, but the Oxford English Dictionary estimates that there are at least a quarter of a million, many of them technical or rarely used words,  and estimates of the vocabulary size of university graduates indicate that they probably know around 20, 000 words.
   
   
2. This is a huge number for second language learners to learn!  However,  there is good news for second language learners, too.  Although there are many words, some of them are much more frequent (common) than others.  Researchers in the area of vocabulary have created frequency lists, which are divided into groups of 1, 000 words.  The first frequency lists were devised in the 1950’s, and these lists are still used today.   The first thousand words are the most common ones in English; they include function words like “the”, “and”, “in” “to”, etc, and some common nouns and verbs.  These words account for, on average, 79% of the words used in all situations, though they are more common (84%) in conversations,  and less common (75%) in newspapers and academic text. If learners know all of the first two thousand words, they will know approximately 80% of the words in newspapers and academic texts.
   
   
3. What does this mean for learners? It means that if they know all of these words,  they will be able to understand 8 or 9 words out of every 10 in any written text.  Thus, learners need to focus on being able to understand all of these if they want to be able to read fluently in English.  The first two thousand word lists are freely available on the Web (link here) and learners should have access to these words, and make sure that they can recognise them and understand their meanings.  One way to practice these words is by using graded reading books; these are stories in English that have been written with a carefully chosen vocabulary so that readers will encounter only high frequency words.  These graded reading books are published by many different publishers, and some graded readings are available on the Web, too (web site here).  The best way to learn all the first two thousand words is to read many of these graded readers.  They should not be difficult to read; if the reader has to use his dictionary for many words, they are too hard.  Ideally, there should be only one or two new words on every page. Learners should do some easy reading every day, and write word cards for the words they don’t know.  A word card has the English meaning on one side, and the translation into the first language or a definition, on the other side.  Learners can practise with these cards until they are familiar with the words.  This is what you need to do to build up your fluency in English.
   
   
4. So, what comes after the first two thousand words?  If learners intend to study at University or another tertiary institution, the next list they should concentrate on is the Academic Word List, which was revised in 1998 by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University in New Zealand.  This is a list of 570 words which are used in academic text for all subject areas.   It includes words such as “area”, “process”  “issue” “concept’’ and “aspect,” and learners need to be able to understand and use most of these words if they want to be successful at University study.  The vocabulary building exercises in this IELTS package focus exclusively on these words.  If learners know the first two thousand words and the academic words,  they will know 90% of all the words in an academic text.
   
   
5. Finally, there are all the other words, called low frequency words.  There are a huge number of these and they include names and technical words for one subject area; for example,  “monitor”, “mouse” and “USB port” for Information Technology,  or “noun”, “verb” and “adjective” for English grammar.  There are other,  general,  low frequency words as well,  and learners need to be able to use clues to guess some of these words from context when they are practising for IELTS reading.  Guessing exercises are also included as part of this package.
   
   
6. To sum up, the most important words for learners to learn are the high frequency words.  They can learn these from extensive reading of all sorts, and graded reading books will provide a good place to start.  Next, they need the academic words, and finally they need to learn some of the low frequency words and some strategies to help them to guess others.  Most IELTS readings consist of about 80% of high frequency words, about 10% of academic words and 10% of low frequency technical words.  If you know most of the first two groups, you will be able to read fluently and you will have a better chance of gaining a good score on the IELTS reading test.  As an indication for you, this text is long, but relatively easy; it contains 834 words,  84.5% of first thousand words,  5% of second thousand words,  7% of academic words,  and only 3.5% of low frequency words.

Vocabulary

1. English,  like all languages, has many thousands of words.  Nobody has been able to count how many words there are, but the Oxford English Dictionary estimates that there are at least a quarter of a million, many of them technical or rarely used words,  and estimates of the vocabulary size of university graduates indicate that they probably know around 20, 000 words.
   
   
2. This is a huge number for second language learners to learn!  However,  there is good news for second language learners, too.  Although there are many words, some of them are much more frequent (common) than others.  Researchers in the area of vocabulary have created frequency lists, which are divided into groups of 1, 000 words.  The first frequency lists were devised in the 1950’s, and these lists are still used today.   The first thousand words are the most common ones in English; they include function words like “the”, “and”, “in” “to”, etc, and some common nouns and verbs.  These words account for, on average, 79% of the words used in all situations, though they are more common (84%) in conversations,  and less common (75%) in newspapers and academic text. If learners know all of the first two thousand words, they will know approximately 80% of the words in newspapers and academic texts.
   
   
3. What does this mean for learners? It means that if they know all of these words,  they will be able to understand 8 or 9 words out of every 10 in any written text.  Thus, learners need to focus on being able to understand all of these if they want to be able to read fluently in English.  The first two thousand word lists are freely available on the Web (link here) and learners should have access to these words, and make sure that they can recognise them and understand their meanings.  One way to practice these words is by using graded reading books; these are stories in English that have been written with a carefully chosen vocabulary so that readers will encounter only high frequency words.  These graded reading books are published by many different publishers, and some graded readings are available on the Web, too (web site here).  The best way to learn all the first two thousand words is to read many of these graded readers.  They should not be difficult to read; if the reader has to use his dictionary for many words, they are too hard.  Ideally, there should be only one or two new words on every page. Learners should do some easy reading every day, and write word cards for the words they don’t know.  A word card has the English meaning on one side, and the translation into the first language or a definition, on the other side.  Learners can practise with these cards until they are familiar with the words.  This is what you need to do to build up your fluency in English.
   
   
4. So, what comes after the first two thousand words?  If learners intend to study at University or another tertiary institution, the next list they should concentrate on is the Academic Word List, which was revised in 1998 by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University in New Zealand.  This is a list of 570 words which are used in academic text for all subject areas.   It includes words such as “area”, “process”  “issue” “concept’’ and “aspect,” and learners need to be able to understand and use most of these words if they want to be successful at University study.  The vocabulary building exercises in this IELTS package focus exclusively on these words.  If learners know the first two thousand words and the academic words,  they will know 90% of all the words in an academic text.
   
   
5. Finally, there are all the other words, called low frequency words.  There are a huge number of these and they include names and technical words for one subject area; for example,  “monitor”, “mouse” and “USB port” for Information Technology,  or “noun”, “verb” and “adjective” for English grammar.  There are other,  general,  low frequency words as well,  and learners need to be able to use clues to guess some of these words from context when they are practising for IELTS reading.  Guessing exercises are also included as part of this package.
   
   
6. To sum up, the most important words for learners to learn are the high frequency words.  They can learn these from extensive reading of all sorts, and graded reading books will provide a good place to start.  Next, they need the academic words, and finally they need to learn some of the low frequency words and some strategies to help them to guess others.  Most IELTS readings consist of about 80% of high frequency words, about 10% of academic words and 10% of low frequency technical words.  If you know most of the first two groups, you will be able to read fluently and you will have a better chance of gaining a good score on the IELTS reading test.  As an indication for you, this text is long, but relatively easy; it contains 834 words,  84.5% of first thousand words,  5% of second thousand words,  7% of academic words,  and only 3.5% of low frequency words.

Vocabulary

1. English,  like all languages, has many thousands of words.  Nobody has been able to count how many words there are, but the Oxford English Dictionary estimates that there are at least a quarter of a million, many of them technical or rarely used words,  and estimates of the vocabulary size of university graduates indicate that they probably know around 20, 000 words.
   
   
2. This is a huge number for second language learners to learn!  However,  there is good news for second language learners, too.  Although there are many words, some of them are much more frequent (common) than others.  Researchers in the area of vocabulary have created frequency lists, which are divided into groups of 1, 000 words.  The first frequency lists were devised in the 1950’s, and these lists are still used today.   The first thousand words are the most common ones in English; they include function words like “the”, “and”, “in” “to”, etc, and some common nouns and verbs.  These words account for, on average, 79% of the words used in all situations, though they are more common (84%) in conversations,  and less common (75%) in newspapers and academic text. If learners know all of the first two thousand words, they will know approximately 80% of the words in newspapers and academic texts.
   
   
3. What does this mean for learners? It means that if they know all of these words,  they will be able to understand 8 or 9 words out of every 10 in any written text.  Thus, learners need to focus on being able to understand all of these if they want to be able to read fluently in English.  The first two thousand word lists are freely available on the Web (link here) and learners should have access to these words, and make sure that they can recognise them and understand their meanings.  One way to practice these words is by using graded reading books; these are stories in English that have been written with a carefully chosen vocabulary so that readers will encounter only high frequency words.  These graded reading books are published by many different publishers, and some graded readings are available on the Web, too (web site here).  The best way to learn all the first two thousand words is to read many of these graded readers.  They should not be difficult to read; if the reader has to use his dictionary for many words, they are too hard.  Ideally, there should be only one or two new words on every page. Learners should do some easy reading every day, and write word cards for the words they don’t know.  A word card has the English meaning on one side, and the translation into the first language or a definition, on the other side.  Learners can practise with these cards until they are familiar with the words.  This is what you need to do to build up your fluency in English.
   
   
4. So, what comes after the first two thousand words?  If learners intend to study at University or another tertiary institution, the next list they should concentrate on is the Academic Word List, which was revised in 1998 by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University in New Zealand.  This is a list of 570 words which are used in academic text for all subject areas.   It includes words such as “area”, “process”  “issue” “concept’’ and “aspect,” and learners need to be able to understand and use most of these words if they want to be successful at University study.  The vocabulary building exercises in this IELTS package focus exclusively on these words.  If learners know the first two thousand words and the academic words,  they will know 90% of all the words in an academic text.
   
   
5. Finally, there are all the other words, called low frequency words.  There are a huge number of these and they include names and technical words for one subject area; for example,  “monitor”, “mouse” and “USB port” for Information Technology,  or “noun”, “verb” and “adjective” for English grammar.  There are other,  general,  low frequency words as well,  and learners need to be able to use clues to guess some of these words from context when they are practising for IELTS reading.  Guessing exercises are also included as part of this package.
   
   
6. To sum up, the most important words for learners to learn are the high frequency words.  They can learn these from extensive reading of all sorts, and graded reading books will provide a good place to start.  Next, they need the academic words, and finally they need to learn some of the low frequency words and some strategies to help them to guess others.  Most IELTS readings consist of about 80% of high frequency words, about 10% of academic words and 10% of low frequency technical words.  If you know most of the first two groups, you will be able to read fluently and you will have a better chance of gaining a good score on the IELTS reading test.  As an indication for you, this text is long, but relatively easy; it contains 834 words,  84.5% of first thousand words,  5% of second thousand words,  7% of academic words,  and only 3.5% of low frequency words.