Do You Need to Read 8,000,000 Words to Acquire 2,000 Word Families in English?: A Comment on Hill and Laufer (2003)

Abstract

This brief research note comments on estimates made by Hill and Laufer (2003), and repeated by other researchers, regarding the total number of words one needs to read to acquire 2,000 word families in English. Hill and Laufer failed to distinguish between unknown word samples and unknown word populations in incidental vocabulary research designs, leading to an erroneous estimate.

Keywords

• Vocabulary,Reading,Acquisition,Research Design

References

1. Hill, M., & Laufer, B. (2003). Type of task, time-on-task and electronic dictionaries in incidental vocabulary acquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 41(2), 87–106.
2. Horst, M., Cobb, T., & Meara, P. (1998). Beyond a clockwork orange: Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading. Reading in a foreign language, 11(2), 207-223.
3. Krashen, S. (1989). We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the Input Hypothesis. Modern Language Journal, 73(4), 440-464.
4. Krashen, S. (2004). The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. 2nd edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
5. McQuillan, J. (2016a). What can readers read after grader readers? Reading in a Foreign Language, 28(1), 63- 78.
6. McQuillan, J. (2016b). Time, texts, and teaching in vocabulary acquisition: A rebuttal to Cobb (2016). Reading in a Foreign Language, 28(2), 307-318.
7. McQuillan, J., & Krashen, S. (2007). Commentary: Can free reading take you all the way? A response to Cobb (2007). Language Learning & Technology, 12(1), 104-108.
8. Nagy, W., Herman, P., & Anderson, R. (1985). Learning words from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 233-253.

9. Nation, P. (2014). How much input do you need to learn the most frequent 9,000 words?. Reading in a Foreign Language, 26(2), 1-16.
10. Pellicer-Sánchez, A., & Schmitt, N. (2010). Incidental vocabulary acquisition from an authentic novel: Do Things Fall Apart? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 31-55.
11. Saragi, T., Nation, I. S. P., & Meister, G. F. (1978). Vocabulary learning and reading. System, 6(2), 72-78.
12. Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research 12(3), 329–363.
13. Swanborn, M., & de Glopper, K. (1999). Incidental word learning while reading: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(3), 261-285.
14. Waring, R., & Takaki, M. (2003). At what rate do learners learn and retain new vocabulary from reading a graded reader? Reading in a Foreign Language, 15(2), 130-163.