Vocabulary: Challenges and Debates

Abstract

Traditionally, vocabulary was neglected in language teaching programs and curriculums for the sake of grammar and other parts of language. Nowadays, however, researchers have realized that vocabulary is an important part of language learning and teaching and worthy of attention and research. A proliferation of studies done on vocabulary can be taken as a proof to it. There are, however, some core issues and principles which are scarcely touched up on in the studies done and interested researchers and language teachers are eager to know. This article, therefore, intends to first give an overview of historical approaches and methods of vocabulary learning and teaching and then to discuss some current issues which are mostly asked and discussed by young language teachers ,researchers and even students.