ESLC2025ONTHEMOVE

Vocabulary knowledge and acquisition has often been seen in black and white terms: a word is either unknown/unlearned or it is known/learned. But vocabulary knowledge is too complex to be understood in a dichotomous manner. Rather it is Complex (there are many things to know about a word), Integrated (different aspects of word knowledge are interrelated with each other), Incremental (vocabulary knowledge is learned incrementally over time in a bit-by-bit manner), and a Process (vocabulary learning is a process, rather than a one-off event).

By themselves, these characteristics are well-known to the field. But the implications of these characteristics have not generally been acknowledged. The presenter proposes a unified approach, called a CIIP perspective. He will then outline what a CIIP perspective means in terms of a range of pedagogic and assessment issues. For example, a CIIP perspective has implications for the way vocabulary exercises are designed over time to enhance both a range of word knowledge aspects, and their degree of mastery.