# Oxford University Press 2000

reviews

Norbert Schmitt and Michael McCarthy (eds.): VOCABULARY.

DESCRIPTION, ACQUISITION AND PEDAGOGY. Cambridge
University Press, 1997.

A number of volumes on vocabulary acquisition have been published within

the last ten years, notably Clark (1993) on L1 lexical acquisition; Aitchison
(1994) on the mental lexicon; Schreuder and Weltens (1993) on the bilingual
lexicon; Singleton (1999) on the L2 mental lexicon; Hatch and Brown (1995)
on semantic theory and vocabulary learning and teaching; Huckin, Haynes
and Coady (1993) on second language reading and vocabulary learning;
Nattinger and DeCarrico (1992) on lexical phrases and language teaching;
Nation (1990), Coady and Huckin (1997), and Carter (1998) on the
relationship between vocabulary acquisition research and pedagogical
practice. Between them these books provide a good and comprehensive
insight into vocabulary acquisition research and related pedagogical issues. As
pointed out by Schmitt and McCarthy themselves in their introduction to the
volume under review here, this ¯ood of books focusing on lexical acquisition
and teaching from various perspectives may question the need for yet another
anthology of vocabulary studies. The intended aim is, however, as stated by
the editors, to bring together in a single volume `a broad view of the ``state of
the art'' in vocabulary studies as it currently exists.'
The volume contains 15 chapters with editors' comments and is divided into
three main parts, which view second language vocabulary studies from the
three complementary perspectives outlined in the subtitle: description,
acquisition, and pedagogy. This structure is chosen to allow the reader to
move from a descriptive, linguistically-oriented perspective, through a more
acquisition-oriented view to classroom related issues. In accordance with the
speci®ed aims, the themes and issues pursued are diverse and the articles
thorough, with comprehensive reading lists covering most of the in¯uential
research references within the di€erent areas discussed.
Part 1 introduces the following topics: vocabulary size (P. Nation and
R. Waring); the di€erence between written and spoken vocabulary
(M. McCarthy and R. Carter); multi-word items or lexical phrases (R. Moon);
the role of context in language learning (W. Nagy); and de®ning and describing
the di€erence between learners' receptive and productive vocabularies
(F. Melka). In Part 2 the contributions address such diverse topics as model
building and research paradigms (P. Meara); implicit and explicit processes in
vocabulary learning (N. Ellis); factors a€ecting the learnability of words
(B. Laufer); the in¯uence of the mother tongue (M. Swan); learning the
orthographical form of L2 vocabulary (A. Ryan); and vocabulary learning
408 REVIEWS

strategies (N. Schmitt). Part 3 discusses trends in vocabulary teaching and the
use of lexical tasks (A. J. SoÈkmen); syllabus design (F. O'Dell); the use of
vocabulary reference works (P. Schol®eld); and vocabulary testing (J. Read).
In the discussion below we consider the book from two perspectives: as
university teachers and as vocabulary researchers. As teachers of applied
linguistics we have already had the pleasure of using the volume as a very
useful collection of articles for postgraduate students, and on this basis we
would like to comment on the intended readership of the anthology. The
professed aim of giving a broad state-of-the-art review with comprehensive
references (40 pages' worth of valuable bibliographical data!!) makes the
volume a powerful and authoritative resource for further studies for the
university student, the teacher, and the vocabulary researcher alike, but the
density of references in certain articles and the meticulous thoroughness of
the authors make some of the readings indigestible. We have found that many
postgraduate students experience diculty in dealing with the advanced level
of some of the papers, especially those by Ellis and Melka. These authors
introduce central theoretical knowledge which must be seen as a necessary
precondition for a highly desirable rapprochement in our ®eld between
applied linguistic studies and psycholinguistically orientated research. Readers
without prior psycholinguistic quali®cations and training may, however, ®nd
these papers hard going. It is praiseworthy that throughout the book the
editors have tried to retain the personal voice of the individual researchers,
but these articles would have bene®ted from being adapted to match the
diculty level found in most of the other chapters.
Reviewing the book primarily from the point of view of vocabulary
researchers, we felt that much has been included and very little left out in
this high-quality volume. The two points we would like to raise concern,
®rstly, a lack of explicitness regarding the theoretical models of vocabulary
acquisition underpinning views presented in some of the articles, and
secondly the integration of the three perspectives re¯ected in the tripartite
structure of the book.
Regarding the ®rst point, Meara (1998), in a review of the Coady and
Huckin anthology (1997) in Applied Linguistics has recently emphasized that
we still do not have a comprehensive theory of vocabulary acquisition. In a
similar vein Schmitt and McCarthy state that: `there is no generally accepted
theory of vocabulary acquisition, no standard vocabulary test against which to
validate other, newer tests, no consensus on the best way to integrate
vocabulary into the syllabus' (p.104). Although no one can expect Schmitt
and McCarthy to solve this problem, it is a pity that so few of the authors in
the volume under review explicitly state their theories concerning vocabulary
acquisition. Many of the articles addressing the lexical questions were raised
more from the perspective of the applied linguist than from that of the
psycholinguist; thus re¯ecting serious problems for researchers in the ®eld. In
their comments Schmitt and McCarthy note the assumptions stated implicitly
by various authors. The valuable insights and problem-generating questions
 REVIEWS 409

taken up by the editors are extremely interesting pointers to research

problems and directions for future research, addressing not what we think
we know but what we need to know: for example the need to de®ne more
clearly the dimensions of vocabulary knowledge, the need for more baseline
data, the need for more longitudinal vocabulary acquisition studies, the need
for a general model of vocabulary acquisition and a more precise description
of acquisitional processes. The many essential points raised by the editors in
their comments would warrant a separate article synthesizing vital theoretical
issues concerning our understanding of the vocabulary learning processes and
important factors a€ecting these processes.
The editors' expressed aim of presenting an integrated view of vocabulary,
spanning linguistic description and acquisition as well as pedagogy, is not
always re¯ected in the individual chapters. This is not surprising, since it is
perhaps an unattainable ideal. We ®nd, however, that the integrated view is
borne out in a number of cases. In Part 1 about `Vocabulary and description',
Nation and Waring's chapter focuses on vocabulary size. Alongside their
treatment of this topic, they succeed in emphasizing the importance of
decontextualized word learning and link this to the current emphasis on
form-focused instruction within SLA theory. Similarly, in the chapter on
spoken and written corpora which naturally deals with frequency lists,
McCarthy and Carter allow room for a discussion of the availability (or lack
of the same) of up-to-date lists for language teachers. These examples indicate
the way in which the linguistic view of Part 1 is instructively linked, ®rst to the
learning view of Part 2 (Nation/Waring) and secondly to the teaching view of
Part 3 (McCarthy/Carter). The chapter by SoÈkmen in Part 3 is worth noting. Her
topic is `Current trends in teaching second language vocabulary' and this article
successfully combines pedagogical issues with linguistic (semantic network
theory) and psycholinguistic theories (memory theory; explicit/implicit
learning; depth of processing theory; learner strategies). Thus an important
theme within Part 3 is linked to central issues in the ®rst parts of the book.
The few problems noted here re¯ect to a large extent general theoretical and
methodological issues facing the whole research community. These concerns
notwithstanding, we welcome the initiative of bringing together in one volume
such a comprehensive collection of papers written by scholars within many
areas of second language vocabulary research. The book is essential reading for
anybody interested in a well-documented, thorough presentation of central
topics in the ®eld of vocabulary acquisition. The opening sentence of the
Introduction re¯ects on the number of books ¯ooding on the market with the
exclamation: `Oh, no. Not another book on vocabulary.' We say `Oh, yes.'
(Received December 1999)
Reviewed by Kirsten Haastrup
Royal Danish School of Educational Studies
and Birgit Henriksen
University of Copenhagen
410 REVIEWS

References
Aitchison, J. 1994. Words in the Mind. An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell.
Carter, R. 1998. Vocabulary. Applied Linguistic Perspectives (2nd edn). London: Routledge.
Clark, E. 1993. The Lexicon in Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coady, J. and Huckin, T. (eds.) 1997. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Hatch, E. and Brown, C. 1995. Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Huckin, T., Haynes, M., and Coady, J. 1993. Second Language Reading and Vocabulary. Norwood,
New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Meara, P. 1998. Review of J. Coady and T. Huckin (eds.) 1997. Applied Linguistics 19(2): 289±92.
Nation, I. S. P. 1990. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury House.
Nattinger, J. R. and DeCarrico, J. S. 1992. Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Schreuder, R. and Weltens, B. 1993. The Bilingual Lexicon. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Singleton, D. 1999. Exploring the Second Language Mental Lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Biber, Douglas, Johansson, Stig, Leech, Geo€rey, Conrad, Susan, and

Finegan, Edward. LONGMAN GRAMMAR OF SPOKEN AND
WRITTEN ENGLISH. Pearson Education Ltd, 1999

The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (LGSWE) is a

comprehensive description and examination of English grammar based on
a corpus of over 40,000,000 words (the Longman Spoken and Written
English Corpus, LSWE) using computational techniques. The book treats the
use of grammatical structures in relation to four register varieties,
conversation, ®ction, academic prose and newspaper language. By using
the four register categories as benchmarks, Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad,
and Finegan compare the distribution of a wide range of linguistic features
across the four registers. The result is a highly re®nedÐand often counter-
intuitiveÐdescription of how particular grammatical elements vary in
relation to the di€erent communicative intents of the registers. But
beyond description, the book pays particular attention to how grammar
functions in the discourses of the particular registers. The breadth and scope
of this undertaking make it a unique contribution to the description of
English.
The overarching goals of the LGSWE are explained in the introductory unit.
The authors set out to create a `new kind of descriptive and explanatory
account of English grammar' (p. 5). Their corpus-based approach to the
development of a descriptive grammar involves investigation of both the
structure and use of English grammar. While the approach is unique, the
authors acknowledge their debt to Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik