The Study Of English Vocabulary Reference System

Vocabulary is one of the basic elements of language. However, it doesn't attract enough attention which should have. Based on the previous research by others, especially the most long-running dominant ESL or EFL teaching methods and language acquisition theories, we can see that the delivery of a word's meaning is always related to a certain vocabulary reference system (VRS). Without a VRS, we cannot make out what a new word means. So in order to understand the laws of learning and teaching of vocabulary, we'd better first understand what the VRS really is, what the relation between the word and its VRS is, what the most effective VRS is, how to use them, etc. According to Constructivism Learning Theories, and Second LanguageAcquisition theories, especially"i+1"theory and Krashen's Input Hypothesis and Swaine's Output Hypothesis theories, along with some real-life stories and what we are familiar with in reality, by using case studies,observation, analyses, we're able to conclude that to grasp a new word in Second Language Acquisition(SLA), four basic laws have to be followed: The vocabulary reference system (VRS) has to be varied; the VRS should include both input VRS and output VRS; the VRS should be confirmed; and the VRS should be qualified.The variation of VRS will give the learner different viewpoints to bring out the relative hypotheses of the new word's meaning, which will in the end lead to the understanding of the word. In order to understand the new word, we also need both the input and output of VRS. Varied VRS inputs give the learner clues to the understanding of the word, and the output VRS give the learner opportunities to test and verify his previous hypotheses as well as to consolidate the understanding of the new word. Whether the learner's hypotheses can be confirmed or not directly affect the learning result of the new word. Without confirmation, the learner doesn't know whether he/she is right or not; the learner doesn't really have the chance to change the hypotheses into affirmative understanding. At the same time a VRS should be qualified. The VRS should also be constructive, which can provide useful information for the learner. All the VRS should be understandable. That's to say it should be suitable to the learner's cognitive level. At the end of the thesis, in order to assure the reader of a better understanding of the laws of VRS, the author discusses a few of the long influential FLT methods both at home and abroad from the viewpoint of VRS.