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Vocabulary Is An Essential Part Of Learning A Language

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1.0 Introduction
Vocabulary is an essential part of learning a language, without which communication would be hindered. A message could still be conveyed somewhat without a correct usage of grammatical structure, but without vocabulary nothing is conveyed. Words are the building blocks of language and without them there is no language (Milton, 2009) . For ESL learners, learning a language is essentially a matter of learning new words (Read, 2000). Vocabulary is also closely tied to comprehension; it is generally believed that vocabulary assessment may be used to predict reading comprehension performance (Read, 2000). This implies that to be able to comprehend text fully, vocabulary is much needed. Vocabulary is thus important both for communication and comprehension.
The area of vocabulary assessment does not receive the attention it deserves, therefore, interesting only to a handful of scholars.(Schmitt, 2000) It should be of interest to everyone involved in the field of language testing. It can help teachers and administrators set appropriate targets for learning so that learners can have the language skills that are expected. It can help teachers and learners monitor progress so they can tell whether they have achieved the kind of knowledge needed for an examination. It can even help academics to understand the nature of language knowledge and the learning process. (Milton, 2009).
Schmitt et al. (2011:106) support this view in saying that “vocabulary knowledge can be

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