ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some top-down comprehension and vocabulary strategies, before moving to supplement top-down vocabulary strategies with some word-analysis and phonological acquisition strategies. Lack of vocabulary remains one of the major obstacles for English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) readers. As a result, many textbooks offer valuable top-down word learning strategies for vocabulary. There is a lot of evidence that better word learners can repeat new words easily, and repetition ability depends on the short-term memory and the long-term memory of the learner. Phonological skills influence the learning of new words, but also, the larger the existing storage of words in the mental lexicon. Successful word learning depends on what has come to be called the phonological loop in vocabulary acquisition. One important goal for the reading teacher should be to teach vocabulary in efficient ways in order to empower students to become active human word processors.
