ABSTRACT
One of the primary reasons for the failure of traditional vocabulary instruction is that people seriously underestimate what knowledge is necessary in order to be in total control of a word, that is, to be able to use words in sentences of your own making. When one truly knows a word, he or she knows a vast, interconnected network of information about that word. This chapter explores some of the topics such as, spelling, pronounciation, collocations, connotations, idioms, gender, and intentions. For people to be able to fully use and understand a word, they must be in control of a truly amazing amount of knowledge. There is a lot of overlap between connotation and register. Register correlates to the common core approach to teaching spoken and written tone and style, as in the requirement to use a formal style and objective tone in a piece of writing.
