ABSTRACT
The collection of words in the generic academic vocabulary (GAV) is useful for academic discourse. We grow our vocabulary by building a layered awareness about words and then using them, perhaps imperfectly at first, for meaningful communication. In the traditional approach to vocabulary study, students are given a list of words, many of which are brand new to them, and told to find their definitions and then to use them in meaningful sentences. A definition is the primary requirement for receptive control; using the word in a sentence is the other end of the spectrum, a task that requires relatively complete productive control. Students already know intuitively about the difference between their receptive and productive vocabularies. The purpose of the learning activity is to enhance student awareness about receptive and productive vocabulary so that they can begin to deliberately promote some of the words that they know receptively into what they actually use productively.
