In this commentary, we begin with the discussion on a brief history of academic wordlists. Adopting a comparative perspective, then, the merits and demerits of the Academic Word List (AWL) (Coxhead, 2000) and its competing counterpart the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL) (Gardner & Davies, 2014) are presented. We also explore whether the AWL can…

Vocabulary learning is unarguably one of the sub-goals in every language classroom. The learning and teaching of vocabulary have been transformed by the development of general word lists, providing compilations of the most prevalent vocabulary items used in everyday contexts. These lists have made an invaluable contribution to the field of applied…

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the false recognition phenomenon in persons with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and those with Lewy-body disease (LBD). Patients with LBD (n=10) or FTD (n=15) and their corresponding controls (n=30) were subjected to the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm to induce false recognition. Patients were…

This study compared graded-reader wordlists with the General Service List (GSL; West, 1953) and investigated the words in those lists and the words actually used in graded-reader books. The wordlists from the 2 major graded-reader series, the GSL, and the words actually used in the graded readers were examined using the Range program. The…

Recognition memory experiments are an important source of empirical constraints for theories of memory. Unfortunately, standard methods for analyzing recognition memory data have problems that are often severe enough to prevent clear answers being obtained. A key example is whether longer lists lead to poorer recognition performance. The presence…

Purpose: This study examined the benefits of a self-administered, clinician-guided, computer-based, cued naming therapy. Results of intense and nonintense treatment schedules were compared. Method: A single-participant design with multiple baselines across behaviors and varied treatment intensity for 2 trained lists was replicated over 4…

Free recall in adults with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) was compared with that in matched controls in an experiment including semantically similar, phonologically similar and unrelated word lists. Without supportive instructions, adults with AS were significantly impaired in their recall of phonologically and semantically related lists, but not…

The authors report 2 experiments that compare the serial recall of pure lists of long words, pure lists of short words, and lists of long or short words containing just a single isolated word of a different length. In both experiments for pure lists, there was a substantial recall advantage for short words; the isolated words were recalled better…

Explores the concept of spelling instruction in the elementary grades through the analysis of error-types. (Author/HOD)

A study examined whether a multisensory approach to spelling instruction would have an impact on spelling achievement. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in the spelling performance os students using a multisensory approach and those using a conventional approach. Subjects were 20 heterogeneously grouped third-grade…

Three dictionaries are compared for their usefulness to teachers of English as a foreign language, teachers in training, students, and other users of English as a foreign language. The issue of monolingual versus bilingual dictionary format is discussed, and a previous analysis of the two bilingual dictionaries is summarized. Pronunciation…

A review of the literature on a variety of issues related to testing vocabulary knowledge in a second language addresses these topics: problems in estimating vocabulary size, including the related questions of what constitutes a word, how a sample should be selected, and what are the criteria for knowing a word; sampling the basic and specialized…