本書的閱讀對像是將英語作為第二語言或外語的英語教師。本書的主旨是把英語詞彙的教學繫統化、理論化，為英語詞彙的教學提供理論依據和實踐指導。本書的指導思想是：作者相信對詞彙發展繫統化和理論化的研究可以*終促進詞彙的教學。書中參照和選用了過去一百年間語言教師和研究者所取得的理論研究成果、進行的實驗探索和課堂教學實踐。

“聖智英語教師叢書”精選自聖智學習出版公司出版的當代語言教育 領域的力作，由當今國際語言教育界的權威人士編著，國內英語教育界專 家、學者撰寫導讀。叢書選題涵蓋外語教學理論、語言教學技能和實踐、 學法指導、課程設計、語言測試與評估、外語教學科研方法、師資發展、 語境和文化教學以及教學法等諸多領域，能夠滿足目前英語教師適應新課 改的迫切需要。本叢書既可用作英語教師專業化教育與發展和英語專業碩 士研究生教育的教材，同時也是語言教育研究者必備的參考書。

導讀
Praface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Introduction
Should Vocabulary Be Taught?
Approaches to Vocabulary Learning
Points to Consider in Vocabulary Learning
Chapter 2 The Goals Vocabulary Learning and Vocabulary Size
How Many Words Does a Second Language Learner Need?
How Do We Choose What Vocabulary to Teach?
Setting Goals for Your Learners
Application
Chapter 3 What Is Involved in Learning a Word?
What Is a Word?
What Is Involved in Knowing a Word?
What Features Make Learning a Word Difficult?
Application
Chapter 4 Communicating Meaning
The Teaching of Meaning
Concepts
Definitions
Communicating Meaning and Remembering the Meaning
Investigating Learning
Application
Chapter 5 Assessing Vocabulary Size
Measuring Total Vocabulary Size
Measuring Knowledge of a Particular Group of Words
Application
Chapter 6 Vocabulary and Listening
What Vocabulary Is Needed to Understand Spoken English?
How Can You Test the Size of a Learner's Listening Vocabulary?
What Sould You Do When Your Learners
Do Not Have Enough Vocabulary to Understand Spoden English?
Application
Chapter 7 Vocabulary and Speaking
What Vocabulary Is Needed to Speak English?
What Should You Do When Learners Do Not Have Enough Vocabulary to Speak?
Application
Chapter 8 Vocabulary and Reading
What Vocabulary Is Needed to Read English?
How Do You Test a Learner's Reading Vocabulary?
What Should You Do When Learners Do Not Have Enough Vocabulary to Read Their Set Texts?
What Should You Do When There Are Some Unknown Words in a Text?
What Should You Do When There Are Unknown Words in and English for Special Purposes Text?
Application
Chapter 9 Vocabulary and Writing
What Vocabulary Is Needed to Write English?
What Should You Do When Learners Do Not Have Enough Vocabulary to Write?
Application
Chapter 10 Learner Strategies
Guessing Words in Context
Using Mnemonic Techniques
Using Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes
Application
Chapter 11 Simplification of Reading Material
Why Simplify?
How to Simplify
Application
Chapter 12 Directions in Vocabulary Studies
Vocabulary Learning Goals
Organizing Vocabulary Learning
Vocabulary and Reading
Quality of Vocabulary Knowledge
Bibliography
Appendix 1 Words from the General Service List Which Are Not Likely to Be Well-Known
Appendix 2 A University Word List
Appendix 3 A Passage with Words of Various Frequency Levels Omitted
Appendix 4 Words in Context
Appendix 5 To Examine the Vocabulary of a Textbook
Appendix 6 Conjunction Relationships
Appendix 7 Vocabulary Puzzles
Appendix 8 A Vocabulary Levels Test
Index