Vocabulary Myths: Applying Second Language Research toClassroom Teaching.Keith S. Folse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004. Pp. ix +185.

� Folse’s Vocabulary Myths is the best professional book that I read in2005. It covers the subject of vocabulary in the second language (L2)classroom in a clear and organized way. The book begins with an excel-lent discussion of vocabulary in the L2 classroom, which is divided intotwo parts, Part I: “What Is a ‘Vocabulary’?” and Part II: “What Does ItMean to Know a Word? What Does Knowing a Word Include?” In thesefew pages, Folse lays out what teachers need to consider to help theirstudents increase their English vocabulary. Beginning and experiencedL2 teachers as well as materials developers will enjoy the direct, completepresentation.

Folse’s premise is that vocabulary is at the center of any languagelearning and that both research and experience support this view. Folsechooses to explore and dispel eight ideas that are currently popular inthe language-teaching field. These ideas or myths, as he calls them, are

Myth 1: In learning another language, vocabulary is not as important asgrammar or other areas. (p. 19)

Myth 2: Using word lists to learn L2 vocabulary is unproductive. (p. 35)

Myth 3: Presenting new vocabulary in semantic sets facilitates learning. (p.46)

Myth 4: The use of translations to learn new vocabulary should be dis-couraged. (p. 59)

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Myth 5: Guessing words from context is an excellent strategy for learningL2 vocabulary. (p. 71)

Myth 6: The best vocabulary learners make use of one or two reallyspecific vocabulary learning strategies. (p. 85)

Myth 7: The best dictionary for L2 learners is a monolingual dictionary.(p. 107)

Myth 8: Teachers, textbooks, and curricula cover L2 vocabulary ad-equately. (p. 127)

Most teachers will begin to argue with these myths right away, but they willalso be intrigued by them. Each myth has its own chapter, and each chapteris divided into the following sections.

In the Real World . . . Folse shares his experience as a language learner,instructor, materials writer, and curriculum designer. He has studiedFrench, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, German, and Japanese. He shares delightfulexamples to help him debunk each myth. He uses an experience in a Japa-nese store asking for hana when he really needed komugi to show that vo-cabulary is definitely more important than grammar.

What the Research Says . . . This section is not a long, dry recitation ofresearch results, but rather a clear look at what researchers have and havenot studied in vocabulary. Anyone looking for vocabulary questions to re-search will do well to read these sections in each chapter because he pointsout how little research has been done in many of these areas. For example,in the chapter on the myth of the importance of monolingual dictionaries,Folse states that when students are reading and encounter a word they donot know, they have three options: (a) skip the word, (b) guess the wordfrom the context, or (c) use a dictionary. Many teachers feel strongly thatguessing the word from context is better than using a dictionary; however,Folse points out that little research has been done on this issue for L2learners and that the research that has been done will probably surprisethose teachers. He cites two studies that show teachers and textbooks sup-porting guessing, one by Knight (1994) that finds that many teachers en-courage guessing the meaning of words and discourage the use of anydictionaries in the classroom and another by Haynes and Baker (1993) thatnotes that ESL reading textbooks tend to promote guessing over looking upthe word in a dictionary. However, neither of these studies had evidence tosupport the efficacy of guessing. Another study by Luppescu and Day (1993)examined the effect of bilingual dictionaries on overall reading comprehen-sion and found that the mean measures of the dictionary group were ap-proximately 50% higher than those of the no dictionary group. One of theteachers in a survey that Folse conducted in 2001 recommends that hisstudents use monolingual dictionaries, but he admits that he does not followthat advice when he himself is studying a foreign language. In other words,some evidence suggests that dictionaries are more effective than guessing,but not enough research has been done to support the use of one methodover another.

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What You Can Do . . . Each chapter ends with specific suggestions for whatsecond language teachers should do based on the discussion in the chapter.Each suggestion starts with a bolded statement and continues with specificexamples. They are short and very helpful. They are not prescriptive butpoint out that different situations will call for different approaches. The firstsuggestion in the chapter on context clues is an excellent example of thethoughtful and practical advice given in these sections. It begins:

1. Teach the use of context clues as a good reading strategy, but recognizethat learners cannot rely on this compensatory strategy for vocabularygrowth.

The discussion of this suggestion ends with this very practical advice:

It is true that context clues are not so efficient in rapidly improvinglearners’ vocabulary, but practicing the use of context clues can improvelearners’ overall language ability as well as their reading ability. Sincereading can result in improved vocabulary knowledge, then anything thatimproves reading is a good thing. (p. 83)

Here are a few other suggestions Folse gives. You will need to consult thebook for the details:

Myth 1: Understand exactly how much of your students’ ability to under-stand you is impacted by vocabulary issues. (p. 29)

Myth 4: Do not stop a student who is jotting down a translation of a newEnglish word. (p. 69)

Myth 6: Your students may have strategies that are related to their culturalbackground or educational background. If these strategies are successful,then encourage their use—even if it goes against what you would nor-mally do or how you were taught. (p. 102)

The book ends with a short conclusion and a good bibliography that in-cludes all of the works cited in the text. My copy of the book is full ofunderlinings and comments. Reading this book is like having a good con-versation with Keith Folse, who is an excellent teacher, teacher trainer,materials developer, and language learner. It has helped me reconsider theways in which I approach vocabulary when I am teaching, when I am learn-ing a new language, when I train teachers, and when I develop materials. Irefer to it often. It is an important addition to any L2 educator’s referencelibrary.

REFERENCES

Haynes, M., & Baker, I. (1993). American and Chinese readers learning from lexicalfamiliarization in English texts. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), Secondlanguage reading and vocabulary acquisition (pp. 46–64). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Knight, S. (1994). Dictionary use while reading: The effects on comprehension andvocabulary acquisition for students of different verbal abilities. The Modern Lan-guage Journal, 78, 285–299.

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Luppescu, S., & Day, R. (1993). Reading, dictionaries, and vocabulary learning.Language Learning, 43, 263–287.

SANDRA J. BRIGGSSan Francisco, California

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