Analysis of the Longman Corpus Network
shows that these 3000 most frequent words
in spoken and written English account for
86% of the language. This means that by
knowing this list of words, a learner of English
is in a position to understand 86% or more of
what he or she reads. Of course, “knowing”
a word involves more than simply being able
to recognise it and know a main meaning of
it. Many of the most frequent words have
a range of different meanings, a variety of
different grammatical patterns, and numerous
significant collocations. Nonetheless, a basic
understanding of the Longman Communication
3000 is a very powerful tool and will help
students develop good comprehension and
communication skills in English.