In order to improve learners’ academic vocabulary knowledge in terms of both receptive and productive abilities,
it is very important to combine learning vocabulary incidentally through communicative activities with explicit
vocabulary learning. One example of an explicit strategy for vocabulary acquisition is learning words from a list.
Recent research reveals that list learning of L2 vocabulary can be a very efficient means of L2 vocabulary
acquisition. Thornbury (2002) states that the value of list learning may have been underestimated and suggests
several techniques for effectively using word lists in the classroom. Take academic vocabulary for example.
Teachers can make full use of the Academic Word List. Since the AWL is divided into 10 sublists of word
families, teachers can ask students to work on one sublist for every few weeks. By explicitly learning different
aspects of words (such as their meanings, forms, and collocations) and being exposed to these words in other
areas of their course work, students will gradually be able to use them receptively and productively. Teachers
may also include some vocabulary enhancement activities in language classes. For example, retelling stories,
problem solving and information transfer activities are all very useful for students to learn to use words
productively. Besides, teachers should make students fully aware of the importance of academic vocabulary and
design activities especially for the practice of academic vocabulary