The Importance Of Vocabulary In English Language Learning

Vocabulary is an ultimately important part of English language learning as it aids learners to express words. Wilkins (1972) wrote that “… while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (pp. 111–112). It shows the importance of vocabulary in communication which is the goal of English learning. However, Jafarpour & Kousha (2006) stated that EFL learners have difficulties in using vocabulary effectively because of the lack of contextual knowledge.

Collocations can be found up to 70% in everything we say, hear, read, or write (Hill, 2000, p.53). According to Cowie (1992), English collocation is important in receptive as well as productive language competence. Carter and McCarthy (1988) also agreed with the argument. In their opinion, English collocations are useful not only for English comprehension but also for English production. They believed that "collocations teach students expectations about which sorts of language can follow from what has preceded. Students will not have to go about reconstructing the language each time they want to say something but instead can use these collocations as pre-packaged building blocks" (Carter & McCarthy,1988, p. 75).

In the status quo, we face problems in teaching and learning collocations. The method that is used widely is drilling and memorization. These are considered not effective. Molavi, Koosha, & Hosseini (2014) wrote that although collocations seem to be vital in daily