Options for assisting vocabulary learning in communication tasks

In a task-based approach to learning, learners will often meet new vocabulary 'in passing', as they pursue communicative goals. This paper argues that such encounters can be turned to the learners' advantage, and that rather than remove difficult words, teachers should consider a number of cooperative options for exposing learners to new words during task-based interaction. The article examines data from a number of classroom tasks where learners had to deal with new words during task performance without access to a dictionary or teacher's intervention. The results suggest not only that rich language use resulted from negotiating new words, but that the meaning of many of these words was retained in the days after the task performance. The paper concludes by considering a number of post-task options for reinforcing vocabulary learning. © 2001 Oxford University Press.