Word of the Week
With its 120th word, Word of the Week has now come to an end. We hope you enjoyed this free feature and that it has given you an insight into the thinking and research behind the English Vocabulary Profile.
All 120 are still available to read in our archive, below. Each Word of the Week in the archive is followed by a link to the full entry for that word on the English Vocabulary Profile. To view the entries, you will need to subscribe to the EVP: to subscribe for free click here.
Word of the week: really
The adverb really is a very useful word for learners to know! It is frequently used in English and confident use of the word will empower a learner to sound more fluent and natural. The B1 phrase not really and the spoken exclamation at A2 are not yet supported by actual learner evidence, but the English Profile team’s development of a spoken learner corpus as a further research tool will no doubt reveal some interesting insights. The Word family panel at the top of the entry includes related words up to B2 level. It is interesting to note that this is one of the few adverbs whose use comes at an earlier level than other parts of speech in the word family.To view the full entry for really on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: control
The word control is included as a verb and a noun in the EVP. There are two senses of the verb at B1: HAVE POWER OVER and STAY CALM. However, most uses of the verb, and the noun, are at B2. The noun features in many phrases and collocations that appear to be known by learners, such as lose control, out of control, take control and under control. The sense of OFFICIAL PLACE, as in Passport Control, is also known by B2 level.To view the full entry for control on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: as
The word as is a preposition and a conjunction, and both parts of speech have substantial entries in the EVP. Older learners first meet the preposition at A1 in the sense of JOB, illustrated by the example She works as a waitress. There is a lot of evidence for this word at all CEFR levels in the Cambridge Learner Corpus, showing that learners continue to acquire new meanings and phrases. Two of the more commonly used prepositional phrases at B2 are as for and as a result of, and learners at B2 often use the conjunction in the phrase as far as … is concerned in formal writing. The ongoing development of the EVP for the C levels is showing that the frequency of learner use for all these phrases continues to increase, as might be expected.To view the full entry for as on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
