Defining context within vocabulary acquisition

Abstract

Even though attempts at defining context within vocabulary acquisition have been made in the past, these have not resulted in a commonly recognized and workable format. The main problem has been in the lack of structure. This article offers a clear-cut definition of context based on the differentiation between verbal and nonverbal context. In order to prove the feasibility of this definition, it is applied to examples taken from German teaching material within the university environment. Other important issues concerning context within this framework are highlighted in order to prompt further discussion.