GAV (Global Academic Vocabulary) Word List in 17 Lessons
These 17 vocabulary lessons progress from the most common and “easiest” words to the least common and “most difficult” academic vocabulary. They are based upon the three most important studies of academic vocabulary in English. If you learn these words, you will know approximately 95% of the words in the typical academic text and you will be able to comprehend that text with confidence. A strong vocabulary will also help you better comprehend academic lectures. If you make the effort to use the words in your essays and discussions, it give you more power and precision in writing and speaking.
You will want to use these lessons together with the GAV Dictionary which includes simple definitions of the vocabulary in English, the Japanese translations of the words, the related word forms of the vocabulary, the same-root antonyms, common phrases the vocabulary are used in, and sample sentences to give you contexts in which the word is used. Your teacher will also give you the link to the online GAV Dictionary.
Each week, check the vocabulary words in the lesson for the week; then, using flash cards or a vocabulary notebook, write down the words you don’t know and learn them. We especially recommend the use of flash cards because you can re-organize them and more easily focus on reviewing words that you don’t know or have a hard time remembering. Each week you’ll have a brief quiz on the words to encourage you to learn them, and each quiz will include some words from the one or two previous lessons. So each week it’s good to briefly review words you learned the previous two weeks, too. Of course, besides the GAV Dictionary, you can also use other dictionaries for English definitions and sample sentences, or to listen to the word’s exact pronunciation.
Stream 4 will start with Preliminary Lessons A-D; following are two examples of quiz questions. They begin with the primary meaning of a word, and then give a short sentence that you complete by choosing the word that best fits.
Stream 3 will start with Lessons 1-13. The quizzes give you simply a sentence that provides context for the meaning of the word; you must complete the sentence by choosing the word that best fits.
Each week, we will assign you a lesson from this list (75-80 words) or sometimes a half-lesson (36-40 words). This is not as difficult as it sounds. Many of the words in the lessons you will already know, but it will be helpful for you to review their meanings. The vocabulary will become slightly more challenging each week. For example, compare the words in Lesson A with those in Lesson 13 to see the difference.
Note that the words in the list are grouped by word form (adjective, noun, verb, etc.) In cases where a word has two primary forms (such as both a noun and a verb), these abbreviations are used: