How many words must we have to enable us to read newspapers and magazine without frequently using dictionary?

Question

I have a method to memorizing vocabularies, and i want to reveal it to the public, expecially to the non-english speaking students, let say they can memorize 10 words a day,a year they can memorize more than 3000 words, so my question is how many words should i suggest to them as their aim, which enable them to read newspapers,magazine, internet article without frequently using dictionary?Please help me..........

Answer 1

In my country if a student goes to a foreign language school at the age of 13 to study English, s/he is required to learn at least 20 words a day (sometimes words would go up to 80 a day and one has to know them by the end of the week!). By the end of the school year one has accumulated a remarkable load of a few thousand (more than 3 000) words + grammar knowledge, still one may find it quite difficult to read most English newspapers & magazines. Normal communication - oral and written, as well as reading books is generally not a problem. The major problem with the media is the use of specific language (both in terms of vocabulary and grammar) so it's really hard to give a precise answer to your question. I would say that a vocabulary of 3000 words won't be sufficient to easily understand and enjoy such texts. Still, it very much depends on the type of articles one would like to read.
Anyway, the idea of suggesting a good method of memorizing words in a new way is great. I teach English to adults and usually one can't expect them to learn more than a few words a day - it just gets more difficult when you have your job, family, etc. to think about. So, I'm sure many people would be interested in your project. Good luck!
:)