Why is "night" spelled with "gh"? Why can't sentences end with prepositions? Why does English have so many words that express the same ideas? Questions like these can be difficult for teachers to answer when they do not know the historical background of the English language. Why Is English Like That? gives teachers a brief and accessible history of the English without assuming any prior knowledge of the subject.
The book outlines the historical events that shaped English; describes how its grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation developed over time; and highlights the...

This volume examines the area of second language vocabulary studies from three broad perspectives: description, acquisition and pedagogical context. The book's 15 chapters are grouped together to achieve a balance between descriptions of what vocabulary is and how it behaves, how the mind learns new vocabulary and then uses it when it is learned, and pedagogical issues of teaching and testing L2 vocabulary.

The book overviews a wide range of vocabulary research methodologies, and offers practical advice on how to carry out valid and reliable research on first and second language vocabulary. It includes a Resources section which outlines the lexical tests, corpora, software, internet sites, and other resources available to vocabulary researchers.