Learning vocabulary may well be the most difficult part of learning any foreign language. Language learners must acquire thousand of words: general, technical, and academic vocabulary; single words and multi-word units such as phrasal verbs and idioms. Also, learning a word comprises far more than learning its meaning. A proficient language user must be able to understand and accurately produce words in formal, informal, and neutral contexts; with natural collocations and intelligible pronunciation, all along while bearing in mind varied target audiences. It is a daunting task that has attracted enormous attention from researchers across academic disciplines.

Studies investigating vocabulary learning have covered considerable ground, especially since the 1980s. Still, much is yet to be done. Different research traditions have pursued different paths, employed different techniques, and often reached different conclusions. Unfortunately, rarely has there been a (much needed) interdisciplinary dialogue. The pursuit of this dialogue is the overarching goal of most of the vocabulary research carried out at the Institute of English Studies.

We seek to convey knowledge from (and use techniques of) fields such as applied linguistics and psycholinguistics, and we hope to produce informed practitioners and researchers. The IA offers lectures, workshops, and other extracurricular activities, all geared towards understanding the use, learning, teaching, and researching of vocabulary. Some of the issues we seek to explore include the following:

• What does it mean to know a word?
• How effective is incidental learning through reading and writing texts? What aspects affect such learning? How does it compare to intentional learning through exercises?
• How effective are different tasks to the learning of words? What tasks should teachers choose when teaching, practicing, or revising vocabulary?
• Are cognates and false cognates learnt as quickly as noncognates? How does the type of learning influence the learning of these word types?
• Is there a difference between how bilinguals (or multilinguals) and monolinguals learn words? If so, how should this inform parents’ behaviour and teacher practice?

Whether pedagogy- or research-oriented, our classes seek to inform practice with science. We offer frequent workshops conducted by Polish and foreign researchers in the field of vocabulary learning. We cooperate with academics from other universities and departments, foreign and local. And we are constantly expanding our network of collaborators, here and abroad, to teach, to learn, and to become better teachers and researchers.