How many words do I need to know?

This is a simple question but it has important implications for langauge learning. Researchers estimate that native speakers know between 15,000 and 20,000 word families or lemmas. That's a very high bar for langague learners.

The good news though, is that Stuart Webb, professor of applied linguistics at the University of Western Ontario, found that, at least in English, knowing the 3,000 most common lemmas provides 95% coverage in television programs. Knowing the next 5,000 lemmas will only push that coverage up to 98%.

According to this data, mastery of the first 8-10 thousand words should cover the vast majority of everyday usage, after which you can expect diminishing returns.

So what happens when we assess different spanish speakers' knowledge of the top 10,000 words with TrackMySpanish?

What we can expect is that a native or fluent speaker should know all of top 10,000 words. Although this is a given for a native speaker, the same feat for a langauge learner is challenging.

Does word recognition always equate to fluency?

No. Fluency is a complex and multifaceted. A speaker could have a large vocabulary but lack verbal or grammatical skills. So, in theory, you could have a large vocabulary but a low level of fluency, although in practice this is rare. The inverse, however, is not true: You can not have a high level of fluency without knowing these words. Here, unfortunately, there are no short cuts.

What does this mean for me?

First, it means that you have a benchmark for one important piece of fluency: vocabulary.

Second, it means that you have an efficient way of studying the words you need to know. After you take an assessment, you know where you need to target your efforts.

Future plans

At TrackMySpanish the "royal we" have a broad range of study tools planned based on the philosophy of studying smarter and quantifying progress. These will not just stop at vocabulary, but will also include grammar and other important aspects as well. Stay tuned!