Mother Teacher Scatterbrain

Think about a baby. When he is learning language, first he listens. Then he babbles, or practices the sounds he has heard in the language. Then, he begins to understand actual words. Finally, he begins to speak. In teaching ESOL, we notice a similar phenomenon in which receptive vocabulary precedes expressive. Even in our own mother tongue, we notice this effect. We recognize and understand in hearing and reading many more words than we use in writing and speaking. What is more, your productive vocabulary never grows past your receptive. In other words, you will never speak more words than you can listen to or write more words than you read. In short, in order to be able to use more words, you must receive and understand more words!