Teachers should also take into account that there is active and passive vocabulary. Nation (2001: 25) states after Meara that the difference between active (productive) and passive (receptive) vocabulary is the result of different types of association between words. Active vocabulary can be activated by other words, because it has many incoming and outgoing links with other words.

Passive vocabulary consists of items which can only be activated by “external stimuli.” As a result, vocabulary that second language learners know can be divided into two groups – passive vocabulary and active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary contains all the words that learners understand when they read or listen, but which they do not use (or cannot remember) in their own writing and speaking (receptive vocabulary). Active vocabulary is all the words second language learners understand, plus all the words that they can use themselves (productive vocabulary).

Their active vocabulary is usually more limited than passive vocabulary. Thus, the more vocabulary the learners get to know, the better their language competence is. To help them master as much vocabulary as possible, teachers should use different teaching techniques.