A psychological approach to teaching foreign language words

Abstract

One of the fundamental perspectives on teaching words in foreign language education is
psychological. However, this perspective has not gained adequate attention. Drawing on the Activity
Theory, particularly on the works of Vygotsky, Leontiev and Luria on language and mind, this paper
highlights the psychological aspects of words that need to be considered in teaching words. These
include the mental function, nature and construction of words, their semantic structure and semantic
evolution, the relationship between lexical meaning and lexical sense as well as the acquisition of
words by individuals. From the analysis of these apsects, the paper recommends how words should be
approached from a psychological perspective.