…is a really bad way to acquire new words, at least that’s what I rather provocatively suggested on a thread over on the ELT World forums.

Of course, it’s not an impossible skill, as many noted: ‘It’s possible,’ suggetsts Golightly, ‘but it depends on factors such as how concrete or abtract it is if it’s a noun, and relative similarity of the language to L1 – although that can also be a hindrance (false friends etc).’

‘Will probably depend on age and general literacy ability of your learners,’ adds Emma. ‘What I mean is an 18 year old will have a much broader L1 vocabulary than an 8 year old and will be better placed to infer meaning from context.’

Read the rest of the somewhat heated discussion here.