Interesting Take on Minimum Vocabulary to Know

A Chinese student asked me the other day if it helped for her to learn a certain number of dictionary words by heart every day in order to function in English. It so happened that BBC had just come out with an informative piece that provides a good answer to such questions. I gave the misguided student a copy of the BBC article after telling her that the best way to learn and retain a sizeable English vocabulary is through using the learned words appropriately in conversations and in written discourse every day.

Here's a link to the BBC piece: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44569277. It is interesting to note the claim about any language as well as the difference in the minimum required vocabulary between spoken and written language.