Even though attempts at defining context within vocabulary acquisition have been made
in the past, these have not resulted in a commonly recognized and workable format.
The main problem has been in the lack of structure. This article offers a clear-cut
definition of context based on the differentiation between verbal and nonverbal
context. In order to prove the feasibility of this definition, it is applied to
examples taken from German teaching material within the university environment.
Other important issues concerning context within this framework are highlighted in
order to prompt further discussion.
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