How to teach vocabulary\374

systems are interrelated; at a very basic level, there appears to be a phonological system, 
a system of meaning relations and a spelling system. 
We can think of the mental lexicon, therefore, as an overlapping system in which words are 
stored as 'double entries' - one entry containing information about meaning and the other 
about form. These individual word entries are then linked to words that share similar 
characteristics, whether of meaning or of form  - or both.. The number of connections is 
enormous. Finding a word is like following a path through the network, or better, following 
several paths at once. For, in order to economise on processing time, several pathways will be 
activated simultaneously, fanning out across the network in a process called 'spreading 
activation. 

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Knowing a word, then, is the sum total of all these connections — semantic, syntactic, 
phonological, orthographic, morphological, cognitive, cultural and autobiographical. It is 
unlikely, therefore, that any two speakers will 'know' a word in exactly the same way.
Dual Coding Theory (A. Paivio)
Overview:
The dual coding theory proposed by Paivio attempts to give equal weight to verbal and non-
verbal processing. Paivio (1986) states: "Human cognition is unique in that it has become 
specialized for dealing simultaneously with language and with nonverbal objects and events. 
Moreover, the language system is peculiar in that it deals directly with linguistic input and 
output (in the form of speech or writing) while at the same time serving a symbolic function 
with respect to nonverbal objects, events, and behaviors. Any representational theory must 
accommodate this dual functionality."
The theory assumes that there are two cognitive 
subsystems, one specialized for the 
representation and processing of nonverbal 
objects/events (i.e., imagery), and the other 
specialized for dealing with language.
Paivio also postulates two different types of