Vocabulary Matrix: Understanding, Learning, Teaching is an innovative resource for language teachers who are pre-service or have recently started teaching. This dynamic guide to the methodology of vocabulary instruction offers clearly written theories and keeps a compelling focus on practical teaching applications. The complex matrix within which words exist is made accessible as readers are led through the life-cycle of a word. Supported by corpus based-evidence and real classroom data, the book explores what words mean, how they relate to other words and how they function in different ways within society.