关于如何扩充英语词汇量，许多人形成了错误的观念，认为只要多记多背单词和词组就可以增加词汇量，有的尝试背单词表或词汇册，更有的甚至尝试专门背词典。如果说，在英语学习的初级阶段尝试大量的背记单词还有不错的效果的话，到了中高级阶段，这样的方法就不灵验了。因为随着篇幅加长，信息量增多，学术性增强，背记孤立的、脱离语境的词汇和词组远远不能适应丰富多彩的文本或篇章的整体内容和内涵。相信很多人都有过这样的体验，在读一篇文章时就算是词汇都认识，但还是弄不懂文章的大致内容或基本涵义，其原因就是篇章读的少，有的甚至段落都很少读。如果总是用这样的单一地、孤立地、脱离语境地背记单词，就不会有什么好的效果。如果幻想通过背记大量的词汇而不是进行大量的阅读去参加中高级英语考试，比如，雅思或托福考试，并获得理想的分数，那就大错特错了，那就是不切实际的幻想。
改变这一错误的观念的可行办法就是花费加倍的时间和精力进行大量的篇章阅读。可以扩充词汇量为目的，也可以增强阅读理解能力为目的，或者将二者结合起来，即通过阅读，通过理解，通过应用来扩充词汇量，同时又通过扩充词汇量来促进阅读理解能力。总之，阅读，大量的阅读，甚至超量的阅读，阅读文本和篇章，不仅可以极大地促进词汇量的大量增加，而且对听说读写等各个方面都有积极的推动作用。所以，不能再陷入只背记单词不顾及文本篇章的误区，而应该把大量的阅读作为重要的任务来完成，惟其如此才可以收到超乎想象的成效。
以下提供一个段落供有兴趣的学习者进行练习，以体验一下如何通过阅读段落、文本或篇章扩充词汇量：
Years of sociopolitical unrest in Nicaragua and Venezuela have given rise to a human
rights and humanitarian crisis in Latin America. Last week, the situation in both
countries took a serious turn. In Nicaragua, the government began negotiations with
the opposition to end the political crisis, while continuing to repress and harass
university students and independent media. In Venezuela, the escalating crisis resulted
in the blocking and burning of humanitarian aid at the border—a development that
was widely condemned by the rest of the world. Political instability and insecurity in
both countries have had a disastrous economic impact on many sectors. The human
resource base critical for meeting urgent and long-term needs in these societies is
being devastated. As scientists who are members of academies that belong to the
InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences, we are deeply troubled by these
situations and call on the global scientific community to show solidarity with the
academic communities in Nicaragua and Venezuela.
