The very first definition which should be presented in the beginning of this MA thesis, is that of vocabulary. Unquestionably, it is not easy to explain such a wide term for the reason there are different definitions of vocabulary and various authors see them in a different way, the following part deals with three definitions. To begin with, Ur writes that: “vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language” (1996: 60). However, she points out that word is inadequate to describe the phrase vocabulary. There are plentiful examples in which more than one word is used to represent an idea, for example mother-in-law, record shop. In these words there are two or three words used, but still, they present one concept. Next, the author also enumerates multi-word idioms, for instance call a day, in which the meaning is not possible to conjecture only by knowing the meaning of given words (Ur 1996: 60). Therefore, we cannot talk about vocabulary alone in terms of words. Ur finally suggests to talk about vocabulary ‘items’ rather than ‘words’ (1996: 60). According to Scrivener (2005: 227), “vocabulary typically refers mainly to single words (e.g. dog, green, wash) and sometimes to very tightly linked two-or three-word combinations (e.g. stock market, compact disc, sky blue, go off).” Interestingly, the author also uses the term lexis, which “(…) refers to our ‘internal database’ of words and complete ‘ready-made’ fixed /semi-fixed/ typical combinations of words that we can recall and use quite quickly without having to construct new phrases and sentences word by word from scratch using our knowledge of grammar” (Scrivener 2005: 227). Thus, the distinction between the notion of vocabulary and lexis is clearly visible. Vocabulary is seen as single words and word combinations, on the other hand, the concept of lexis is much more wider. The work of Carter and McCarthy (1988: viii) clarifies that vocabulary cannot be treated as “one such key topic”. The authors add that vocabulary “[i]s as if its subject-matter has been subsumed, as it were, within other fields, for example within the study of reading in a foreign language, or within writing, or as part of second-language acquisition more generally conceived” (Carter – McCarthy 1988: vii). Quoting from McCarthy (1990: viii), vocabulary is “(…) the single, biggest component of any language course”. Searching for some other explanations, one may encounter that of Lewis, who metaphorically states that: “lexis is the core or heart of language but in language teaching has always been the Cinderella” (1993: 89). The author highlights the importance of vocabulary existence in a language, but in terms of language teaching he compares lexis to the Cinderella, who, was not treated seriously by her stepmother and her stepsisters.