Proficiency And The 3000most Usedwords

[sardar]

I have thses two question:

1- by knowing those 3000 words can one be labled as a proficient?can he speak like a native?or he can only handle simple purposes in everydaylife?(supposing that he knows all of their usage, related phrases ,collocations and idioms)
2-how many words one must kNow to be proficient according to TOEFL? (TO GET 550AND ABOVE)

[Tdol]

No- merely knowing the words does not translate into being able to use them. Most native speakers use only a few thousand words, though recognise many more. With 3,000 words, a person would be able to communicate at an advanced level if they knew how to use the words well, but would find simple tasks like reading a newspaper difficult because they wouldn't have the passive vocabulary to understand it all. It really is not a question of how many words you know, but what you can do with them, in my opinion.

PS If you look here, you'll see many word lists, including one that is supposed to be useful for TOEFL: http://www.usingenglish.com/members/wordlists/