Many EFL learners seem to believe that they can come to grips with the problem of vocabulary learning with a 'hit-or-miss' approach. However, a growing number of recent research reports indicate that they need to learn a repertoire of vocabulary in a systematic way for effective communication. This paper explores the development and evaluation of the Cognitive English Vocabulary-Learning Program (CEVLP) for Korean university students. Drawing on the current research findings of vocabulary acquisition and Michael's notebook database (NDB) research, it aims to develop a prototype of English vocabulary-learning software to help Korean university students improve their learning of English vocabulary. EFL learners can learn vocabulary both explicitly and implicitly, but they need to be trained to become good vocabulary learners, e.g., by being instructed in useful learning strategies. The paper will describe the development of the NDB using the words chosen from Academic World List as well as the instructional design features of CEVLP that is developed with such cognitive elements as noticing, prediction, modeling, and automatization in order to ensure the effectiveness of English vocabulary learning by Korean university students. In addition, the preliminary results of the program evaluation are reported and discussed.