Closing the Vocabulary Gap

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Grappling with how to support students to meet the increased demands of the curriculum was beginning to feel like an insurmountable task, when suddenly, the solution became clear. We can now start to make an argument for the direct correlation between vocabulary knowledge and test scores. Dr. Roger Farr, a former president of the International Reading Association and prominent author and researcher, has said that, “reading comprehension is 63% vocabulary.” (Full disclosure: in 2008, Flocabulary hired Dr. Farr’s research firm to design an instructional validation study for our vocabulary program.) Dr. Farr goes so far as to say, “The size of a student’s vocabulary is the single best predictor of success on state tests.” Explore it (synonyms, antonyms, homophones and/or etymology, e.g. Greek or Latin roots, where appropriate). Etymonline.com. What marks out ‘word consciousness’ from explicit teaching and incidental vocabulary learning? For me, it is the focus on gifting our pupils with independent word learning strategies. It is the understanding about the richness of words that ensures that incidental word learning happens more effectively. It is the end goal, and means, for continued vocabulary development. There are few simple solutions in education. If you are being promised one, it is at best a hopeful fib, at worst a deceptive sales-pitch. But there are some helpful principles that can guide our actions. A useful one I think could help improve literacy in primary and secondary schools: write less; read more. It …

Sarah Eggleton: Alex Quigley’s book Closing the Vocabulary Gap had a big impact on me, reinforcing that it is the moral imperative of every teacher to improve students’ vocabulary to ensure they have the best possible life chances. However, much of the rest could have done with a little more editing both in terms of unnecessary repetitious rambling and the odd bit of slightly tiresome political commentary. But according to Eric D. Hirsch, a prominent researcher and literary critic, the socioeconomic achievement gap is in part a vocabulary gap. Research suggests that greater vocabulary knowledge leads to higher test scores. This presents an approachable and actionable solution: by investing in more direct vocabulary instruction within academic settings, we can compensate for economic disadvantages and make strides towards closing the gap. Progress can be made if we focus on the vocabulary gap. Featuring advice on using word banks, making links between key terms, teaching etymology and morphology, and vocabulary for exams, the English section also includes strategies to promote reading for pleasure and reading aloud, ideas to encourage word play, and activities and resources to develop students’ written vocabulary – both creative and academic. Without ignoring the tremendous – indeed, essential – value of oracy, we should be clear: the future success of all of our students rests predominantly on their ability to become proficient and fluent readers. Their capacity to learn and enjoy learning is bound inexorably to their reading skill. If they can read it, they can say it. If they can say it with confidence, it provides them a key to success for their future beyond school.As Quigley argues, knowledge about words underpins all education and learning. This is because word knowledge underpins speaking, listening, reading and writing. The importance for subjects such as English and modern foreign languages is obvious. But he argues that it may be even more important for other subjects, such as science and maths. Quigley emphasises the high vocabulary demands of the new key stage 2 and GCSE assessments. Such concerns have been widespread in my recent interactions with teachers and researchers alike.

I’m shortly to be a trainee English teacher & having been a substitute teacher for a while, I noticed how the ‘vocab’ gap is a real & prescient problem in schools today. We completed learning walks of vocabulary teaching to see it in practice, followed up with a student-voice survey looking at the consistency and frequency of teaching. While music and rhyme are excellent, there are other strategies that can be used to teach a new word. Three simple and effective options are pronunciation (saying the word aloud), charades (acting the word out), and writing (using the word in context). Read this… ‘Liz Truss culpa de su caída política al ‘establishment’ económico del Reino Unido La ex primera ministra conservadora defiende su rebaja de impuestos y asegura que “nunca se le dio una oportunidad real” de impulsarla El modo más fácil en política de admitir errores sin admitir culpa es asegurar que todo fue un …Another key strand in supporting students’ acquisition of vocabulary is through oracy. Inset CPD has been used to support teacher questioning and classroom discussion. Some disciplines, such as science, are less comfortable using debate and teachers have asked for further support with this. We are a Teams school and the use of breakout rooms was a function that I found particularly useful in online teaching. The capacity to drop in and out of small group discussion was rewarding – even if occasionally students were caught ‘off topic’!

Our school is situated in a rural area with a high percentage of SEND students.We have implemented various schemes and interventions to begin closing the gap.The hope is that by combining the four main components of language (oral, reading, writing and listening) and by employing a multi-sensory approach, we will see an improvement in the use and understanding of vocabulary among our students. My definition: Here, the teacher introduces the word and the class discusses possible meanings. They explore where their ideas have come from: does it sound or look like a word they’ve heard before? Does it have parts of a word they know, and so on? A student-friendly definition is then displayed and discussed. The teacher removes the definition and students write their own version into their books. If we know what words are in daily use, we can help our students improve their speech with the academic vocabulary that sets them apart for success beyond the school gates.

Closing the vocabulary gap starts with minding it is there in the first place. Winning the hearts and minds of staff across the curriculum to promote the culture of specific word learning is key in my view – and providing a flexible range of strategies to support both staff and students is a small beginning.