VOCABULARY: NEEDED IF MORE CHILDREN ARE TO READ …



VOCABULARY: NEEDED IF MORE CHILDREN ARE TO READ WELL, Volume 24, Issue 3-4, 2003, pages 323-335.

Vocabulary has been recognized as a strong determinant for reading success for a long time. Although not much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of elementary programs that are suppose to promote vocabulary knowledge. In this research article Biemiller outlines information on: individual differences in vocabulary acquisition, the amount of vocabulary needed for successful reading, how vocabulary is acquired in a predictable sequence, and the need for direct instruction in vocabulary. Most of the arguments that are made in this article are based on a more in depth study in the Journal of Educational Psychology (Biemiller & Slonim, 2001).

More than twenty years ago, Becker (1977) noted that disadvantaged children’s declining reading comprehension in grade 3 & 4 largely resulted form lack adequate vocabulary knowledge. Becker felt that the problem was not lack of ability but lack of learning opportunities. Another group, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin (1990) made similar observation. The disadvantaged students showed declining reading comprehension; their limited vocabulary seemed to constrain their comprehension. More recent studies have reported similar results (Madden, Slavin, Karweit, Dolan, & Wasik, 1993; Pinnell, Lyons, Deford, Bryk, & Seltzer, 1994). All of this suggests that vocabulary and word identification are major factors that limit reading comprehension. Simple vocabulary knowledge and word identification skill account for almost the entire variance seen in reading comprehension in a study administered across grades one through six (Biemiller, 2001). When a written test was given the correlation with reading comprehension was 87%. When an oral test was given a correlation with reading comprehension was that of 66%.

Where does vocabulary come from? Hart & Risely reported that children mainly use the words that their parents use and therefore acquire a larger vocabulary when the parents use more words. Tizard, Cooperman, Joesph, and Tizard (1972) reported that two to five year old orphan children who had conversations frequently with adults one-on-one actually had the vocabulary sizes similar to an advantaged child. On the other hand those orphanage based children who had less frequent conversations with adults developed a more limited vocabulary size. In a similar findings, Beals (1997) and Weizman and Snow(2001) also report that using “high-level” words was strongly linked to children acquiring a larger vocabulary, even in disadvantaged homes. In a study conducted by Beck the children were given ten words a week over eighteen week period and explored how these words could be used, direct vocabulary instruction. These children were shown to have learned about half the words they were taught and went from the 35th percentile in reading comprehension to the 45th percentile. The control group involved made no such gains. There is evidence that the higher vocabulary acquisition the higher the reading comprehension goes up in this case. Also, (Shany & Biemiller, 1995; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; & West, 1989) found in their research that increasing reading practice can increase vocabulary and comprehension.

The Biemiller and Slonim (2001) study used English-speaking students from three schools. One school consisted of middle class families, one served families in public housing, and one was in a well off community. Their study placed children in grade 2 in different groups, by the level of their vocabulary size. The children in the highest group had an average of 7,100 root words, learning approximately 3 root words a day since around age 1. The children in the lowest group only had an average of 3,000 root words, which meant they learned approximately 1 root word per day since age 1. Even by fifth grade the children in the lowest group had not learned 7,100 root words, which the children in the highest group had attained by grade 2. (Biemiller & Slonim, 2001) This indicates the importance of building vocabulary in the early years.

There is evidence that reading books orally to children and choosing 5-10 words and explaining the meaning while reading can be effective for students in the primary grades. Older children need more direction on the morphological analysis of words. In this article Biemiller suggests primary grade teachers spend at least half an hour a day on learning and developing vocabulary because learning vocabulary is as important as identifying printed word. Vocabulary instruction is a never ending effort. Vocabulary instruction can be taught thru direct explanation of words or in response to questions about words. Simply calling attention to the definitions of 8-10 words while reading different types of text can help students learn one to two new vocabulary words per session more easily than before. Children need to be taught about what to do when they come to words they don’t know. However, when they are young they may not be able to pick out words that they do not know yet.

Vocabulary can not be left to chance and is a necessary component of a reading program. Many teachers still put an emphasis on word recognition skills in early primary grades and make the assumption that children will just pick up the vocabulary when they master this. This type of instruction is inadequate. Vocabulary knowledge is as important as phonic knowledge and we all need to bring each child to their highest level in vocabulary too.

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