Vocabulary

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A person's vocabulary is the set of words they are familiar with in a language. A
vocabulary usually grows and evolves with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental
tool for communication and acquiring knowledge.

[edit] Knowing and using a word

A vocabulary is defined as "all the words known and used by a particular person".[1]
However, the words known and used by a particular person do not constitute all the
words a person is exposed to. By definition, a vocabulary includes the last two categories
of this list:[2]

1. Never encountered the word.

2. Heard the word, but cannot define it.
3. Recognize the word due to context or tone of voice.
4. Able to use the word but cannot clearly explain it.
5. Fluent with the word – its use and definition.

[edit] Types of vocabulary

Listed in order of most ample to most limited:[3][4]

[edit] Reading vocabulary

A person's reading vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when reading.
This is the largest type of vocabulary simply because it includes the other three.

[edit] Listening vocabulary

A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when listening to
speech. This vocabulary is aided in size by context and tone of voice.

[edit] Writing vocabulary

A person's writing vocabulary is all the words he or she can employ in writing. Contrary
to the previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is stimulated by its user.
[edit] Speaking vocabulary

A person's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech. Due to the
spontaneous nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse –
though slight and unintentional – may be compensated by facial expressions, tone of
voice, or hand gestures.

[edit] Focal vocabulary

"Focal vocabulary" is a specialized set of terms and distinctions that is particularly

important to a certain group; those with a particular focus of experience or activity. A
lexicon, or vocabulary, is a language's dictionary, its set of names for things, events, and
ideas. Some linguists believe that lexicon influences people's perception on things, the
Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. For example, the Nuer of Sudan have an elaborate vocabulary
to describe cattle. The Nuer have dozens of names for cattle because of the cattle's
particular histories, economies, and environments. This kind of comparison has elicited
some linguistic controversy, as with the number of "Eskimo words for snow". English
speakers can also elaborate their snow and cattle vocabularies when the need arises.[5][6]

[edit] Vocabulary growth

Initially, in the infancy phase, vocabulary growth requires no effort. Infants hear words
and mimic them, eventually associating them with objects and actions. This is the
listening vocabulary. The speaking vocabulary follows, as a child's thoughts become
more reliant on its ability to express itself without gestures and mere sounds. Once the
reading and writing vocabularies are attained – through questions and education – the
anomalies and irregularities of language can be discovered.

In first grade, an advantaged student (i.e. a literate student) knows about twice as many
words as a disadvantaged student. Generally, this gap does not tighten. This translates
into a wide range of vocabulary size by age five or six, at which time an English-
speaking child will know about 2,500–5,000 words. An average student learns some
3,000 words per year, or approximately eight words per day.[7]

After leaving school, vocabulary growth reaches a plateau. People may then expand their
vocabularies by engaging in activities such as reading, playing word games, and
participating in vocabulary programs.

[edit] Passive vs. active vocabulary

Even if we learn a word, it takes a lot of practice and context connections for us to learn it
well. A rough grouping of words we understand when we hear them encompasses our
"passive" vocabulary, whereas our "active" vocabulary is made up of words that come to
our mind immediately when we have to use them in a sentence, as we speak. In this case,
we often have to come up with a word in the timeframe of milliseconds, so one has to
know it well, often in combinations with other words in phrases, where it is commonly
used.

[edit] The importance of a vocabulary

• An extensive vocabulary aids expressions and communication.

• Vocabulary size has been directly linked to reading comprehension.[8]
• Linguistic vocabulary is synonymous with thinking vocabulary.[8]
• A person may be judged by others based on his or her vocabulary.

[edit] Native- and foreign-language vocabulary

[edit] Native-language vocabulary

Native speakers' vocabularies vary widely within a language, and are especially
dependent on the level of the speaker's education. A 1995 study estimated the vocabulary
size of college-educated speakers at about 17,000 word families[clarification needed], and that of
first-year college students (high-school educated) at about 12,000.[9]

[edit] Foreign-language vocabulary

[edit] The effects of vocabulary size on language comprehension

Francis and Kucera[10] studied English texts totaling one million words and found that if
one knows the words with the highest frequency, they will quickly know most of the
words in an English text:

Vocabulary Size Written Text Coverage

1000 words 72.0%
2000 79.7
3000 84.0
4000 86.8
5000 88.7
6000 89.9
15,851 97.8

By knowing the 2000 English words with the highest frequency, one would know 80% of
the words in those texts. The numbers look even better than this if we want to cover the
words we come across in an informally spoken context.[citation needed] Then the 2000 most
common words would cover 96% of the vocabulary.[11] These numbers should be
encouraging to beginning language learners, especially because the numbers in the table
are for word lemmas and knowing that many word families would give even higher
coverage. However, the number of words needed may differ substantially between
different languages.
[edit] Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

Learning vocabulary is one of the first steps of learning a second language, yet a learner
never finishes vocabulary acquisition. Whether in one’s native language or a second
language, the acquisition of new vocabulary is a continual process. Many methods can
help one acquire new vocabulary.

[edit] Memorization

Although memorization can be seen as tedious or boring, associating one word in the
native language with the corresponding word in the second language until memorized is
considered one of the best methods of vocabulary acquisition. By the time students reach
adulthood, they generally have gathered a number of personalized memorization
methods. Although many argue that memorization does not typically require the complex
cognitive processing that increases retention (Sagarra & Alba, 2006)[12], it does typically
require a large amount of repetition. Other methods typically require more time and
longer to recall.

Some words cannot be easily linked through association or other methods. When a word
in the second language is phonologically or visually similar to a word in the native
language, one often assumes they also share similar meanings. Though this is frequently
the case, it is not always true. When faced with a false cognate, memorization and
repetition are the keys to mastery. If a second language learner relies solely on word
associations to learn new vocabulary, that person will have a very difficult time mastering
false cognates. When large amounts of vocabulary must be acquired in a limited amount
of time, when the learner needs to recall information quickly, when words represent
abstract concepts or are difficult to picture in a mental image, or when discriminating
between false cognates, rote memorization is the method to use. A neural network model
of novel word learning across orthographies, accounting for L1-specific memorization
abilities of L2-learners has recently been introduced (Hadzibeganovic & Cannas, 2009).
[13]

[edit] The Keyword Method

One useful method to build vocabulary in a second language is the keyword method.
When additional time is available or one wants to emphasize a few key words, one can
create mnemonic devices or word associations. Although these strategies tend to take
longer to implement and may take longer in recollection, they create new or unusual
connections that can increase retention. The keyword method requires deeper cognitive
processing, thus increasing the likelihood of retention (Sagarra & Alba, 2006)[12]. This
method uses fits within Paivio’s (1986)[14] dual coding theory because it uses both two
verbal and image memory systems. However, this method should be used only with
words that represent concrete and imageable things. Abstract concepts or words that do
not bring a distinct image to mind are difficult to associate. In addition, studies have
shown that associative vocabulary learning is more successful with younger aged
students (Sagarra & Alba, 2006)[12]. As students advance and age, they tend to rely less on
creating word associations to remember vocabulary.

[edit] Basic English vocabulary

Several word lists have been developed to provide people with a limited vocabulary
either quick language proficiency or an effective means of communication. In 1930,
Charles Kay Ogden created Basic English (850 words). Other lists include Simplified
English (1000 words) and Special English (1500 words). The General Service List,[15]
2000 high frequency words compiled by Michael West from a 5,000,000 word corpus,
has been used to create a number of adapted reading texts for English language learners.
Knowing 2000 English words, one could understand quite a lot of English, and even read
a lot of simple material without problems.

[edit] Vocabulary differences between social classes in the U.S.A.

James Flynn reports the remarkable differences in vocabulary exposure of pre-schoolers

between different classes in the U.S.A. Apparently, pre-schoolers of professional families
are typically exposed to 2,150 different words, pre-schoolers from working class families
to 1,250 words, while those from households on welfare just 620.[16]

[edit] See also

• Differences between American and British English (vocabulary)

• Language proficiency (Linguistic proficiency) The ability of an individual to
speak or perform in an acquired language).

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary

2. ^ Partially composed using: "Vocabulary". Sebastian Wren, Ph.D.
BalancedReading.com [1]
3. ^ Barnhart, Clarence L. (1968).
4. ^ The World Book Dictionary. Clarence L. Barnhart. 1968 Edition. Published by
Thorndike-Barnhart, Chicago, Illinois.
5. ^ Miller (1989)
6. ^ Lenkeit
7. ^ "Vocabulary". Sebastian Wren, Ph.D. BalancedReading.com
http://www.balancedreading.com/vocabulary.html
8. ^ a b Stahl, Steven A. Vocabulary Development. Cambridge: Brookline Books,
1999. p. 3. "The Cognitive Foundations of Learning to Read: A Framework",
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, [2], p. 14.
9. ^ E.B. Zechmeister, A.M. Chronis, W.L. Cull, C.A. D'Anna and N.A. Healy,
Growth of a functionally important lexicon, Journal of Reading Behavior, 1995,
27(2), 201-212
 10. ^ W.N. Francis, and H. Kucera. Frequency Analysis of English Usage, Houghton
Mifflin, Boston, 1982
11. ^ Schonell, et al. 1956
12. ^ a b c Sagarra, Nuria, & Alba, Matthew. (2006). The Key Is in the Keyword: L2
Vocabulary Learning Methods With Beginning Learners of Spanish. The Modern
Language Journal, 90, ii. p. 228-243.
13. ^ Hadzibeganovic Tarik & Cannas, Sergio A. (2009). A Tsallis' statistics based
neural network model for novel word learning. Physica A, 388, pp. 732-746.
14. ^ Paivio, A. (1986). Mental Representations: A Dual Coding Approach. New
York: Oxford University Press.
15. ^ West (1953)
16. ^ Flynn (2008), p. 102.

[edit] References

• Barnhart, Clarence Lewis (ed.) (1968). The World Book Dictionary. Chicago:
Thorndike-Barnhart, OCLC 437494
• Flynn, James Robert (2008). Where have all the liberals gone? : race, class, and
ideals in America. Cambridge University Press; 1st edition. ISBN 978-
0521494311 OCLC 231580885
• Lenkeit, Roberta Edwards (2007) Introducing cultural anthropology Boston:
McGraw-Hill (3rd. ed.) OCLC 64230435
• Liu, Na and I.S.P. Nation. "Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context",
RELC Journal, 1985,16 1, pp. 33–42. doi:10.1177/003368828501600103
• Miller, Barbara D. (1999). Cultural Anthropology(4th ed.) Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, p.315 OCLC 39101950
• Schonell, Sir Fred Joyce, Ivor G. Meddleton and B. A. Shaw, A study of the oral
vocabulary of adults : an investigation into the spoken vocabulary of the
Australian worker, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1956.
OCLC 606593777
• West, Michael (1953). A general service list of English words, with semantic
frequencies and a supplementary word-list for the writing of popular science and
technology London, New York: Longman, Green OCLC 318957

[show]
v•d•e
Lexicography

[show]
v•d•e
Lexicology
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Penjelasan dari vocabulary di Web dalam bahasa Inggris:

• a listing of the words used in some enterprise

• a language user's knowledge of words
• the system of techniques or symbols serving as a means of expression (as in arts
or crafts); "he introduced a wide vocabulary of techniques"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• A person's vocabulary is the set of words they are familiar with in a language. A
vocabulary usually grows and evolves with age, and serves as a useful and
fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary
• Vocabulary is the debut album of British New Wave group Europeans. It was
released on LP in September 1983; no CD version is available yet.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary_(album)
• A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field,
or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning; The collection of words a
person knows and uses; The stock of words used in a particular field; The words
of a language collectively
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vocabulary
• Those words and their meanings that are stored in our mental dictionaries.
www.foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/Glossary
• The stock of available words in (1) a given language or (2) a given speaker of that
language.
web.cn.edu/KWHEELER/lit_terms_V.html
• This structure contains a list of variables and related words. Words in one
vocabulary may not access to word in other vocabularies thus allowing data
hiding. Used as a command, vocabulary creates a new vocabulary.
www.pcai.com/web/glossary/pcai_d_f_glossary.html
• The total list of words the speech engine will be comparing an utterance against.
The vocabulary is made up of all the words in all active grammars.
www.lumenvox.com/resources/tips/tipsGlossary.aspx
• eg ICD, ICPM, SNOMED, Read Code etc.
www.isft.net/cms/index.php
• A list of terms, sometimes with definitions. A single level taxonomy. A
vocabulary can be considered a very localized glossary. Or not.
www.twason.com/glossary.html
• All the words used by or known by a child or adult. Oral vocabulary refers to
words used in speaking or recognized in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to
words recognized or used in print.
www.cpin.us/p/pel/glossary.htm
• is words known or used by a person or a group.
assist.educ.msu.edu/ASSIST/modules/6/glossary.php
• the particular selection or types of words chosen in speech or writing
www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/knowitall/resources/english.htm
vo·cabu·lary (vō kab′yə ler′ē)

noun pl. vocabularies -·lar′·ies

1. a list of words and, often, phrases, abbreviations, inflectional forms, etc., usually
arranged in alphabetical order and defined or otherwise identified, as in a
dictionary or glossary
2. all the words of a language
3.
1. all the words used by a particular person, socioeconomic group,
profession, etc.

in full active vocabulary

2. all the words recognized and understood, although not necessarily used, by
a particular person

in full passive vocabulary

4. an interrelated group of nonverbal symbols, signs, gestures, etc. used for

communication or expression in a particular art, skill, etc.

Origin: ML vocabularium < L vocabulum, a word: see vocable

http://www.yourdictionary.com/vocabulary

vo·cab·u·lar·y (v -k b y -l r )
n. pl. vo·cab·u·lar·ies
1. All the words of a language.
2. The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person or
group.
3. A list of words and often phrases, usually arranged alphabetically and defined or
translated; a lexicon or glossary.
4. A supply of expressive means; a repertoire of communication: a dancer's vocabulary of
movement.
[French vocabulaire, from Old French, from Medieval Latin voc bul rium, from neuter
of voc bul rius, of words, from Latin voc bulum, name; see vocable.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by
Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

vocabulary [vəˈkæbjʊlərɪ]
n pl -laries
1. (Linguistics) a listing, either selective or exhaustive, containing the words and phrases
of a language, with meanings or translations into another language; glossary
2. (Linguistics) the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of a specified person,
class, profession, etc.
3. (Linguistics) all the words contained in a language
4. a range or system of symbols, qualities, or techniques constituting a means of
communication or expression, as any of the arts or crafts a wide vocabulary of textures
and colours
[from Medieval Latin vocābulārium, from vocābulārius concerning words, from Latin
vocābulum VOCABLE]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers

1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Vocabulary a collection or list of words, 1532.

Examples: vocabulary of arms, 1862; of new denominations, 1821; of dishes, 1825; a
vocabulary to the understanding, 1662.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group,
Inc. All rights reserved.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vocabulary

A Focus on Vocabulary
by Fran Lehr, M.A., Lehr & Associates, Champaign, Illinois Jean Osborn, M.Ed.,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dr. Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Visiting
Research Professor, University of California - Berkeley

Isabel Beck's Vocabulary Work

Of the many compelling reasons for providing students with instruction to build
vocabulary, none is more important than the contribution of vocabulary
knowledge to reading comprehension. Indeed, one of the most enduring findings
in reading research is the extent to which students’ vocabulary knowledge relates
to their reading comprehension (e.g., Anderson & Freebody, 1981; Baumann,
Kame‘enui, & Ash, 2003; Becker, 1977; Davis, 1942; Whipple, 1925). Most
recently, the National Reading Panel (2000) concluded that comprehension
development cannot be understood without a critical examination of the role
played by vocabulary knowledge. Given that students’ success in school and
beyond depends in great measure upon their ability to read with comprehension,
there is an urgency to providing instruction that equips students with the skills
and strategies necessary for lifelong vocabulary development.

The focus of this article, therefore, is on vocabulary instruction as a component of

reading comprehension. The article does not attempt to address issues related to
stand-alone vocabulary building programs and strategies.
Vocabulary Instruction and English Language Learning Students

Students for whom English is not a first language – particularly native Spanish
speakers – make up an increasing proportion of our school-age population (U.S.
Census, 2001). Many of these students have difficulty comprehending what they
read. A major cause of this difficulty is their lack of understanding of abstract
English words, especially those words (e.g., freedom, motive, change) that they
see in content area textbooks (García, 1991; Verhoeven, 1990).

The purpose of this booklet is to examine what research tells us about how
students acquire vocabulary and about what instruction must do to help students
develop the kind of vocabulary knowledge that will contribute to their reading
success. We begin by clarifying exactly what we mean by vocabulary.

What Is Vocabulary?

Broadly defined, vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings.

However, vocabulary is more complex than this definition suggests. First, words
come in two forms: oral and print. Oral vocabulary includes those words that we
recognize and use in listening and speaking. Print vocabulary includes those
words that we recognize and use in reading and writing. Second, word
knowledge also comes in two forms, receptive and productive. Receptive
vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them.
Productive vocabulary includes words that we use when we speak or write.
Receptive vocabulary is typically larger than productive vocabulary, and may
include many words to which we assign some meaning, even if we don’t know
their full definitions and connotations – or ever use them ourselves as we speak
and write (Kamil & Hiebert, in press).

Adding further complexity, in education, the word vocabulary is used with varying
meanings. For example, for beginning reading teachers, the word might be
synonymous with “sight vocabulary,” by which they mean a set of the most
common words in English that young students need to be able to recognize
quickly as they see them in print. However, for teachers of upper elementary and
secondary school students, vocabulary usually means the “hard” words that
students encounter in content area textbook and literature selections.

For purposes of this booklet, we define vocabulary as knowledge of words and

word meanings in both oral and print language and in productive and receptive
forms. More specifically, we use vocabulary to refer to the kind of words that
students must know to read increasingly demanding text with comprehension.
We begin by looking closely at why developing this kind of vocabulary is
important to reading comprehension.
The Importance of Vocabulary to Reading Comprehension

One of the most persistent findings in reading research is that the extent of
students’ vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to their reading comprehension
and overall academic success (see Baumann, Kame‘enui, & Ash, 2003; Becker,
1977; Davis, 1942; Whipple, 1925). This relationship seems logical; to get
meaning from what they read, students need both a great many words in their
vocabularies and the ability to use various strategies to establish the meanings of
new words when they encounter them. Young students who don’t have large
vocabularies or effective word-learning strategies often struggle to achieve
comprehension. Their bad experiences with reading set in motion a cycle of
frustration and failure that continues throughout their schooling (Hart & Risley,
2003; Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman, & Hemphill, 2000; White, Graves, &
Slater, 1990). Because these students don’t have sufficient word knowledge to
understand what they read, they typically avoid reading. Because they don’t read
very much, they don’t have the opportunity to see and learn very many new
words. This sets in motion the well known “Matthew Effects,” Stanovich’s (1986)
application of Matthew, 25:29–“the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” In
terms of vocabulary development, good readers read more, become better
readers, and learn more words; poor readers read less, become poorer readers,
and learn fewer words.

This particular relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading

comprehension seems clear. But vocabulary knowledge contributes to reading
success in other important ways that are perhaps less obvious. For beginning
readers, evidence indicates a link between word knowledge and phonological
awareness. Young children who have a large number of words in their oral
vocabularies may more easily analyze the representation of the individual sounds
of those words (see Goswami, 2001; Metsala & Walley, 1998). In addition,
vocabulary knowledge helps beginning readers decode, or map spoken sounds
to words in print. If children have the printed words in their oral vocabulary, they
can more easily and quickly sound out, read, and understand them, as well as
comprehend what they are reading. If the words are not in children’s oral
vocabulary, they have trouble reading the words and their comprehension is
hindered (National Reading Panel, 2000). Thus, an extensive vocabulary is the
bridge between the word-level processes of phonics and the cognitive processes
of comprehension (Kamil & Hiebert, in press). The issue to address next, then, is
just how many words do students need to know so as to read with
comprehension? This is exactly what constitutes an “extensive” vocabulary.

How Many Words Do Students Need to Know?

Over the years, estimates of student vocabulary size have varied greatly,
hindered in part by issues such as the types of vocabularies being considered
(e.g., receptive/ productive or oral/print). Depending on how they approached
such issues, early vocabulary researchers reported figures ranging from 2,500 to
26,000 words in the vocabularies of typical grade 1 students and from 19,000 to
200,000 words for college graduate students (Beck & McKeown, 1991). As
researchers began to define more clearly what they meant by vocabulary size,
the estimates became more precise. At the present time, there is considerable
consensus among researchers that students add approximately 2,000 to 3,500
distinct words yearly to their reading vocabularies (Anderson & Nagy, 1992;
Anglin, 1993; Beck & McKeown, 1991; White et al., 1990).

Perhaps a more useful way to approach the issue of vocabulary size is to

consider the number of different, or unique, words in the typical texts that
students read in schools. But this approach also raises questions. For example,
what counts as a unique word? Is the possessive form of a word different from
the original word and therefore unique? Can it be assumed that a student who
knows the word laugh also knows the words laughed, laughing, and laughter?
Drawing on a database of more than 5 million words taken from a sample of
school texts used in grades 3 through 9, Nagy and Anderson (1984) grouped
unique words into families. The students’ knowledge of the root word would help
them determine a related word’s meaning when they encounter that word in a
text. To be included in a family, the relationship of a word had to be “semantically
transparent.” That is, the meaning of the related word can be determined by
using knowledge of its root word and the context of text. Therefore, words within
a family related to the root laugh can include laughed, laughing, and laughter but
not laughingstock. Based on this definition, Nagy and Anderson estimated that
school texts from grades 3 through 9 contain approximately 88,500 distinct word
families. Clearly, acquiring meanings for this many words is a formidable task.

Yet somehow most students do steadily acquire a large number of new words
each school year. To understand the magnitude of this accomplishment, consider
what learning this number of words would require in terms of instruction. To
directly teach students even 3,000 words a year would mean teaching
approximately 17 words each school day (e.g., 3,000 words/180 school days).
Estimates vary, but reviews of classroom intervention studies suggest that, in
general, no more than 8 to 10 words can be taught effectively each week. This
means no more than approximately 400 words can be taught in a year (Stahl &
Fairbanks, 1986). Using a simple calculation, 3,000 - 400 = 2,600, produces the
conclusion that students must find ways other than direct classroom instruction to
learn words.

So how do students acquire so many new words? An extensive body of research

indicates that the answer is through incidental learning – that is, through
exposure to and interaction with increasingly complex and rich oral language and
by encountering lots of new words in text, either through their own reading or by
being read to (National Reading Panel, 2000). However, such incidental
encounters cannot ensure that students will acquire indepth meanings of specific
words (Fukkink & de Glopper, 1998). For some words, such as those that are
crucial for understanding a literature selection or a content area concept, most
students need to have intentional and explicit instruction. We discuss each of
these ways to acquire vocabulary in later sections. First, however, we examine
what “knowing” a word means.

What Does It Mean to “Know” a Word?

Establishing exactly what it means to know a word is no easy task. Is “knowing” a

word being able to recognize what it looks and sounds like? Is it being able to
give the word’s dictionary definition? Research suggests that, in general, the
answer to these questions is no. Knowing a word by sight and sound and
knowing its dictionary definition are not the same as knowing how to use the
word correctly and understanding it when it is heard or seen in various contexts
(Miller & Gildea, 1987).

Acquiring “Ownership” of Words

Here is how the process of acquiring word knowledge appears to occur, based
on the research of Nagy, Anderson, and Herman (1987). Developing
understandings of word meanings is a long-term process, one that involves many
encounters with both spoken and written words in varying contexts. Here’s how
one group of researchers describes this process: On the first encounter with a
new word, a student stores in memory some information about how the word fits
into what he is reading. This information is reinforced each time he sees or hears
the word. With each new encounter, the student picks up more information about
the word from its use in various contexts. As a result, the student gradually
acquires “ownership” of the word.

Nagy and Scott (2000) identify several dimensions that describe the complexity
of what it means to know a word. First, word knowledge is incremental, which
means that readers need to have many exposures to a word in different contexts
before they “know” it. Second, word knowledge is multidimensional. This is
because many words have multiple meanings (e.g., sage: a wise person; an
herb) and serve different functions in different sentences, texts, and even
conversations. Third, word knowledge is interrelated in that knowledge of one
word (e.g., urban) connects to knowledge of other words (e.g., suburban,
urbanite, urbane).

What all of this means is that “knowing” a word is a matter of degree rather than
an all-or-nothing proposition (Beck & McKeown, 1991; Nagy & Scott, 2000). The
degrees of knowing a word are reflected in the precision with which we use a
word, how quickly we understand a word, and how well we understand and use
words in different modes (e.g., receptive, productive) and for different purposes
(e.g., formal vs. informal occasions).

Knowing a word also implies knowing how that word relates to other knowledge
(sometimes called word schema). The more we know about a specific concept,
for example, the more words we bring to our understanding of that concept.
Because we have individual interests and backgrounds, each of us brings
different words to shape that understanding.

Finally, knowing a word means being able to appreciate its connotations and
subtleties. When we know a word at this level, we can use and recognize it in
idioms, jokes, slang, and puns (Johnson, Johnson, & Schlicting, 2004).

What’s a Word Schema?

A word schema is a network of knowledge related to a word (Nagy & Scott,

1990). Word schemas involve both semantic knowledge about the connections of
word meanings to specific concepts and linguistic knowledge about words, such
as their roots and their relationships to other words with the same roots. Here is
an example.

Ramona is four years old. Already she has a fairly large schema for many simple
concepts. For example, to her, the word dog includes knowledge about the
general concept of “dog” as an animal, knowledge of one or two kinds of dogs,
such as her Lab, Gus, and her neighbor’s poodle, Misty. It also includes specific
information about Gus, such as the sounds he makes, and how he uses his legs
when he runs and walks. As a result, the word dog can activate many other
words for Ramona to use to talk about dogs.

As Ramona grows older, she might add “dog” knowledge that ranges from the
names of famous dogs in books, movies, and TV shows to how to train a dog, to
the names for parts of a dog’s anatomy. She might also learn that the word dog
can mean more than an animal and be able to use the word in expressions such
as “I’ll dog you until you do what I told you to,” “that was a dog of a movie,” or
“I’m dog tired.”

Ramona has also learned that words with similar word parts can have shared
meanings, although she is also aware that what seems like a root word may be
something altogether different. Thus, when Ramona encounters dog-eared,
dogpaddle, and doggedly in texts, she examines the context of their use to see if
their meaning is associated with the appearance or actions of dogs.

Instruction for Vocabulary Development

Over the past two decades, research has revealed a great deal about the kind of
vocabulary instruction that is most effective for helping students comprehend
what they read (e.g., Baumann, Kame‘enui et al., 2003; Beck & McKeown, 1991;
Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000; Nagy & Scott, 2000). Based on its analysis of this
research, the National Reading Panel (2000) concluded that no one single
instructional method is sufficient for optimal vocabulary learning; therefore,
effective instruction must use a variety of methods to help students acquire new
words and increase the depth of their word knowledge over time. Effective
instruction includes opportunities for both incidental word learning and intentional
word teaching.

What the National Reading Panel Says About the Role of Vocabulary
in Reading Instruction

(Reprinted from National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 4-4)

1. There is a need for direct instruction of vocabulary items required for a

specific text.
2. Repetition and multiple exposure to vocabulary items are important.
3. Students should be given items that will be likely to appear in many
contexts. Learning in rich contexts is valuable for vocabulary learning.
Vocabulary words should be those that the learner will find useful in
many contexts. When vocabulary items are derived from content learning
materials, the learner will be better equipped to deal with specific reading
matter in content areas.
4. Vocabulary tasks should be restructured as necessary. It is important to be
certain that students fully understand what is asked of them in the context
of reading, rather than focusing only on the words to be learned.

Restructuring seems to be most effective for lowachieving or at-risk

students.

5. Vocabulary learning is effective when it entails active engagement in

learning tasks.
6. Computer technology can be used effectively to help teach vocabulary.
7. Vocabulary can be acquired through incidental learning. Much of a
student’s vocabulary will have to be learned in the course of doing things
other than explicit vocabulary learning. Repetition, richness of context,
and motivation may also add to the efficacy of incidental learning of
vocabulary.

8. Dependence on a single vocabulary instruction method will not result in

optimal learning. A variety of methods was used effectively with
emphasis on multimedia aspects of learning, richness of context in which
words are to be learned, and the number of exposures to words that
learners receive.

A Focus on Vocabulary is the second in the Research-Based Practices in Early

Reading Series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory at Pacific
Resources for Education and Learning.
Research-Based Practices in Early Reading Series Product # ES0419
According to Dr. Isabel Beck, professor of education and senior scientist at the
University of Pittsburgh, effective vocabulary instruction should be a high priority
for our educational system. Students who are successful in acquiring vocabulary
are generally, better readers. Beck has conducted extensive research of
decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension and has published over 100 articles
on her research. She found that words are learned best when learned in context
with thought-provoking and interactive follow-up in the classroom. Learning new
words tends to be incremental with some students able to learn as many as
seven new words a day while others may be learning only one or two a day or
none at all. A linguistically rich first grader may know up to 20,000 words while a
linguistically poor first grader may only know 5,000 words. Struggling have
difficulty learning new words from context readers and may not have the ability to
extract meaningful information about the words they encounter in text material.

Beck et al. (2002) propose that teachers should place major consideration on
words’ usefulness and frequency of use. To help in this endeavor, they
categorized words into three tiers:

Tier One consists of words such as clock, baby, and happy whose meanings
students are likely to know.

Tier Two is made up of words such as fortunate, maintain, and merchant that are
“likely to appear frequently in a wide variety of texts and in the written and oral
language of mature language users” (2002, p. 16), but whose meanings students
are less likely to know.

Tier Three is made up of words such as irksome, pallet, and retinue that appear
in text rarely. Although these rare words are often unknown to students, their
appearance in texts is limited to one or two occurrences, and because they are
often specific to particular content, students can use the context of texts to
establish their meaning.

Beck et al. (2002) suggest that for instructional purposes, teachers should ignore
Tier One and Tier Three words and concentrate on Tier Two words. Their
argument is that most students already know Tier One words and that Tier Three
words should be taught at point of contact, or as they occur in reading. Tier Two
words, however, appear often in student texts, so they are the words that can
add most to students’ language knowledge.

Tier Two words include: (1) words that are characteristic of mature language
users and appear frequently across a variety of contexts; (2) words that lend
themselves to instruction and that can be worked with in a variety of ways so that
students can build in-depth knowledge of them and their connections to other
words and concepts; and (3) words that provide precision and specificity in
describing a concept for which the students already have a general
understanding (Beck et al., 2002).
Teachers can identify Tier Two words by deciding whether their students already
have ways to express the concepts represented by the new words. Beck et al.
(2002) propose that teachers ask themselves whether their students will be able
to explain the new words by using words they already know. If so, this suggests
that the new words offer students more precise or sophisticated ways of referring
to concepts they already know something about.

Guidelines such as these are useful, but in the complex and diverse settings that
are American classrooms, they need to be applied with sensitivity to the needs of
students. Further, it should be remembered that the Three Tier model assumes
that students are fluent readers of Tier One words. As is evident in studies of
students’ fluency, however, such fluency cannot be assumed (Pinnell et al.,
1995). When students are not fluent with Tier One words, using context to figure
out Tier Three words will be difficult.

Some Criteria for Identifying Tier Two Words

Importance and Utility: Words that are characteristic of mature language users
and appear frequently across a variety of domains.

Instructional Potential: Words that can be worked with in a variety of ways so

that students can build deep knowledge of them and of their connections to other
words and concepts.

Conceptual Understanding: Words for which students understand the general

concept but provide precision and specificity in describing the concept.

http://www.mikemcmahon.info/vocab.htm