Vocabulary is broadly defined as knowledge of words and word meanings. However, vocabulary is more complex. First, words come in two forms: oral (words we use in listening and speaking) and print (words we use in reading and writing). Word knowledge also comes in 2 forms, receptive (words that we hear or see) and expressive (words that we speak or write). Therefore vocabulary is specifically defined at knowledge of words and meanings in both oral and print language and in productive and receptive forms. We use vocabulary to refer to the kind of words that students must know to read increasingly demanding text with comprehension.
Development of Vocabulary (LC)
Researchers agree that students typically add about 2,000 to 3,500 distinct words to their reading vocabularies each year. Vocabulary development, specifically word-learning, is a complex concept that must be understood as involving more than knowing a simple dictionary definition for a given word. Knowledge of words occurs in an incremental fashion; that is, it takes many exposures to learn a word. Furthermore, it is multidimensional in that many words have multiple meanings and can serve multiple functions within texts; students must become aware of the many facets of each word. Lastly, knowledge of any particular word is interrelated to knowledge of other words.
Acquisition of words occurs through several mechanisms. Incidental learning occurs through exposure to and interaction with increasingly complex and rich oral language and by encountering new words in texts (through independent reading or being read to). Some words are learned through intentional or explicit instruction.
Development of vocabulary can be influenced by a variety of factors. Important among these is the state of the early vocabulary. That is, if students have poorer vocabulary knowledge or poor word-learning strategies at the start, they tend to have reduced vocabularies later on due to the tendency for struggling readers to read less, and eventually learn fewer words overall. Increased oral vocabulary size early on helps early readers develop phonological awareness, which aids them in discovering the correspondence between spoken sounds and print. The larger the oral vocabulary the earlier, the better chance children will have of comprehending what they read.
Stages of Reading impacted (SG)
Vocabulary production and comprehension first become meaningfully important in the Beginning stage of reading. During this stage, children begin to read aloud, word by word. Children’s productive vocabulary is what will be used to relate stories, even if this vocabulary does not line up with what is written on the page. Vocabulary remains important into the later Transitional, Intermediate, and Advanced stages of reading development. Fluency of reading is facilitated by children being able to recognize the vocabulary presented on the page or predict what words may follow based on the context of the sentence, and comprehension through knowledge of word meanings. In the Intermediate and Advanced stages of reading, children acquire new vocabulary more readily since they are better able to focus on the meaning of passages rather than deciphering words and phrases.
Connections to Oral Language (SB)
Vocabulary is connected to oral language in several ways. 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. Knowledge of vocabulary helps beginning readers 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 . Therefore, an extensive vocabulary is the bridge between the word-level processes of phonics and the cognitive processes of comprehension.
Connections to Bilingual or Culturally/Linguistically Diverse Students (LC)
Children learning English as a second language may appear more orally or conversationally fluent when in reality they have vocabulary difficulties that are only evident in literate English (i.e., writing and reading skill). The fact that it may naturally take longer for these children to become proficient in literate English compared with relative speed of conversational English may be mistaken by some as evidence of learning or reading disability.One of the important factors that serves as a barrier to poor reading comprehension among diverse students is a lack of understanding of “abstract English words,” such as those commonly seen in textbooks (e.g., “freedom, motive, change”).
In addition to linguistic factors, the economic background of students and their parental occupations have been shown to be related to the number of words children are exposed to. Children of parents with ‘professional’ jobs are exposed to 50% more words than those of parents with ‘working class’ jobs, and twice as many as those of parents who received welfare support.
Video/Multimedia (SG)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2uq82jXZA
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