4 ways of teaching vocabulary
3 old standbys don't improve writing

Teaching vocabulary via any one of the three most common approaches does not have significant carryover into the writing most students grades 7 and beyond are required to do.

There is, however, an approach that works well.

The reading-in-context approach

Learning vocabulary through reading context is the method preferred by good readers and writers. However, a reading-based approach to teaching vocabulary poses difficulties for students who are not good readers and writers.

Three potential problems of reliance on this method of learning vocabulary in grades 7 and beyond are:

• Very little reading instruction is done at the high school level where students are dealing with complex ideas and are most likely to need support in developing their reading vocabularies.

• Unless a teacher makes a serious effort to provide students with reading material that presents vocabulary students need to know, students may not get an opportunity to see essential vocabulary in context.

• If the word has different meanings in other contexts, learning its meaning in only one can may hinder reading comprehension.

These potential problems don't mean reading in context is not useful, only that it should not be the only strategy employed for to teach vocabulary.

Test-prep word lists approach

The opposite extreme, the test-prep word list approach to vocabulary instruction, also presents some problems for teaching and learning:

• The memorized definition may be applicable to only one context.

• The word lists on standardized tests may not be vocabulary students need to use regularly in speaking and writing.

• Vocabulary memorized for tests but not used is quickly forgotten, which means much time is wasted on material that is not remembered.

You may decide it's worth putting up with the problems to achieve higher test scores.

Vocabulary-in-sentences approach

Between the reading context approach to teaching vocabulary and the word list approach is the familiar "vocabulary in sentences" approach.

It seems sensible that if students are given a list of words and definitions, having them use the words in their own sentences would promote retention.

Unfortunately, while the procedure may help students remember material for a test, it is not particularly effective at developing students written and spoken vocabulary.

Teachers often combine using a word in an sentence with one of the other two approaches on the mistaken impression that using the word in a sentence is application of knowledge. It's not. Application means using knowledge without being prompted to do so.

Limits of all three approaches

Regardless of which of the three approaches to teaching vocabulary you favor, you need to realize that students require multiple exposures to each vocabulary word before they learn it.

One pair of researchers estimate that high school age students with severe reading deficits need 15 presentations to learn a new word.

Research I've seen about the number of presentations a customer must be exposed to before they notice an ad suggests that figure is probably reasonable.

Combination yields better results

If you blanch at the thought of having students do the same vocabulary exercise 15 times just to learn one vocabulary word, take heart:

By combining all three approaches with authentic English language arts writing topics, you can accomplish much more with far less tedium.