Teaching Vocabulary, part 1

Hello everyone,

OK, full disclosure. I'm writing this from a vocabulary conference. I'm here because Mr. Del Cueto wants to emphasize vocabulary development at Garfield, and he wants some of us trained in various ways to do it.

I agree that our students are behind in English vocabulary. They are able to work in a very informal register, mostly laced with profanity, often mingled with Spanish, sometimes mingled with coined words. I have long bought into the idea (and indeed, I frankly told it to my AP English students) that one of the major indicators of academic success is richness of vocabulary.

That's our challenge: our students have an impoverished English vocabulary. We have a responsibility to raise that English vocabulary (and sometimes the Spanish vocabulary as well--"lonche" is really not a word). This responsibility crosses the curriculum, and all disciplines should be contributing.

It seems clear that we need to enhance our students' vocabulary not only in the key words of our disciplines (i.e., specific words pertaining to the subject we teach), but in a large number of words that are commonly used in academia.

The questions are, how? and when? These two questions are also meant to imply the large question, How much curricular focus should be on vocabulary? and How much will that cost or benefit the standards we need to teach?

A philosophical agreement that vocabulary acquisition is essential leaves a variety of questions of practical application.

So, let's start a discussion. I have some really good suggestions from these conferences, but I also have questions. I know what the research says, but I don't know what practical application one can put on the research across the curriculum.

Keep in mind that, when I tell you something, I'm trying to tell you what the research says in its purest form, or I'm trying to give you a practice that works very well in some situations but not all. I will also give you what I believe are practices that don't work (give up on having the students copy the words multiple times and write the definitions).

By the way, someone suggested to me that I recommend an English elective devoted entirely to vocabulary. I took such a class in high school, and was richly rewarded by it.

Jeff Combe