Selecting Vocabulary Words to Teach

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley Gray ◽  
Hui-Chun Yang
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Pros And Cons

Although speech-language pathologists may understand the importance of vocabulary for oral language, listening, and reading comprehension and the need for vocabulary instruction, they may not have a clear rationale for selecting specific words to teach. The purpose of this article is to review different strategies for selecting vocabulary words for direct instruction and to discuss the pros and cons of each strategy.

Vocabulary Instruction: Effects on Word Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

1982 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Pany ◽  
Joseph R. Jenkins ◽  
Janice Schreck
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
The Third ◽  
Connected Discourse ◽  
Remedial Readers ◽  
Instruction Effects

Three experiments were conducted to assess the effects of vocabulary instruction on word knowledge and reading comprehension. Treatments varied in the amount of direct instruction, ranging from meaning derivation from context to drill on synonyms. In Experiment 1, subjects were “average” fourth-grade readers, whereas subjects in Experiments 2 and 3 were learning disabled and remedial readers. Results of Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that the treatments were differentially effective in teaching synonyms for unfamiliar words. More meanings were acquired as a result of increased direct instruction. Average students learned some word synonyms under all conditions except a noninstructional control condition. However, learning disabled students acquired fewer meanings across all conditions and seemed to require more direct instruction in order to produce learning. In both experiments, procedures which were differentially effective in teaching synonyms also produced differential transfer to sentence comprehension. The third experiment examined the effect of vocabulary instruction on comprehension of connected discourse. Again, vocabulary training transferred to comprehension of single sentences; however, on two of three measures of passage comprehension no effects were observed that were attributable to vocabulary instruction.

The Effect of Vocabulary Intervention on Text Comprehension: Who Benefits?

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawna Duff
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Intervention ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 ( N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words ( d RM = 2.26) and text comprehension ( d RM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.

scholarly journals Reading for Comprehension in Individuals with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development: Similar or Different Patterns of Ability?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 828
Author(s):  
Maja Roch ◽  
Kate Cain ◽  
Christopher Jarrold
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Reading Accuracy

Reading for meaning is one of the most important activities in school and everyday life. The simple view of reading (SVR) has been used as a framework for studies of reading comprehension in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). These tend to show difficulties in reading comprehension despite better developed reading accuracy. Reading comprehension difficulties are influenced by poor oral language. These difficulties are common in individuals with DS and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but they have never been compared directly. Moreover, the components of reading for comprehension have rarely been investigated in these populations: a better understanding of the nature of reading comprehension difficulties may inform both theory and practice. The aim of this study was to determine whether reading comprehension in the two populations is accounted for by the same component skills and to what extent the reading profile of the two atypical groups differs from that of typically developing children (TD). Fifteen individuals with DS (mean age = 22 years 4 months, SD = 5 years 2 months), 21 with ASD (mean age = 13 years 2 months, SD = 1 year 6 months), and 42 TD children (mean age = 8 years 1 month, SD = 7 months) participated and were assessed on measures of receptive vocabulary, text reading and listening comprehension, oral language comprehension, and reading accuracy. The results showed similar levels in word reading accuracy and in receptive vocabulary in all three groups. By contrast, individuals with DS and ASD showed poorer non-word reading and reading accuracy in context than TD children. Both atypical groups showed poorer listening and reading text comprehension compared to TD children. Reading for comprehension, investigated through a homograph reading accuracy task, showed a different pattern for individuals with DS with respect to the other two groups: they were less sensitive to meaning while reading. According to the SVR, the current results confirm that the two atypical groups have similar profiles that overlap with that of poor comprehenders in which poor oral language comprehension constrains reading for comprehension.

Emergent Bilinguals With Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits: A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 002221942098324
Author(s):  
Ana Taboada Barber ◽  
Susan Lutz Klauda ◽  
Weimeng Wang ◽  
Kelly B. Cartwright ◽  
Laurie E. Cutting
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Reading Engagement ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Inference Making ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Emergent Bilingual ◽  
Specific Reading ◽  
Insight Into

This study centered on emergent bilingual (EB) students with specific reading comprehension deficits (S-RCD), that is, with poor reading comprehension despite solid word identification skills. The participants were 209 students in Grades 2 to 4, including both EBs and English Monolinguals (EMs) with and without S-RCD. Mean comparisons indicated that EBs and EMs with S-RCD showed weaknesses relative to typically developing (TD) readers in oral language, word identification, inference making, and reading engagement, but not in executive functioning. Longitudinal analyses indicated that across two academic years S-RCD persisted for 41% of EBs and EMs alike. Altogether, the study extends research on EBs with S-RCD by identifying variables beyond oral language that may account for their reading comprehension difficulties and providing insight into the extent to which their reading comprehension and word identification performance levels evolve during elementary school. Furthermore, the findings point to the importance of early identification and intervention for weaknesses in reading comprehension and its component elements in both EBs and EMS.

The contribution of narrative morphosyntactic quality to reading comprehension in French immersion students

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1375-1391 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHLEEN HIPFNER-BOUCHER ◽  
KATIE LAM ◽  
XI CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Oral Narrative ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Narrative Generation ◽  
Oral Language Skills

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationship between L2 oral narrative morphosyntactic quality and L2 reading comprehension in a sample of 81 students enrolled in a Canadian French immersion program in Grade 1. Measures of French narrative generation and reading comprehension were administered concurrently. The proportion of utterances in the narratives that were judged to be grammatically acceptable was found to explain unique variance in reading comprehension, controlling for nonverbal intelligence, maternal education, phonological awareness, vocabulary and word reading. The results suggest that even in the earliest stages of L2 literacy acquisition, L2 oral language skills contribute to reading comprehension outcomes. The results of our study suggest that there may be value in providing L2 children with classroom-based story-related experiences that expose them to literate language.

scholarly journals The Effects of Long-Term Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Comprehension: A Replication

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret G. McKeown ◽  
Isabel L. Beck ◽  
Richard C. Omanson ◽  
Charles A. Perfetti
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
The Relationship

A study that investigated the relationship between vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension was replicated and extended. The original study showed substantial gains in accuracy of word knowledge and speed of lexical access, but only marginal gains in comprehension. This latter result was attributable to methodological problems, and thus the comprehension measure was revised. In the present study, fourth graders were taught 104 words over a five-month period. Following instruction, these children and a group of uninstructed children matched on pre-instruction vocabulary and comprehension ability performed tasks to measure accuracy of word knowledge, speed of lexical access, and comprehension of stories containing taught words. Instructed children showed substantial advantage in all tasks. Reasons for these results, in contrast to studies that have failed to improve comprehension through vocabulary instruction, are discussed.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Language Patterns of Standardized Reading Comprehension Tests and their Effect on Student Performance

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-366
Author(s):  
Eugene Jongsma
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Fourth Grade ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Fourth Grade Students ◽  
Language Patterns ◽  
Comprehension Tests ◽  
Reading Comprehension Tests

A random sample of passages was drawn from standardized reading comprehension tests for fourth grade students. The number and types of language patterns found in the test passages were determined through a method of linguistic analysis. The patterns identified on the tests did not reflect the patterns used most frequently in the oral language of fourth grade children. When the test passages were rewritten using a larger percentage of high frequency oral language patterns, and administered to comparable groups of students, no significant difference in comprehension performance was observed between those students taking the revised test and those taking the intact standardized test passages.

scholarly journals Improving Reading Comprehension Using Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL)

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Yudha Aprizani
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Contextual Teaching ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Instruction Approach

This study aimed to find out whether teaching-learning reading comprehension using Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) would get better results than using Direct Instruction approach. The research used a quantitative method. The population of the research was students from the Islamic University of Kalimantan Muhammad Arsyad Al-Banjari. The researcher used cluster random sampling to select two sample groups, the control group and the experimental group. The control group with 25 students was the class that continued to use the Direct Instruction approach. The experimental group, with 20 students, was the class tested using the CTL approach. The test was a written test with five multiple choice questions plus an essay test. The test was used to obtain the data. The students’ scores were the data for the study of reading comprehension comparing CTL and Direct Instruction. Based on the results of the study, the researcher found that CTL was more effective than Direct Instruction because the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted so that CTL was found to be better for teaching reading skills. CTL encourages materials that are related to the students’ surrounding so that it helps them use English related to their daily activities.

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