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.

Differential Word Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Stahl
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Word Knowledge

This study examined the effects of vocabulary pre-instruction on reading comprehension. Two vocabulary training treatments, chosen on the basis of a theoretical framework for vocabulary instruction, and a control were used with 28 average fifth-grade readers. For two of three order groups, both training treatments produced significantly higher scores on passage tests, and, for all children, both training treatments produced significantly higher scores on two sentence comprehension measures and a multiple-choice synonym test, indicating that pre-instruction had a significant effect on both comprehension and vocabulary learning. In addition, a mixed method of vocabulary instruction, or one which provided both definitional and contextual information about the taught words, produced significantly higher comprehension scores than did a definitional method.

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 Vocabulary Instruction: A Critical Analysis of Theories, Research, and Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Moody ◽  
Xueyan Hu ◽  
Li-Jen Kuo ◽  
Mohammed Jouhar ◽  
Zhihong Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
Coding Theory ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

Much is known about the impact of vocabulary instruction on reading skills, word knowledge, and reading comprehension. However, knowledge of the underlying theories that guide vocabulary instruction and their potential impact on teachers’ performance and/or students’ achievement has not been investigated. In this content analysis, articles published in The Reading Teacher and Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy between 2007 and 2017 were dissected to identify and code embedded word-learning strategies, grade levels addressed, target student populations, and desired outcomes (receptive or productive vocabulary). Our primary goal was to examine the embedded word-learning strategies within the articles, and to identify the theories on which they were built. Findings showed that a combination of theories guided most strategy recommendations: Social constructivism and sociocultural theories, schema and psycholinguistic theories, motivation theory, and dual coding theory. We also parallel-coded our findings with a recent review of literature on vocabulary instruction by Wright and Cervetti (2017), and found that they corresponded with the original coding. Follow-up quantitative studies can use the salient theories detected in this content analysis to investigate whether knowledge of underlying theories has an impact on teachers’ performance and student vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement.

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 for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of the Research

2003 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Pedrotty Bryant ◽  
Marilyn Goodwin ◽  
Brian R. Bryant ◽  
Kellie Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Intervention Research ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Immediate Recall

This article reviews research on vocabulary interventions involving students with learning disabilities. The purpose of the review was to summarize the findings of vocabulary intervention research and to present implications for vocabulary instruction. The studies were analyzed based on the following intervention research variables: word selection procedure, materials, instructional design and procedures, duration of the intervention, mastery criterion, measures of vocabulary learning (word knowledge level and reading comprehension), maintenance, and generalization (reading comprehension). Based on the selection criteria, six articles spanning the period from 1978 to the present were identified. Vocabulary interventions were categorized into four areas, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), fluency-building vocabulary practice activities, mnemonic strategy instruction, and concept enhancement instruction. Overall, positive results were found for the interventions on measures of immediate recall, maintenance, and generalization.

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.

Learning Disabilities and Reading: Instructional Recommendations from Current Research

1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rena B. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Teaching Of Reading ◽  
Education Of Students

This review of research addresses the teaching of reading, one of the most common concerns in the education of students with learning disabilities. First, past conceptualizations of the condition of learning disabilities are considered, then rejected in favor of the notion that learning disabled individuals are characterized by a failure to deploy cognitive resources effectively. Next, recent research on teacher effectiveness and the technology of direct instruction is examined in relation to current understandings of the nature and treatment of learning disabilities. Finally, empirically based instructional strategies for the teaching of reading to the learning disabled are suggested.

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