Bitesize Research: Importance Of Vocabulary Instruction

By Jaya Carrier

Welcome back - I hope everyone had a great break and that you’re having a good week so far. One of our ongoing priorities is looking at student communication. As such, I was really interested to see a recent Edutopia article that looks at vocabulary. Objectives: To understand the importance of vocabulary instruction and to offer strategies to support with effective vocabulary instruction Summary:

• Students need frequent exposure to words in order for them to embed into long-term vocabulary
• This article suggests that vocabulary can be strengthened by co-creating dialogue in the classroom. This includes ‘choral practice’ - everyone in the classroom saying the word together.
• This is commonplace in MFL but not something that is regularly done elsewhere.
• Discussions in the classroom of new vocabulary could also look to link to related words and paraphrased definitions
• The author suggests creativity when looking at vocabulary instruction, including ‘word association’ and also drawing pictures to cement understanding
• Students can also be active in choosing words they want to understand more about or define

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• What am I currently doing to support the understanding of new vocabulary in my subject?
• What would I like to try out in terms of teaching new vocabulary? How will I know if it has been successful?
• What information or further support do I need to help me with this?

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!