Reading & Vocabulary Project

Reading and Vocabulary (RAV)

The Reading and Vocabulary project builds on findings from both the Aston Literacy Project (ALP) and the Vocabulary and Reading in Secondary School Project (VaRiSS) to investigate the relationship between reading and vocabulary. Specifically, whether the amount of reading that children and adolescents do is important for vocabulary growth. Reading and Vocabulary (RAV) is funded by a Nuffield Foundation grant (2018 - 2022) and conducted by Sanne van der Kleij (Research Fellow) and Dr. Laura Shapiro, Dr. Jessie Ricketts and Professor Adrian Burgess.

Key findings:

• Vocabulary and reading are very closely related, with vocabulary knowledge important for reading success and reading providing opportunities for vocabulary learning

• A substantial number of pupils start secondary school without the basic reading skills and vocabulary knowledge needed to access the curriculum

• Gaps in vocabulary knowledge and reading are persist into secondary school, but attainment gaps do not widen as students progress from primary to secondary school and through the first few years of secondary school