Vocabulary

Definition: Vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings. As Steven Stahl (2005) puts it, “vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits into the world” (Honig et al., 2018, p. 407)

Research Findings

• Vocabulary is key to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary. (https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading-basics/vocabulary )

• Vocabulary is central to English language teaching because without sufficient vocabulary students cannot understand others or express their own ideas. Wilkins (1972) wrote that “. . . while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (pp. 111–112).  (https://www.tesol.org/docs/books/bk_ELTD_Vocabulary_974 )

• People with more extensive vocabularies not only know more words but also know more about the words they know (Curtis & Glaser, 1983)

• Benefits in understanding texts by applying letter-sound correspondences to printed materials come about only if the target word i in the learner’s oral vocabulary (National Reading Panel, 2000)