Vocabulary
Does memorizing “chunks of language” make you more fluent?
A few years ago, I went through the weaknesses of the arguments for rote memorization of vocabulary . I recently stumbled upon a slight twist on this practice: memorizing “prefabricated sequences” of language rather than just individual…
5 min readL2 Teaching · September 16, 2024Are Flashcards a Good Idea for Learning New Words?
I recently did another YouTube interview (to be posted shortly) and realized that I had forgotten to post this one (with James Stubbs) from last year.
43 min readL2 Teaching · March 21, 2023Interviews with James Stubbs on “Future Multilingual”
James Stubbs over at Future Multilingual (YouTube channel) interviewed me recently about second language acquisition and vocabulary instruction. It was a lot of fun – thanks to James for inviting me!
1 min readVocabulary · July 6, 2020Does Teaching Morphology Improve Vocabulary?
Medium-length answer: The theory behind morphological instruction is that if you teach students Greek and Latin roots and/or common prefixes and suffixes, students will be able to apply that knowledge to figure out the meanings of new…
1 min readVocabulary · May 18, 2020How We Improve Our Vocabulary (Video)
I gave a talk to a group of students and scholars at the IZ Education Center (Iran) via Skype on May 15, 2020.
1 min readVocabulary · January 14, 2020I’m Not a Real Doctor, But I Acquire Like One from TV
We’ve previously reviewed evidence that you can pickup scientific vocabulary from reading science fiction . Now a new study shows that you can pickup medical vocabulary from watching TV dramas about doctors and hospitals.
3 min readL1 Literacy · December 4, 2019Can Language Minority Students Acquire Academic Vocabulary from Reading?
The study examined the performance of 149 sixth-graders in a seven-week vocabulary intervention called “U.S. History for Engaged Readers.” There were both English-only (EOs) (called “English Monolinguals” in the paper) and LM students…
5 min readVocabulary · November 19, 2019Vocabulary, Grammar, Sex, and Aging
The title Vocabulary, Grammar, Sex, and Aging is from a paper published a few years ago in the journal Cognitive Science, not what’s been on my mind lately.
2 min readL1 Literacy · November 11, 2019Why Reading Fiction is Good for Academic Achievement
The education writer at Forbes , Natalie Wexler, argued last week that reading fiction isn’t the “only” thing needed to boost academic achievement. It’s a curious position to take, not because it is wrong – I agree with her completely –…
7 min readL1 Literacy · November 5, 2019Another Massive Vocabulary Study Finds No Gains, Massive or Otherwise
Jayanthi and colleagues (2017 online; paywall) conducted a study – in what seems like an endless series of massive , federally-funded studies of this sort – to determine the efficacy of vocabulary instruction. The “pilot” study ( Gerstner…
2 min readL1 Literacy · October 21, 2019The Myth of Teaching Morphology
Several researchers have claimed that “morphological instruction” is an effective way to improve students’ vocabulary and reading proficiency ( Carlisle, 2010 ; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006 ).
2 min readL2 Teaching · October 17, 2019Should Intermediate English Acquirers Read Children’s Literature?
Why is this important? Because the main source of good reading material for English beginners and low intermediates are graded readers (stories written for second language acquirers). But graded readers in English currently only take you…
7 min readMeasurement · April 30, 2018What Counts as Success in Vocabulary Instruction?
I’ve discussed in previous posts ( here and here ) the inefficiency of academic vocabulary teaching programs such as Word Generation . In one evaluation of the program, Snow, Lawrence, and White (2009) found that after 30 hours of…
5 min readL1 Literacy · September 14, 2017We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Exercises*: Listening to Stories is More Efficient Than Direct Instruction for Vocabulary Acquisition
Everyone agrees that reading storybooks to young children helps them build vocabulary. But lots of researchers think they can improve on storybook reading, making it more “effective” as a way of teaching children new words.
4 min readVocabulary · August 29, 2017How Reading ‘The Martian Chronicles’ Can Improve Your Scientific Vocabulary: Rolls & Rodgers (2017)
In my last post , I presented evidence that when high school students read books for pleasure related to their school subjects, their test scores in those subjects go up. Rolls and Rodgers (2017) have just published a wonderful study that…
6 min readL1 Literacy · August 7, 2017Academic Vocabulary Instruction II: Learning 1 Word in 5 Hours Shouldn’t Count as a Success
In a previous post , I noted that one of the studies often cited for the success of academic vocabulary instruction, Snow, Lawrence, and White (2009), is in fact an example of its questionable effectiveness. Here’s another such study,…
5 min readL1 Literacy · August 1, 2017Academic Vocabulary Instruction: Does Word Generation Really Teach You Two Years’ Worth of Words in 22 Weeks?
One of the hot topics of the past decade or so in language education research has been the teaching of “academic language” and “academic vocabulary.”
7 min readVocabulary · July 25, 2017Carpe Vinum: Does Drinking Help Vocabulary Retention?
If you thought my previous discussion on the benefits of sleeping on vocabulary acquisition was a bit “out there,” consider the latest study from the venerable scientific journal, Nature .
2 min readVocabulary · July 21, 2017Carpe Noctem: Is it Time for Chronolinguistics?
A few months ago, I read a wonderfully-written and informative book called Rest by Alex Pang . Pang reviews recent research on the benefits of taking breaks, napping, and sleeping on learning, creativity, and productivity.
3 min readL1 Literacy · July 5, 2017The Goldilocks Corollary to the Input Hypothesis
Zoe M. Flack, Jessica S. Horst. Two sides to every story: Children learn words better from one storybook page at a time. Infant and Child Development , 2017; e2047 DOI: 10.1002/icd.2047 (paywall)
3 min readL2 Teaching · June 28, 2017College ESL Students “Don’t Have Time” to Read in English, Researchers Claim
For the past decade, we have been witnessing a heated debate between the advocates of ‘vocabulary-through-input’ position and the proponents of word-focused instruction. The most recent example is the discussion between Cobb, Nation, and…
3 min readL2 Teaching · June 22, 2017Converging Evidence on Vocabulary Acquisition: Another Look at Reynolds (2016)
Nation analyzed a series of adult-level English novels and concluded that if (a) an ESL reader reads texts in which 2% of the words are unknown (that is, he knows the meaning of 98% of the words on the page), and (b) words are acquired…
4 min readVocabulary · June 14, 2017Frequency and Cognate Effects in Vocabulary Acquisition
Reading is the most powerful tool available to language acquirers for expanding and broadening vocabulary knowledge. Studies have found that while you have a low probability (around 5-15%) of picking up the meaning of an unknown word…
4 min readVocabulary · June 12, 2017Does Vocabulary Instruction Improve Reading Comprehension?
One of the most widely-cited articles in the past 40 years on the impact of first-language vocabulary instruction on English reading comprehension is Stahl and Fairbanks (1986) . Stahl and Fairbanks’ meta-analysis found that vocabulary…
5 min readL2 Teaching · June 8, 2017The IBM Computer Cloud of Unknowing
This press release is making the rounds this week, announcing a collaboration between Sesame Street and the letters I, B, and M. Big Bird and Big Blue are teaming up to do “learning in the cloud” with Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings Watson…
1 min readL2 Teaching · April 26, 2017Rakuten, Japan’s 21st Century Online Powerhouse, to Launch 19th Century Language School
One of the leading online retailers in Japan, Rakuten , is getting into the English-teaching business. According to their press release, their “ Super English ” lessons will use software developed by a new startup in the language teaching…
3 min readVocabulary · October 31, 2016How Many Words Can You Acquire in a Year?
There is an exchange in the current issue of Reading in a Foreign Language regarding papers that Paul Nation and I published on the number of words one can acquire through free reading. The original papers are here:
2 min readVocabulary · August 23, 2016In Case You Missed It: What Can Readers Read After Graded Readers?
Earlier this year I published an article in Reading in a Foreign Language about reading your way to fluency in English. Check it out here (free!).
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