An 51黑料网 report,聽, published this week reveals that both primary and secondary schools teachers are finding that an increasing number of children have a limited vocabulary 鈥 a word gap. Without enough words a child will not only find it difficult to understand instructions at school, but also to play and to communicate with others around them.
OUP surveyed over 1,300 teachers who reported that the word gap is not only affecting children鈥檚 achievement at school but also that it can have a damaging impact on self-esteem and children鈥檚 ability to make friends.
In the report, OUP asked leading educational experts and teachers to share their suggestions of practical things we can all do with our children to build their vocabulary and spark their interest to learn new words. Here are just a few:
1. Not just reading but also being read to
In the OUP survey, 93% of primary school teachers said that a root cause of the word gap is that children aren鈥檛 spending enough time reading for pleasure. Reading is an important way for children to learn vocabulary as they are more likely to come across new words in written language 鈥 in books 鈥 than they will hear in spoken language. Encourage your child to read widely as possible. If you are looking for inspiration, we have lots of聽booklists聽for all ages and interests!
As well as reading on their own or to you, read aloud to your child 鈥 even when they are able read fluently on their own. By hearing others read aloud , children can come across books they might not be able to read on their own yet. This way they will continue to hear new words that they probably wouldn鈥檛 find in their own reading. For a bit of variety listen to audiobooks together 鈥 great for a long car journey.
Talk about books together 鈥 ask your child what they liked or didn鈥檛 like about a story. What was their favourite bit? How do they think a character felt at a certain point in the story. Try asking them to retell the story using their own words.
2. Talk, talk, talk!
It goes without saying that parents talk to their children all the time. But research with very young children shows that if we use richer language, children鈥檚 vocabulary increases dramatically* (e.g. instead of 鈥楶ick that up and bring it over here鈥, 鈥榃alk slowly to kitchen and pick up the fork carefully and return it to me鈥). Try using alternative words for the same thing 鈥 instead of saying 鈥業t鈥檚 hot鈥 say 鈥業t鈥檚 scorching鈥 or 鈥業t鈥檚 blistering鈥 or 鈥業t鈥檚 sizzling鈥.
3. Have fun with words
Have fun finding out new words together. Create an excitement about discovering new words. Tell your child that it鈥檚 fine not to know what a word means 鈥 we are all learning new words all the time. Encourage them to tell you when they don鈥檛 know what something means. Talk about it together.
4. Pick up the dictionary
It鈥檚 really helpful if your child has access to a dictionary and a thesaurus at the right level for them, written in language they can understand. A dictionary and thesaurus at home and at school are vital tools in developing and enriching children鈥檚 language as well as helping to improve their spelling. To choose the best dictionary, or thesaurus, for your child, why not use our聽.
What鈥檚 more, we need to enable our children to get the best out of dictionaries 鈥 and that means helping them with basic dictionary skills. We can help you with our fantastic free聽!
5. Explore word meanings together
When your child comes across a new word in their reading or when you are reading to them, talk together about what the word might mean. Encourage them to use the other words and sentences around it to try to work out the meaning. In the OUP report, teacher Janine Wooldridge suggests that older children reading on their own could be encouraged to write unknown words on a card bookmark for you to discuss and look up in a dictionary together later. Talk about other ways you could use the new word 鈥 give them some examples of other sentences using that word and encourage your child to think of their own sentences. You could make a note of new words when you鈥檝e discussed them briefly to explore in more detail later if your child is keen to get on with the story!
6. Check for understanding
In the OUP report, educational psychologist Jean Gross CBE explains that she assessed children of all ages and abilities using a test that asked them to say what 鈥渙n purpose鈥 meant. Very few could do this, despite often hearing 鈥淵ou did that on purpose鈥 at home and in school. Jean suggests that we should never assume that children know the meaning of even simple words.
Further reading
More from Oxford Owl
- 聽鈥 share one of our tablet-friendly eBooks with your child
- Supporting your child with phonics聽鈥 expert advice on helping your child with early reading skills
- Using storytelling to develop reading and writing skills
- Guide to Starting School聽鈥 tips to help your child get ready for primary school
* David Reedy explores this study in聽Why the Word Gap Matters: Oxford Language Report, page 14
