Review of “A Focus on Vocabulary”
In “A Focus on Vocabulary,” Lehr, Osborn, and Hiebert examine the dangers of deficient vocabulary and the processes by which new vocabulary is acquired. They are limiting their discussion of vocabulary to more advanced words that learners may be exposed to at higher levels and not the fundamental vocabulary that is used in basic, day-to-day communication.
Some words may be understood enough to be received but not comfortable enough to be used. A given passage or statement may contain a word that is entirely new to us, but a general definition can often be inferred based on its context (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 4). From there, our working definition or schema of these words is gradually expanded upon as we learn more about it through further exposure in different contexts. Eventually, we may be comfortable enough to begin experimenting with these words and may begin applying them in novel ways.
There is a great range of vocabulary knowledge across all grade levels. Throughout all assessed age groups, the range varies by a factor of ten within each peer group, respectively (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 2). The current approach to these differences in the Canadian school system is streaming. However, it is known that learning opportunities become polarized over time; increased exposure leads to an improved vocabulary, where reduced expose leads to fewer opportunities for improvement. This calls the efficacy of streaming into question. Educators want to reduce, not simply accommodate, these differences in vocabulary.
Studies have shown that educators simply cannot explicitly teach all necessary vocabulary within schools (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 3). Other opportunities to build schema beyond the walls of the classroom need to be identified and embraced. Lehr, Osborn, and Hiebert highlight an array of methods by which learners might expand their vocabulary (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 4-18).
Multimedia is tremendously useful in engaging learners and building schema, but its temporal nature reduces the ability to individually adjust pace in order to process appropriately. Teachers, family, and peers may gradually increase daily opportunities for exposure to new vocabulary by introducing them in a comfortable context (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 7), but this can be an incredibly slow-going process and opportunities may be few and far between.
I believe that reading is the most sustainable and effective form of vocabulary study. There are many reasons for why this may be the case: materials that are readily available, less mentally taxing than active discourse, or how the flow of narrative engages learners. Additionally, with the advent of computer-based technologies, there have been a plethora of new opportunities to keep learners engaged with the material and continually developing new and existing schema (A Focus on Vocabulary, p. 16-17). Reading may be the dominant means of building schema, but it is clear that a synthesis of diverse means are required to equip learners with the necessary vocabulary they need to thrive.