VOCABULARY AND WORD FINDING
5-11 years
WHAT IS VOCABULARY AND WORD FINDING?
Vocabulary is the brain’s “store” of words and their meanings.
Expressive vocabulary – the words the child uses.
Receptive vocabulary – the words the child understands. A child can have a word in their
receptive vocabulary, and understand it when it is used, but not be able to use that word in
their own sentences yet.
Word finding - is our ability to access the words from our vocabulary. This may be to either
understand the word or to use the word in a meaningful way.
Word finding difficulties – can be receptive and/or expressive. Receptive word finding
difficulties are when a child cannot access a word in their mental vocabulary to understand it
(despite understanding it at other times) Expressive word finding difficulties are when a child
cannot access a word in their mental vocabulary to say it, even though they may have used
the word without difficulty in the past. We all experience word finding difficulties when we feel
we have a word on ‘the tip of our tongue’ but some children experience this frequently.
WHY DO CHILDREN HAVE DIFFICULTIES WITH VOCABULARY AND WORD FINDING?
Children need to hear a word in a variety of situations in order for it to become part of their
vocabulary. Some children need more exposure to a word before it becomes part of their
receptive or expressive vocabulary. If a child has not been exposed to a wide range of words
as a young child, they may have a limited vocabulary. Children with specific language
impairments may also have more severe word finding difficulties.
HOW DO I KNOW IF A CHILD HAS DIFFICULTIES WITH VOCABULARY AND WORD
FINDING?
If a child has difficulties with vocabulary they may exhibit one or more of the following
behaviours:
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Show signs of limited vocabulary development and take longer than their peers to learn
new words.
Show signs of a lack of understanding of a particular subject or topic.
Find it harder to recognise words and show a limited use of new vocabulary in relation
to their peers, both verbally and in written format.
Use very simple words/repetitive use of words in their written work.
Find it difficult to understand a passage of text that includes a range of written
vocabulary.
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Be very slow to provide a response or give no answer at all.
Give an answer very quickly, but this response is usually wrong.
Say phrases such as ‘I don’t know what that is’ or ”What is that?”
If a child has difficulties with word finding they may exhibit one or more of the following
behaviours:
 A child with a receptive word finding difficulty (understanding) may fail to recognise
spoken words that you know they have been exposed to and have some knowledge in
their vocabulary.
o e.g. If you ask a child to – “pass me the scissors”, they may display uncertainty
or error when selecting the object. This situation is likely to cause increased
anxiety and may result in the child showing a lack of interest within the
classroom.
 Have difficulties retrieving the words from their vocabulary - either to understand or
express the word, or both.
 Difficulty saying new vocabulary and they may mix up sounds and/or syllables.
 Be very slow to provide a response or give no answer at all.
 Give a word that is related by meaning (semantic – e.g. ‘hammer’
instead of ‘screwdriver’) or sounds (phonemic – e.g. ‘knot’ instead of ‘knob’) or visual
information (e.g. ‘snake’ instead of ‘rope.’)
 Give the correct answer minutes or even hours later.
 Talk around the target word, e.g. tiger = “It’s stripy, like a lion.”
 Use non-specific nouns such as ‘thing / stuff’ or general verbs such as
‘make / do.’
 Use gestures that indicate they are searching for the answer.
 Say phrases such as ‘I know it, but I can’t remember it.’
 Revise what they say or have long delays in the middle of their sentence.
Word finding difficulties may also affect a child’s writing skills:
 Their writing may show omission of words or they may substitute a target word for one
similar in meaning or sound.
 They may be able to provide the correct answer when given the first sound of the word
or when given a range of alternative words from which to choose.
HOW DOES THIS IMPACT ON CHILDREN WITHIN THE SCHOOL SETTING?
The school curriculum increases the demands on children to acquire and recall new
vocabulary. This new vocabulary is mostly subject/topic based. Some of these new words
may also have alternative meanings depending on the context in which they are used.
For example: ‘solution’ has a different meaning in science vs. problem solving.
All subjects require children to learn new words, with some subjects having higher
expectations, for example numeracy, science or geography. Other subjects also place
emphasis on vocabulary within a more social context where children are required to express
their thoughts and feelings.
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