Teaching Adults to Read:
Vocabulary
2008 Minnesota Summer Institute
August 6, 2008

Sponsored by the
National Institute for Literacy www.nifl.gov
Facilitated by
Kathy St. John katlit2003@yahoo.com
Kaye Beall kaye_beall@worlded.org

Workshop Objectives
By the end of the workshop, participants will have:
 Defined vocabulary
 Named the findings and explained the implications of reading research for vocabulary
 Used tools for assessing reading skills in vocabulary
 Demonstrated effective strategies for teaching vocabulary

Vocabulary
Research
Assessment
Instruction

Vocabulary

Research Related to Vocabulary

Findings: Vocabulary Instruction
Research
 No emerging principles/practices
 Relatively little research at K-12 level

Findings: Vocabulary Instruction
Research
 Important trends for ABE:
– Vocabulary can be improved in general functional literacy settings, although teaching vocabulary in a specific setting, such as a family literacy or workplace setting, may be more effective.
– Compatible with limited K
–
12 research. Engaging contexts may be more effective.

Ideas from K – 12 Research
Methods identified in K
–
12 Research
 Explicit instruction
 Implicit instruction
 Multimedia methods
 Capacity methods
 Association methods

Findings: Vocabulary Instruction
 Practice (trends at Adult and K
–
12 level)
– Repetition in multiple contexts
– Wide reading
– Active engagement
 Teach vocabulary using multiple, engaging contexts that foster repeated exposure to new concepts (such as family or workplace settings

Why is Vocabulary Important?
 For beginners, oral vocabulary is the basis for meaningful reading.
 Readers can’t understand a writer’s message unless they understand most of the words, so they must learn new word meanings to become better readers.

Who Needs Vocabulary Instruction?
 Non-native speakers (ESOL students)
 Many intermediate and higher-level readers

Assessment of Vocabulary

Edgar Dale’s Degrees of Knowing
Word Meanings
1.
I never saw or heard the word before.
2.
I know there is such a word, but I don’t know what it means.
3.
I’ve heard it and seen it. I know what it has to do with but I can’t tell you what it means specifically.
4.
I know what it means. I’ll recognize it whenever I see it or hear it. I can use it.
Dale, E. (1976) The living word vocabulary. Elgin, IL. Dome Press

Vocabulary Assessments
Productive vocabulary words we know well enough to use in writing or speaking
Receptive (listening) vocabulary words we know well enough to understand when seen in print or heard in conversation

Vocabulary Assessments
(continued)
1.
Elicited word meanings. Oral (productive) vocabulary.
– Diagnostic Assessments of Reading (DAR)
– Davidson and Bruce Word Meaning Test
(Free to download at www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/)

Vocabulary Assessments
(continued)
2.
Multiple choice (oral-written). Limited receptive vocabulary.
– Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE)
– Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)

Vocabulary Assessments
(continued)
3.
Multiple choice (oral-pictures). Two tests of Receptive Vocabulary
– Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III)
– Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III

Vocabulary Assessments
(continued)
4.
Embedded in comprehension passages.
Limited receptive vocabulary.
– Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)
– Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment
System (CASAS)

Instruction in Vocabulary

Vocabulary Development
Research-based Tips
 Pre-teach unfamiliar words in instructional text.
 Ensure multiple exposures to words by teaching useful, “real-life” words and words learners will encounter in subjectmatter texts they are studying.

Vocabulary Development
(continued)
 Engage learners in using and working with the words in several ways.
 Teach word-learning strategies like structural analysis, using context clues and using a dictionary.
 Encourage wide reading of levelappropriate matters in varied subjectmaterial areas.

In Text—Words to Pre-teach
Teach those words that
 Are important for comprehension of text
 Are not well defined by context
 Allow opportunities to apply/reinforce word-learning strategies previously taught

In General—Other Words and Wordlearning Strategies to Teach
 Signal words
 Idiomatic expressions
 Words in the news
 Subject-matter words (e.g. science and social studies)
 Roots, prefixes and suffixes
 Difficult words (homographs and homophones, unfamiliar or unusual words)

In General—Other Words and Wordlearning Strategies to Teach
(continued)
 Types of context clues:
– Restatement or definition
– Synonym
– Antonym

Types of Context Clues
 Restatement:
The little girl missed her nap, so she was really cantankerous. She was grumpy and difficult all afternoon.
 Definition:
An advocate is a person who not only believes strongly about a cause, but also speaks up in support of it.

Types of Context Clues
 Synonym:
The team could be described as robust, very strong and sturdy.
 Antonym or contrast:
I’m usually gregarious, but after I lost my job, I kept to myself for several weeks .

Choosing Words to Teach:
Another Approach
Consider how useful they are —how frequently a reader will encounter them.
Three “tiers” of words have been identified by Isabel Beck (2002)
Beck, I. McKeown, M.G. and Kucan, L. (2002) Bringing words to life:
Robust vocabulary instruction. New York. Guilford Press.

Three Tiers of Words
 Tier One: The most basic words that rarely require instruction
(car, sad, man)
 Tier Two: High frequency words for mature language users
(coincidence, insistent, reluctant)
 Tier Three: Low frequency words, often limited to specific domains
(isotope, entomologist, lathe)

Prohibition
The period between 1920 and 1923 is known as Prohibition
Era. In 1919, the adoption of the 18th amendment made the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages illegal. Prohibition, which was a response to the public opinion that alcohol destroyed lives and disrupted families, was a great failure. Bootleggers illegally produced and distributed alcohol. Speakeasies, illegal
Establishments where people could buy and drink alcohol, sprung Up everywhere. Most of this illegal commerce was run by organized crime…
Excerpted from Access Critical Thinking Skills (2004). Harcourt Achieve, Inc.

Pre-Teach Vocabulary
Teach those words that
– Are important for comprehension
– Are not well defined by context
– Are unfamiliar or especially difficult
– Apply/reinforce word-learning strategies previously taught and words that are
– Signal words
– Subject-matter words
– Roots, prefixes, and suffixes
– Types of context clues

Background Knowledge
It’s more than vocabulary. What about the bigger concepts and bodies of knowledge to which words relate and refer?
Limited knowledge of the subject matter of a text makes it hard to make inferences and use context clues.
What can we do?

Assessing a
Sample Vocabulary Lesson

Vocabulary Wrap Up
Research
Assessment
Instruction

Thank you!
Please fill out and return your evaluation forms.
We value your feedback.