How to teach vocabulary to support learning and comprehension

Vocabulary size is critical for comprehension. About 9,000–10,000 words are needed to read newspapers or novels comfortably, and vocabulary underpins reading, learning, and academic success. However, not all approaches to teaching vocabulary are effective. In a webinar, Emeritus Professor Paul Nation from Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington explored the nuances of vocabulary acquisition, challenging common teaching assumptions and providing a research-backed framework for effective classroom practice. Here are the key insights from the webinar:

It is important to accurately test students’ vocabulary in order to have a reliable gauge of how many words they know. Professor Nation’s research has found that teachers often significantly underestimate how many words students actually know. He proposes a simple formula for native speakers (applicable up to age 14 or 15): (Age – 2) × 1,000 = Approximate Vocabulary Size (so a 7-year-old typically knows about 5,000 words; a 13-year-old starting secondary school knows about 11,000 words).Even struggling readers often possess a large ‘listening’ vocabulary. Teachers should test students individually using tools like the Vocabulary Size Test to avoid wasting time teaching known words.

Vocabulary teaching based on rote word lists has limits. Teaching individual words is inefficient as new words tend to be quickly forgotten, and this approach cannot match natural growth (about 1,000 words per year). The most effective vocabulary growth comes from rich exposure and practice through reading, writing, and meaningful experiences. Reading is vital for repeated meaningful exposure to new words, and Professor Nation recommends at least one hour of reading per day. Similarly, writing is essential for turning receptive vocabulary (words understood when heard and read) into productive vocabulary (words the student can use).

Effective approaches to explicit vocabulary teaching focus on building word consciousness, or an understanding of how words work. Teaching should focus on word parts, meaning, and usage. Professor Nation recommends teaching word parts by focusing on the most frequent prefixes and suffixes, as well as about 25 of the highest utility Greek and Latin roots. He recommends several online tools for the classroom including word family finders, which show how words are related, word affix or word stem trainers, which allow students to practice breaking down words, and vocab profilers, which are programmes that analyse text to show word frequency. Links to all these types of tools are available on Professor Nation’s resource page, or by searching online. Explicit vocabulary instruction is also beneficial when it is focused on unfamiliar subject-specific (technical) vocabulary within the context of learning in that subject. A helpful approach is to teach the meaning of the word as it pertains to the subject or discipline (for example, the meaning of the word ‘demand’ within the context of economics) and relate it to the word’s more general or common meaning.

Learners’ vocabulary reflects their life experiences and background knowledge, and socioeconomic differences often lead to vocabulary gaps of as many as 1000-2000 words.A knowledge-rich curriculum can help to close these gaps by giving students access to new concepts and experiences, adiverse range of topics, and meaningful contexts for language. Vocabulary grows best not through direct instruction alone, but through consistent exposure, meaningful use, and rich knowledge-building experiences.