The first chapter of Alex Quigley’s Closing the Vocabulary Gap reads like a resounding call to arms. A restricted vocabulary hinders a child’s academic progress, which impairs their mental health and future employment prospects as an adult. To succeed academically, developing word consciousness is fundamental. By way of a benchmark, readers of Closing the Vocabulary Gap typically know between 50 and 60 thousand words: in other words, a competent reader.
Knowing vocabulary is transformative: there is over a million words in the English language. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet there are 30,557 words alone. Students need to equip themselves with at least 50,000 words to thrive, otherwise their lack of ‘vocabulary knowledge deficit can prove an insurmountable hurdle’ (Quigley, 2018, 3). Vocabulary gaps start at an early age. Studies reveal that children with poorer vocabulary at aged five experience higher rates of unemployment along with poorer mental health problems (Nagy, 1987, 7). Although it is not a ‘bullet-proof solution’ (Quigley, 2018, 3) it is argued that academic achievement rests on broad vocabulary development:
Vocabulary size is a convenient proxy for a whole range of educational attainments and abilities – not just skill in reading, writing, listening and speaking, but also general knowledge of science, history and the arts’ (Hirsch, 2013).
Many children are in tears sitting their SATS reading examination in primary school – in one Key Stage 2 SATS reading examination the words ‘unearthed’, ‘drought’, ‘freshwater oasis’, ‘parched’, ‘receding’, ‘suffocation’ were contained in a single paragraph. To meaningfully comprehend a text, you would need at least 95% reading comprehension. However, imagine reading a 300-word passage and not understanding 15 words then multiplying that for an 85,000-word textbook as a graphic illustration of the challenge ahead. Pupils struggle with harder GCSEs as A-Level concepts are absorbed into the curriculum. It is perhaps no surprise that socio-economic status lies at the heart of academic achievement, compounding the problem:
‘From birth to 48 months, parents in professional families spoke 32 million more words to their children than parents in welfare families, and this talk gap between the ages of 0 and 3 year – not parent education, socio-economic status, or race – explains the vocabulary and language gap at age 3 and the reading and math achievement gap aged 10’ (Horowitz and Samuels, 2017 ,151).
Someone (indubitably a male) educated at Eton College will have access to the best education available. Compare that with an under-privileged inner-city school and a chasm – not a gap – appears. Vocabulary can be simply outlined as the difference between rich and poor. Yet simply having access to a dictionary can make a big difference, and we have a great opportunity in the here and now, regardless of our social status:
‘by closing the vocabulary gaps for children in our classrooms with their peers, we can offer them the vital academic tools for school success, alongside the capability to communicate with confidence in the world beyond the school gates’ (Quigley, 2018, 2).
All very simple in theory. But where is the hook? How do we get children to read in the first place? By what means do we spark interest and inspire children to pick up a book and read on their own? A good 10-year-old reader encounters a million words in a year. Using public libraries are free. They are warm, inviting places. Having access to thousands of books on a wide variety of subjects opens the mind and gives the reader plenty of opportunity to expand their vocabulary. This is one solution.
Children need to be exposed to more complex reading earlier on. Reading lots of books for pleasure is key to expanding vocabulary but such practice does not hold all the answers. Word learning is necessary to crack the academic code; developing word consciousness where the child is curious about a meaning of a word is essential in digging deeper – to its etymology. Digging down to its roots and unearthing word parts – known as morphology exposes meaning. Take circle for instance. The roots of circle are ‘cycl’. This word part has many functions: ‘recycle’, ‘bicycle’, ‘cyclone’, ‘encyclopaedia’, ‘tricycle’, and ‘motorcycle’., thus creating word families. Deconstructing the core purpose of a word gives it traction, motivating the reader to learn more. Get digging, uncover the roots of words, break down each word and know its design. Only then we will be able to traverse the socio-economic chasm and fulfil our true student potential in our vocabulary journey.
References
Carpenter, K. (2020). Education, Education, Education: 500 years of Learning at Eton College. Available from: Education, Education, Education: 500 Years of Learning at Eton College – History of Education Society [Accessed 22nd February 2024].
Hirsch Jr, E.D. (2013). A wealth of words. The key to increasing upward mobility is expanding vocabulary. City Journal, 23 (1). Available from: A Wealth of Words | Education Analysis | Expanding Vocabulary (city-journal.org) [Accessed 21st February 2024].
Horowitz, R., & Samuels, S. J. (2017). The achievement gap in reading: Complex causes, persistent issues, possible solutions. New York: Routledge.
Nagy, W.E. & Herman, P.A. (1987). Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction (in) McKeown, M. & Curtis, M. (eds.) The nature of vocabulary acquisition, 19-35. Hillside, NJ: Lawrence Eelbaum Associates.
Quigley, A. (2018). Closing the vocabulary gap. London: Routledge.