Summary of the Research

“Another type of complexity in word knowledge is the fact that what it means to know a word depends on what kind of word one is talking about. For example, knowing function words such as the or if is quite different from knowing terms such as hypotenuse or ion.”

Nagy, W. E., & Scott, J. A. (2000)

A small number of words can be learned relatively quickly, from ostensive definitions – pointing to or tasting the referent (roller coaster, peanut butter) while hearing the word. Many word meanings, though, cannot be pointed at or experienced directly (e.g., process, system, negotiation, interaction); these are precisely the words that students will need for reading and writing in the classroom.

Some of these more complicated words are taught explicitly by content area teachers (plot and genre, photosynthesis and DNA, atom and molecule, judiciary and amendment). Others might appear in content area texts, but have broader meanings (character, synergy, bond, constitution) that might be encountered in other contexts, perhaps sowing confusion for students who only know the narrow, disciplinary sense of the word.

“...knowledge of the word’s spoken form, written form, grammatical behavior, collocational behavior (what other words does this word commonly occur with?), frequency, stylistic register, conceptual meaning, and associations with others words” (Nagy & Scott, 2000)

Vocabulary lists with brief word definitions might lead us to think that the crucial component of word knowledge is meaning. But some new vocabulary words are just new labels for old meanings: lugubrious for sad, hirsute for hairy. And there is a lot left to learn even about words with familiar meanings. In fact, really knowing a word implies knowing a lot about it beyond what it means.

Fully understanding a word includes how to pronounce it, how to spell it, how to use it in a variety of syntactic and idiomatic constructions, and whether/how to modify it into related morphological forms. For example, knowing the meaning of the verb negotiate is insufficient unless one also knows how negotiate fits into sentences (…negotiate a new salary, …negotiate a path through the forest). One must know that the noun negotiation and adjective negotiable are related words, and that the ne- prefix in negotiate carries a meaning of ‘not,’ as also in negative and neglect. 

“The research is clear in showing that word learning can be incremental—that one’s knowledge of a word can grow on the basis of almost infinitesimally small steps. Less is known about the extent to which word learning is necessarily incremental—that is, what limits may exist on the amount or type of knowledge that a learner can gain about a word on the basis of any single encounter.” (Nagy & Scott, 2000)

The more challenging words are learned incrementally. Learners typically need many exposures to them, both to figure out how they are used and to expand and hone their meanings. Words like variable are used across a wide range of contexts, with different shades of meaning: define the variables in your equation, the experiment is flawed because of confounding variables, the weather today will be quite variable, etc. Only by encountering words used with their full range of meanings can students form a solid representation.

Encountering a word just a few times is unlikely to ensure learning it. Effective second language teachers select texts and topics that ensure 15-20 exposures to a novel vocabulary item during the lessons when it is being taught, and then more spaced exposures to ensure retention over the next several weeks. That implies linking vocabulary teaching to themes or topics that will extend over time (rather than teaching standalone vocabulary lessons) and picking words that students are likely to come across again and again.

Only with multiple encounters is it possible to learn the full breadth of word meanings. The word concrete can be learned ostensively – pointing to the pavement. But only if a student hears sentences like ‘Can you make that plan more concrete?’ or ‘That idea is not concrete enough’ or ‘The schedule for the weekend is not yet set in concrete’ does it become clear that concrete also has a more abstract meaning of ‘settled, unchangeable.’

Although many vocabulary programs present words in lists, in fact they are learned and stored in networks. It is hard to imagine fully understanding the meaning of volcano without also knowing about eruptions, lava, ash, flow, destruction, particulate matter, and tectonic plates. Furthermore, learning each of the words in that little list will support learning the rest – but presenting them all together can be a challenge to instructional design.