Stephen Parsons: How to teach the words that impact on learning

From 1996–2017 Stephen Parsons worked as a Speech and Language Therapy Service Manager in Hackney and the City of London. With 30 years’ experience in the field, he is co-author of best-selling resources 'Language for Thinking' and 'Word Aware'. Stephen currently serves as Chair of NAPLIC, the UK organisation for professionals working with developmental language disorder, and is UK representative of RADLD, the international campaign to raise awareness of developmental language disorder. Stephen and co-author, Anna Branagan, have been an incredible support to Lift Lessons. Here, Stephen writes about the effect a lack of vocabulary has on students, and what we can do about it.

Blogpost written by Stephen Parsons

The good and the bad news

The average English speaker can understand somewhere in the region of 30,000 to 50,000 words. That is a lot of words.

To achieve even the lower figure children and young people need to learn, on average, seven words per day every day throughout their schooling. Some seem to learn words with very little effort, while their peers will really struggle. The impact of poor vocabulary cannot be underestimated.

Those with poor vocabulary are more likely to struggle to access learning, including reading, and much more likely to leave school without qualifications. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that we know from research and good practice that lots can be done to support vocabulary learning. The number one thing you can do is teach children to read and encourage reading for enjoyment. Reading may not be fun for all, exposure to audiobooks can help to fill that gap.

"Those with poor vocabulary are more likely to struggle to access learning, including reading, and much more likely to leave school without qualifications."
- Stephen Parsons, Speech and Language Therapist

What about academic language?

Reading widely provides some of the background and exposure to literate language, but it is less likely to impact on the wider curriculum including mathematics, science, geography and history. These subject areas are full of specific, technical words. These words are especially important because they shape how we think about the world, but they are particularly hard to learn because they are usually abstract and represent complex ideas. Examples include "ascending, condensing and natural resources". Without these words children and young people are not able to start the learning process.

With your adult language skills you may be able to work out what the missing word is in the paragraph below, but imagine you are a child or young person who does not know these words. How do you feel when you have no idea what the words mean?

‘Before you start your experiment you need to have recorded your ...... If you have not written your ...... at the top of the page you are wasting your time. I’ll be checking each of you, so make sure you have it written down. Don’t just copy the person next to you. Use your brain and think of your own ......’

You may have panicked, felt embarrassed or even shame. None of these responses will have supported your confidence and ability to tackle the learning. Without words our children and young people are not able to access learning, but their self esteem and mental health also suffer. The missing word above is "hypothesis" by the way.

How can we support learners with academic language?

When teaching the specific vocabulary of the curriculum (such as "hypothesis") some key points to remember are:

Focus on the words that are really important for understanding the subject matter and for life in general,

Make sure the words are at the right level for the learner,

Repeat the word many times in a meaningful manner,

Provide easy to understand definitions,

Bring the word to life via hands on or engaging activities.

"The language used to define the words is very simple, and the examples used are accessible so Lift Lessons will promote understanding and independent learning."
- Stephen Parsons

Lift Lessons has taken these principles and applied them in imaginative and fun ways. The resources can be used flexibly to support all learners, but for those who have additional needs with vocabulary they will provide extra learning opportunities.

Use the videos for pre-teaching by going through the relevant vocabulary before it is encountered in class. This starts the learning process and makes accessing class learning so much easier.

It is also a huge boost to self-esteem when a child or young person starts to see themselves as a word learner. Lift Lessons resources can be used to go over the key vocabulary to make sure it is remembered, but also as a more engaging revision tool. The language used to define the words is very simple, and the examples used are accessible so Lift Lessons will promote understanding and independent learning.

See below for collaborations between Stephen Parsons and Lift Lessons.