تسجيل الدخول

تسجيل

Identifying Vocabulary and Key Concepts

المؤلف:  Jane D. Hill Kathleen M. Flynn

المصدر:  Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners

الجزء والصفحة:  P27-C3

2025-09-03

538

Identifying Vocabulary and Key Concepts

Another way to set language objectives is to identify the vocabulary and key concepts of the lesson. Vocabulary instruction has been the subject of several recent books (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Marzano, 2004; Paynter, Bodrova, & Doty, 2005), all of which emphasize the importance of teaching vocabulary in relation to reading comprehension. Even though ELLs are taught vocabulary as soon as they enter U.S. classrooms, they still lag significantly behind their English-speaking peers. McLaughlin and colleagues (2000) report that over time, an enriched vocabulary program can close the gap in vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension between ELLs and English-dominant students.

In the enriched vocabulary program that McLaughlin and colleagues cite, 12 vocabulary words were selected from short reading passages each week. Learning processes included discovering cognates, using strategies for inferring meaning from text, finding root words, participating in activities outside the classroom to deepen word meanings, and various other measures to enhance vocabulary growth and development. In a more recent study of direct vocabulary instruction with ELLs, strategies involving word analysis and instruction of essential vocabulary improved comprehension (Carlo et al., 2004).