I let out a guttural response - more astounded than profane though it hovered dangerously close to the tipping point. I looked at my iPad. Could that combination of letters actually spell a word? I had changed the opponent setting on my Scrabble app to expert. Against an ingenious computer, I simply didn’t stand a chance. Just how much vocabulary does a brainless, electronic device know?

Vocabulary knowledge is more significant than one might realize. Did you know, for example, that a high school student needs a vocabulary of 80,000 words for academic success?

Research shows that vocabulary is a strong predictor of children’s achievement. Vocabulary at kindergarten entry predicts 10th grade reading comprehension. (Porche, M., P.O. Tabors, S.R. HarrIs, & C. Snow (2007). Is literacy enough? Pathways to academic success for adolescents. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.) Children who recognize words find learning to read more purposeful and enjoyable than do children who struggle to understand the words they’ve decoded. Children with larger vocabularies in their first years of school soar ahead of children with limited word knowledge, and they are able to apply their reading comprehension skills to studies in math, science, history, geography and more.

Researchers studying this phenomena tell us that parents and caregivers play an enormous role in children’s academic success even before children go to school for the first time.

Susan B. Neuman, professor and literacy expert from the University of Michigan, suggests that the best way to boost children’s vocabulary is to engage them in purposeful talk. With infants and toddlers purposeful talk is usually instinctual. We teach children to say words relevant to their needs by modelling slow, clear, and face-to-face speech. As their vocabulary grows and sentences emerge, Neuman emphasizes the importance of intentionally clarifying and extending children’s vocabulary. Throughout each day describe unfamiliar words in simple terms and introduce new words linked to your child’s prior knowledge. If, for example, your child already knows that ‘weatherman’ is someone who helps us know if it will be sunny, rainy or snowy the next day, teach your child the word ‘meteorologist’.

Neuman explains that teaching vocabulary to young children is not a one shot deal. Children need many and varied experiences hearing, saying, and using new words in various contexts over time to consolidate their learning. Because of this Neuman suggests being selective about the words we teach children. Help children learn words that they will be able to use often. It may be fun for a child to learn the name of a rare bug, for example, but much more useful for a child to learn words for features of bugs such as head, wings, abdomen, and antennae - words that also apply to other creatures, buildings, electronics and more.

As parents and caregivers we want to keep our children safe and teach them to be respectful. Perhaps this is why adults typically spend a greater percentage of talk with children telling and directing rather than listening and discussing. By asking children “What do you think?” we give children valuable opportunities to use vocabulary they’ve learned and to combine their words in unique ways.

Reading books and e-books helps children learn new words too, especially when book sharing includes time spent talking about the ideas and pictures in the book.

One day I may win a game of Scrabble against my lexical e-genius but, until that time, the words it comes up with are prodigious!

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Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.