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1、This document was prepared by the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators, funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs. Vocabulary Acquisition: Synthesis of the ResearchScott K. BakerDeborah C. SimmonsEdward J. KameenuiUniversity of OregonWe can directly access the meanings of
2、only the words we already know. The referents of new words can be verbally explained only in terms of old words. This can be done either explicitly, by presenting their definitions, or implicitly, by setting them in a context of old words that effectively constrains their meanings. (Adams, 1990, p.
3、205). Introduction The enduring effects of the vocabulary limitations of students with diverse learning needs is becoming increasingly apparent. Nothing less that learning itself depends on language. Certainly, as Adams (1990) suggests, most of our formal education is acquired through language. Lear
4、ning something new does not occur in a vacuum. Rather, new learning always builds on what the learner already knows. Adams suggests that new learning is the process of forming novel combinations of familiar concepts. Learning, as a language-based activity, is fundamentally and profoundly dependent o
5、n vocabulary knowledge. Learners must have access to the meaning of words teachers, or their surrogates (e.g., other adults, books, films, etc.), use to guide them into contemplating known concepts in novel ways (i.e., to learn something new). With inadequate vocabulary knowledge, learners are being
6、 asked to develop novel combinations of known concepts with insufficient tools. Becker (1977) was among the first to highlight the importance of vocabulary development by linking vocabulary size to the academic achievement of disadvantaged students (Baumann & Kameenui, 1991). Thus, he asserted that
7、vocabulary deficiencies were the primary cause of academic failure of disadvantaged students in grades 3 through 12. Almost a decade later, Stanovich (1986) proposed a model of school failure that emphasized the interrelated development of phonological awareness, reading acquisition, and vocabulary
8、growth. Research suggests that students can be taught the phonological awareness skills they need to become proficient readers (Liberman & Liberman, 1990; Stanovich, 1986). In addition, there is empirical support that students who begin school behind typical peers in important areas such as vocabula
9、ry and language development can master basic reading skills as quickly and as well as typical peers under optimal instructional conditions (Carnine, Silbert, & Kameenui, 1990). However, as Becker (1997) observed, the primary difficulty with sustaining early gains in reading is the lack of adequate v
10、ocabulary to meet the broad academic demands that begin in the upper-elementary grades and continue throughout schooling. In contrast to phonological awareness and early reading achievement, no research evidence supports the contention that specific vocabulary development method or program can bridg
11、e the vocabulary gap that exists at the onset of schooling between groups of students with poor versus rich vocabularies, and which continues to widen throughout school and beyond. A flurry of vocabulary research has been conducted since Beckers (1977) observations about the relation between vocabul
12、ary knowledge and academic achievement. Beyond Beckers findings, three additional reasons may account for this renewed interest in vocabulary development. First, because vocabulary and reading are closely related, the highly publicized concern about declining literacy levels, has affected vocabulary
13、 research (Adams, 1990). Second, as Beck and McKeown (1991) observed, the shift to an information-processing orientation in psychology . . . provided rich theory from which to draw in conceiving the relationship between words and ideas (p. 790). Research in vocabulary and literacy demonstrates that
14、building knowledge requires more than accumulating facts about specific elements such as word definitions. Third, related to Beck and McKeowns (1991) comments about building knowledge, is a shift in education from emphasizing basic skills to problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills. This shi
15、ft has resulted in additional research directed toward understanding language and vocabulary acquisition within the context of prior knowledge and constructivist pedagogy. Defining Success in Vocabulary Development It is necessary to distinguish between two contrasting ways of gauging the success of
16、 curricular and instructional programs designed to increase vocabulary development. On one hand, successful programs can be defined in an absolute sense by determining whether they lead to increases in vocabulary beyond what occurs during incidental learning opportunities, or as a result of other explicit attempts to increase word knowledge. Alternatively, successful programs can be defined in a relative sense by the extent to which they reduce the well-documente
