Summary of How we improve our vocabulary: A (quick) look at the research

00:00:00 - 00:45:00

The speaker in the video discusses how to improve vocabulary by reading books, doing self-selected reading, and using technology. He also discusses how few people actually finish programs designed to improve their English language skills.

• 00:00:00 The researcher discusses how vocabulary is acquired in the same way as any other system or skill. He talks about how read and test studies have shown that those who read more have larger vocabularies.
• 00:05:00 Research has shown that, as readers, people gradually pick up new words while reading. This happens over a period of 10-15 repetitions, with 10-15 occurrences being the average.
• 00:10:00 The presenter reviews research on how effective different methods are for teaching vocabulary. Most studies look at quantity, rather than efficiency, which can be confusing. The presenter introduces a concept that few people understand: how to measure the efficiency of a method. Most studies focus on how many words a student has learned, rather than how well the method was used.
• 00:15:00 The research suggests that explicit vocabulary instruction is more efficient than traditional vocabulary teaching, with students able to understand more adult level texts with 90% comprehension when they have general vocabulary, but still struggle with 10% of words they don't know. Cox's list of academic words is popular among educators.
• 00:20:00 Researchers have found that teaching students academic vocabulary words in addition to other subjects does not help students understand texts better. Instead, it is more beneficial to focus on specific words and teaching activities related to those words.
• 00:25:00 There is evidence that reading aloud (in addition to reading) is more efficient than reading alone in terms of quantity of words learned. This is especially true for elementary and middle school students.
• 00:30:00 The video discusses the research on how repetition affects vocabulary learning. It mentions that 84% of the words in a list of 570 words appear at least once, and that reading stories for an hour every day can increase vocabulary by 2 words per hour. Researchers who study vocabulary acquisition say that this is a good estimate for how much vocabulary someone would learn from reading stories for an hour every day.
• 00:35:00 The video presents research on teaching vocabulary. It notes that typically, if a teacher is spending a lot of time teaching a word, the student will learn about one-third of a word per hour. It also notes that, to be successful on a TOEFL or IELTS exam, it is important to have a reading program that includes books that students will enjoy reading.
• 00:40:00 The video discusses how to improve vocabulary by reading books, doing self-selected reading, and using technology. It also discusses how few people actually finish programs designed to improve their English language skills.
• 00:45:00 The speaker discusses how the majority of technology used in language teaching is ineffective and outdated. He recommends that teachers learn about software development and programming so that they can create more effective technology themselves. He also suggests that students learn about language teaching methods from teachers who are experts in that field.