How to Teach Vocabulary to Students

The Bromley article for this week was a light read that was full of practical information for teaching new words to students. Math can be a difficult subject to learn and teach because students have to first understand what is being asked of them, a task that can be made easier if the teacher has the ability to effectively teach vocabulary. 

One of the first things I took from the article is that "English is three times larger in total number of words than German and six times larger than French." Many of the words are derived from other languages, and we tend to combine and fabricate new words daily. Despite the large size of the English vocabulary, I was shocked to read about how much simpler the English language is compared to other languages. Although there are several exceptions for word pronunciations, many English words can be phonetically broken down and spoken accurately.

However, one of the worst aspects of the English language in my opinion is the fact that words can have so many different meanings depending on the context in which the words are used. Product is a perfect example of this. In math this term is the result from multiplying two quantities together, but it might not have this specific definition when used in another context. Math is full of words that mean something very specific, and I think many students struggle to see the importance of using proper vocabulary when speaking and writing mathematically.

My favorite statement from this article: "It is more effective to teach fewer words well rather than several words less well." I just felt like this sums up everything that we have discussed in this article and in this class, as well. The whole purpose of teaching vocabulary is to increase reading comprehension, and this brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "less is more."