Building vocabulary: start reading NOW

Question -- How do you build a rich knowledge of vocabulary?

Answer -- A lifetime of reading. No shortcuts.

I’m always amazed by the number of high school students who freely admit to me that they never read anything, certainly not books. (I’ve even had honors and AP students tell me this). Perhaps this comes from teaching at a small-town, provincial public high school? If these students could compare their reading to students at elite private schools like Phillips Exeter Academy or Sidwell Friends School, they might be more sheepish about their admission. Inevitably, when I ask these reluctant readers what they want to do after high school, they answer, “Go to college.” I want to scream: “Do you know what you do in college? You READ. All … day … long!”

At some point, students in 11th grade begin to worry about three letters of the alphabet: SAT. When I took it, SAT stood for “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” a name the College Board and ETS shy away from now. But this test is still used by many colleges as a cutline for admissions, and it still contains a hefty vocabulary segment. The now (marginally) worried high school students will take SAT prep classes to ready themselves for the dreaded test. Do these prep classes help? Marginally (maybe). In fact, the time to start preparing for the SAT was in kindergarten, maybe even sooner. A lifetime of increasingly challenging reading is what really builds vocabulary knowledge, not prep classes. So if you’re in 11th grade, and you’ve never read anything (or if your idea of challenging reading is the latest Nicholas Sparks or James Patterson novel), I’m not sure what to tell you. I know this isn’t what you want to hear. Start reading NOW, and maybe you can still do yourself some good in a limited time. Perhaps this blog post is directed at parents of younger children more than teenaged students. Parents, get your kids reading -- NOW!

Of course, recently, the SAT has announced it is dumbing down its requirement for vocabulary knowledge. The College Board, of course, doesn’t characterize it that way, claiming they are dropping “obscure” vocabulary words in exhange for “high utility” words (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/education/revised-sat-wont-include-obscure-vocabulary-words.html?_r=0). My translation? They are dropping sophisticated, challenging words (“obscure”) for simple, everyday words (“high utility”).

In other words, that's what I call an “SATrocity.”

© 2014 Bob Dial.  All rights reserved.