Word Definition Essay

Imagine growing up in a household where no one ever muttered a word. No one talked during breakfast, getting ready for school, after school, at dinner, or even before bed. There were no books around to read or a television set around blaring cartoons or educational shows. How would one’s vocabulary develop or increase if that were the case? Now imagine a household where talking amongst family members was always occurring. Parents were waking up asking their children “How did they sleep last night?”, stressing to them the importance of brushing their teeth and other good hygiene habits, discussing how their day went at school/work, and even reading stories before bedtime. Which child in the aforementioned scenarios would have the broader and more expanded vocabulary? The child who grew up in the more verbal household is more likely to have a mass vocabulary and that is what Hart & Risley’s study is based on. The study concluded that interaction with family members formed a foundation for word learning among children. This model infers that low socioeconomic status children do not get enough language based interaction with their parents and as a result those children have a limited vocabulary. The most important factors contributing to language acquisition are the economic advantages (socioeconomic status) and the frequency of language experiences (i.e. whether the family always, never, rarely or seldom have discussions). The study conducted by Hart & Risley was accurate, in my opinion. From the time children are born up until the time they speak their first word, their brains are like sponges absorbing all of the language that is occurring around them. For example, they listen to the lyrics in songs, the words they hear on television shows, the conversations being held with various family members, and even the conversations you hold with them. Although, they might not know the meaning to what is being heard, they are still paying close attention to the words as they begin to build their massive vocabulary. By the time those children enter grade school, when the teacher introduces new concepts such as vocabulary …show more content…
Unfortunately, everyone is fortunate enough to receive learning prior to entering school, so it then becomes the teachers job to equip the child with the proper knowledge needed to be on their current grade level. In my classroom, for the students who have and have not been exposed to language acquisition, I would start a word wall where we as a class discover one word a day. The students would complete various activities such as games, decoding the word, inferring the definition of the word based on its word parts and then being provided with a student friendly definition, in an attempt to mold the words in their mind so that they might become a part of their daily conversations and writings. I would also encourage the students to bring in challenging words that they hear out in the community, on educational television shows (i.e. the news, CNN), or even read in books that they can add to the classes word wall. To motivate students to do so, I would allow students to be the teacher, while the class assists in decoding the word based on its structure to conclude the meaning of the word. I would also give a prize out at the end of the month to the student who brings in the most words or used words off of the word wall in their writings