Learning Vocabulary Through Reading PDF

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Print Post Approved PP381667/01074 ISSN 1441-6727 Volume 8, Number 3 2006
Also in this issue

▲ ▲
Powerful language,
bad language
What’s the evidence
– treatment of word
retrieval disorders
▲▲
Cryptic crossword
Dynamic assessment
and word learning
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Reference
This issue of ACQuiring Knowledge in Speech, Language and Hearing is cited as Volume 8,
Number 3 2006.
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CONTENTS
From the Editors ...................................................................... 101 What Works? Evidence-based practice in the treatment of
word retrieval disorders – Lyndsey Nickels ........................... 128
From the President ................................................................... 102
What’s “Hot”? Working with words: Imagine new
Dynamic Assessment and Word Learning – ways! – Beverly Joffe and Ghil’ad Zuckermann ........................ 133
Junko Maekawa and Holly L. Storkel ......................................... 103 Webwords 24: Loving words – Caroline Bowen .................... 137
Using Nonword Repetition in Vocabulary Word of the Day: An option for news time in the
Assessment – Jill R. Hoover and Holly L. Storkel .................... 106 classroom or group setting? – Suze Leitão ............................. 138
Learning Vocabulary through Reading – Suzanne Adlof Measurable Outcomes: Treatment of people with severe
and Holly Storkel ........................................................................ 110 communication impairments – Jane Remington-Gurney ..... 140
A New Service Delivery Model for Supporting Primary
Children’s Production of Polysyllabic Words –
School-age Students with Language Impairment –
Haley Gozzard, Elise Baker and Patricia McCabe ..................... 113 Yavanna Vogt, Claire Berg and Andrea Burt ............................. 143
Why Any Old Words Won’t Do. The importance of From the Journals – Andrew Whitehouse ................................ 146
vocabulary selection – David Trembath, Leigha Dark My Top 10 Resources – Speech Pathology Paediatric
and Susan Balandin .................................................................... 117 Indigenous Network (SPPIN) .................................................... 147
Words! Words! Words! Talking with teachers about Outside the Square: Life goes on despite war: Speech
vocabulary – Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly ............................ 120 pathology on the Israeli side of the border – Natalie Marx .... 149
Powerful Language, Bad Language – Libby Clark ............... 124 Conference Report: A student’s perspective – Sarah Bint ..... 152
Students Write: Conference Volunteers – Sarah Newhouse
Solving Cryptic Crosswords: Tips for the neophyte, and Susannah Jennings ............................................................... 153
apprentice, novice, beginner, rookie – Suze Leitão ............... 126 Resource Reviews .................................................................... 154
Verbal Solutions! – Suze Leitão, Paul Norman and Q & A – Wendy Heywood, Paula Hyland, and
Cori Williams .............................................................................. 127 Mistycka Stephens ...................................................................... 156
FROM THE EDITORS

W e must admit that the theme of this, our final issue as
editors of ACQ, is something of an indulgence. Both of
us are known to our families, friends and students as being
topic, idea, premise). We hope you’ll enjoy our extra-indulgent
moments too, such as the word-related quotes, and most of
all, the cryptic crossword that we’ve had so much fun
lovers of words (especially sesquipedalian ones…). One of us compiling! It’s our first attempt to write such an animal (even
(CW) left her family gaping one Christmas morning when she though we both attempt to solve them on a regular basis).
referred to a teddy bear, given as a gift, as “lugubrious” Who knows, it could be the start of a whole new career for us!
looking. They still laugh about it – but in retelling the story, And maybe a new obsession for some of you. We have
they use the word, so I have the last laugh. provided you with the solution (answer, key, elucidation,
We collect words, and share the ones we like with each clarification) in this issue, but don’t cheat!
other – often to the bemusement (bewilderment, perplexity, We wanted to go out with a bang (blast, explosion, eruption,
confusion, befuddlement) of bystanders. We use our “new” detonation), so have used the covers of this issue of ACQ to
words at every opportunity, extending them through regular share with you some of the words that have come to our
morphological processes so that we can use them more often! notice, or meant something special to us over the course of
We put words in each other’s mouths, and often say the same our editorship. We hope you enjoy reading and using them.
words at the same time. Words are an obsession (mania, We would like to finish with words of thanks to all those who
fixation, passion, fascination, addiction) and pleasure (delight, have supported us over the course of our editorship at ACQ.
bliss, paradise) as well as the basis of how we earn our living. The members of the editorial committee have carried out
It’s hard to imagine a world without words. various tasks in an efficient and timely manner, and National
We subscribe to a “word of the day” email list, and enjoy the Office staff have answered our questions, listened to our sug-
words that pop into our mail boxes. Sometimes we know the gestions and dealt with all manner of administrative matters.
word – but often it’s new. And the etymological information The regular contributors (Caroline Bowen and Trish Bradd)
the emails provide is invariably fascinating. You can subscribe have never let us down. Many, many colleagues, students and
for free through http://www.merriam-webster.com/. And friends have responded to our requests to provide copy, and
there are many other other lists as well! review books, materials or submissions. ACQ would not exist
“Words” seemed like a wonderful (superb, fascinating, without the contributions and words of all these people.
brilliant, magnificent, absorbing, captivating, fabulous, intri- Our very last words must be words of welcome (salutation,
guing, splendid, superlative, enthralling, stimulating, inspiring) greeting) to the incoming editors, Chyrisse Heine and Louise
theme to us – but we did wonder whether anyone else would Brown. We hope they find the task (job, duty, assignment,
feel the same way. Apparently they do! We’ve been delighted chore, undertaking, charge, mission) of editing the ACQ as
(thrilled, elated, overjoyed) by the number of submissions to stimulating (inspiring, interesting, motivating, exciting,
this frabjous issue, and we’re sure that you will enjoy reading thought provoking) and rewarding (satisfying, worthwhile,
them. This issue contains papers from Australia and the USA, gratifying, pleasing) as we have. We trust they will not be
addressing both theoretical and clinical issues in the area. Our overcome by hebetude, and wish them submissions that are
“what’s the evidence” reviews evidence-based practice in neither anfractuous nor eristic, and completely devoid of any
assessment and intervention in managing word retrieval dis- whiff of bloviation.
orders, and other columns also take up the theme (subject, Cori Williams and Suze Leitão
ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE IN SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND HEARING, Volume 8, Number 3 2006 101
FROM THE PRESIDENT
O ur thanks and congratulations to editors Suze Leitão and
Cori Williams for their superb effort with this issue
entitled “Words, Words, Words”. What a relevant theme for a
dollar and hope that these programs will be of benefit to
many of you.
The Annual Report outlined the ever-expanding list of
speech pathology publication! Words can be so small, yet are actions and projects undertaken by both paid staff and
so powerful. Mother Theresa said, “Kind words can be short volunteers on behalf of Speech Pathology Australia members
and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” I hope nationally. Since joining Council, I have been continually
you enjoy this edition. amazed by the range of activities the Association is involved
This is the last issue of ACQ edited by Suze and Cori. with. We have a fabulous group of Councillors at National
During their term as editors, they did an outstanding job of level, as well as strong state Branch Executives. As the Board
ensuring that members were provided with interesting and of Directors of Speech Pathology Australia, Councillors have
informative ACQ publications. We are grateful that they were a challenging and important role both fiscally and in terms of
willing to invest both their skills and time to enable research corporate governance on behalf of members nationally. These
and innovation to be shared across the profession. Please join wonderful volunteers work hard for all members and for the
me in thanking them. profession of speech pathology. I hope that you take the time
The Speech Pathology Australia National Conference in to read about what was achieved during 2005 and what we
Fremantle this year had the theme of Frontiers. The 2006 plan for the rest of this year.
Conference offered an interesting array of papers, seminars You may also have noticed that information is now
and key note addresses, all of which were of a very high regularly coming to members via e-News. While issues are
standard. The gala dinner offered something new, with still described in greater detail in Speak Out and on the
participants entertained by a fashion parade and display of website, e-News aims to be a brief update for members re-
exquisite pearls. We hope that the conference provided ceived in a timelier manner. We hope you find this information
delegates with new and innovative ideas that could be useful, but please do not hesitate to let us know if you have
readily applied to their own clinic work any comments or suggestions.
Our special thanks to conference organisers, including Trish Bradd, National President
convenor Kim Brookes, who did a wonderful job in organising
a successful conference. We also thank the conference pro-
ceedings editors, Chyrisse Heine and Louise Brown, for their Apology
expertise in producing this year’s proceedings, as they did in The June edition of ACQ included a very interesting
2005. ‘Q & A’ which asked ‘What is the role of the speech
We trust by now that you have all had a chance to have a pathologist in the intensive care unit’. Unfortunately, this
look at the Member Advantage program offered to all mem- went to print with no acknowledgement of the author.
bers. These programs offer a wide range of discounts from car This was written by Paula Hyland – our sincere apologies
hire to Qantas Club to health insurance. The Association is to her.
continuously looking for ways to add value for the member
2007 National Conference

27 – 31 May 2007
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour
Come on an amazing learning journey to Sydney…
We are delighted to invite you to the 2007 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference.
The conference will be dynamic and inspiring, including a fantastic mix of seminars, papers, workshops, posters and a variety of
exhibits – all covering a wide spectrum of topics.
Over 800 delegates in the speech pathology field are expected to attend, from all across Australia, as well as from overseas.
This special event provides delegates with a prime opportunity to update their knowledge and skills, while building networks to
enable them to remain leaders in a competitive field with ever-increasing demands.
The world-class Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre is the exciting venue for this conference. With
an enviable waterfront location it is Australia’s largest and most successful venue for conferences,
exhibitions and special events.
This is a fantastic opportunity to also explore all that scintillating Sydney has to offer. Explore
Australia’s oldest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation and the country’s capital in everything
but name. It is blessed with sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy skyscrapers, delicious and daring
restaurants, superb shopping and friendly folk.
Sydney has come a long way from its convict beginnings. It has a buzzing energy and offers an
invigorating blend of the old and the new, the raw and the refined.
To find out more, visit the Association’s website:
www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au or contact Debbie Gower,
Professional Education Manager, on 03 9642 4899.
102 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS!
DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT AND WORD LEARNING

Junko Maekawa and Holly L. Storkel
test items are potentially biased. Culturally and linguistically

This article was peer reviewed
diverse children may not be familiar with some of the
pictures or words that are on the tests, and may thus respond
Past studies indicate that standardised vocabulary tests incorrectly due to experiential difference rather than word
learning difficulty.
may be insensitive to language impairments and may be
culturally biased. Dynamic assessment may be used as an
alternative or supplementary approach to measure a Static versus dynamic assessment
child’s ability to learn words. Factors that may need to be Learning can be measured on the basis of its products or
manipulated in dynamic assessment include phonotactic process. Products of learning refer to what an individual
probability (i.e., frequency of sound sequences), and neigh- knows at the point of testing, and are often compared to the
bourhood density (phonological similarity), because past scores of other individuals in the same group (e.g., age
research suggests that children with typical development group). On the other hand, process of learning refers to how
learn common-dense sound sequences more readily than an individual learns, allowing clinicians and researchers to
rare-sparse. Ways of incorporating these factors into predict quantity and quality of learning potential for each
dynamic assessment are described. individual.
It has been pointed out that standardised vocabulary tests,
which represent a static type of assessment, examine the
products, but not the process of learning (Dollaghan &
Keywords: Campbell, 1998; Olswang, Bain, Rosendahl, Oblak, & Smith,
dynamic assessment, 1986). Static assessments may not tap how the child learns
neighbourhood density, new information over a period of time. Therefore, static
phonotactic probability, assessments do not provide information about what type of
specific language impairment, treatment may improve learning (Olswang et al., 1986). To
word learning address these issues, dynamic assessment has been proposed
as an alternative approach for language assessment. Dynamic
assessment evaluates a child’s learning potential by com-
W ord learning has been reported to be one of the factors
that differentiates children with language impairment
from children with normal language development (e.g.,
paring the child’s performance with and without support.
Because dynamic assessment focuses on performance
Dollaghan, 1987; Kiernan & Gray, 1998; Oetting, Rice, & comparison within a child, it captures individual differences
Swank, 1995; Rice, Oetting, Marquis, Bode, & Pae, 1994). in learning patterns that are evident in lexical acquisition
Standardised vocabulary tests have been widely used by (e.g., Maekawa & Storkel, in press). Dynamic assessment is
clinicians and researchers to assess children’s word learning theoretically grounded in the zone of proximal development
ability. Such traditional vocabulary tests are heavily used for (Vygotsky, 1978), which is defined as “the distance between
several reasons. First, standardised vocabulary tests are the actual developmental level as determined by independent
usually easy and quick to administer. Second, they use a wide problem solving and the level of potential development as
range of normative data (e.g., ages between 2;6 and 90;11 for determined through problem solving under adult guidance
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III, Dunn & Dunn, 1997). or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978,
These data provide clinicians and researchers with information p. 86). This notion applies to language assessment in a test-
about children’s vocabulary knowledge as compared to their teach-retest paradigm. In this paradigm, a child’s learning
peers, which is critical in justifying treatment services or potential is measured by the amount and/or quality of
selecting research participants. teaching required for improvement of performance (see
In spite of these positive aspects of standardised vocabu- Schneider & Watkins, 1996, for a review). Specifically, a
lary tests, past studies have provided evidence of shortcomings. child’s modifiability for certain aspects of language can be
Specifically, standardised vocabulary tests may not be measured by the levels of adults’ cueing and instructions
sensitive enough to identify children with language im- during a teaching phase. The information obtained from
dynamic assessment helps clinicians to determine who needs
pairment. For example, Gray, Plante, Vance, and Henrichsen
treatment, as well as the type of cues, strategies, or
(1999) showed that four standardised vocabulary tests did not
instructions that may be helpful during treatment.
capture differences between children with language
impairment and children with normal language. Another
problem with standardised vocabulary tests is that they may Dynamic assessment and
be culturally and linguistically biased for two reasons. First,
the construct of standardised vocabulary tests may not be word learning
adequate for children from culturally and linguistically Peña, Iglesias, and Lidz (2001) examined the relationship
diverse backgrounds. For example, Peña and Quinn (1997) between dynamic assessment and word learning by cultur-
observed that familiarity with tasks used in tests affected task ally and linguistically diverse children. Dynamic measures
performance by Puerto Rican and African American children. more accurately classified children as language delayed
These children performed better on a description task than on versus those with typical development than static measures.
a one-word labelling task. Peña and Quinn propose that The results suggest that dynamic assessment may more
different styles of parent-child interaction may affect effectively assess the language ability of culturally and
familiarity with test tasks for these children. Second, some linguistically diverse children.
Olswang et al. (1986) compared two children with delayed Correlation between phonotactic
language development for their modifiability of production
probability and neighbourhood density
of new words as a function of the amount of adult cuing.
Although the two children looked similar in their performance Phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density are
correlated (Storkel, 2004c; Vitevitch, Luce, Pisoni, & Auer,
on the static measure, they performed differently during the
1999). That is, words from dense neighbourhoods are likely to
dynamic assessment and during treatment. The child who
contain common sound sequences, and words from sparse
was more responsive to cues during dynamic assessment
neighbourhoods tend to contain rare sound sequences. Past
learned the target words more rapidly during treatment than studies have not differentiated these two variables. Thus,
the child who was less responsive to cues in the dynamic young children learn words with common sound sequences
assessment. Dynamic assessment may therefore predict from dense neighbourhoods (common-dense words) more
treatment outcome. rapidly than words with rare sound sequences from sparse
neighbourhoods (rare-sparse words; Storkel, 2001, 2004b;
Storkel & Rogers, 2000). However, children with phonological
Planning dynamic assessment in delays show an opposite pattern, learning rare-sparse words
word learning more rapidly than common-dense words (Storkel, 2004b).
This suggests that children who have difficulty in processing
What should we consider in planning dynamic assessment in
phonological information may differ in the types of words
word learning? Several factors can be manipulated to
they learn.
examine a child’s responsiveness and learning potential.
Those factors include the cues given by the adult (e.g., one- Application to dynamic assessment
word elicitation vs. modelling), the type of child-adult
Phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density can be
interaction (e.g., child-directed vs. adult-directed), and the
incorporated into dynamic assessment in word learning to
characteristics of the words used during the assessment. This
determine the types of words children learn easily. Based on
paper will focus on two stimulus characteristics that can be previous studies, children with typical development should
used for dynamic assessment of word learning: phonotactic acquire common-dense words more rapidly than rare-sparse
probability and neighbourhood density. words. Failure to show a common-dense advantage may
indicate processing difficulty, as shown by Storkel (2004b).
Phonotactic probability Nonwords varying in phonotactic probability and neigh-
Phonotactic probability refers to the frequency of individual bourhood density of a word can be selected using calculators
sounds and sound combinations in a language. For example, available on the internet (e.g., http://www.people.ku.edu/
in English, “coat” (/koυt/) is an example of a word with a %7Emvitevit/PhonoProbHome.html for phonotactic
probability, http://128.252.27.56/neighborhood/Home.asp
common sound sequence, and “watch” (/wɑtʃ/) is an example
for neighbourhood density) or referring to lists of nonwords
of a word with a rare sound sequence. Previous studies have
available in past studies (e.g., Jusczyk, Luce, & Charles-Luce,
shown that phonotactic probability influences lexical
1994; Storkel, 2001; Storkel & Rogers, 2000). In addition,
acquisition by young children. Children from 3 to 13 years of
nonwords should be composed of sounds within the child’s
age learn words with common sound sequences more rapidly production capabilities because previous research shows that
than words with rare sound sequences (e.g., Storkel, 2001; production influences word learning (Schwartz & Leonard,
Storkel & Rogers, 2000). 1982; Storkel, 2004b). Each of the selected nonwords is then
paired with a novel object. Novel objects can be selected from
Neighbourhood density past studies (e.g., Kroll & Potter, 1984) or visual dictionaries
Neighbourhood density refers to the number of words that (e.g., Macmillan Dictionary for Children, 2001) or adapted from
are phonetically similar to a target word. These words, children’s stories (e.g., Dr Seuss; Mercer Mayer).
referred to as neighbours, include words that differ from the During the learning phase, the selected nonwords and
novel objects are presented through a story paradigm (see
target word by a single phoneme substitution, deletion, or
Storkel & Morrisette, 2002) or a school-like lecture (see Storkel
addition (Luce & Pisoni, 1998). For example, the English
& Rogers, 2000). In some cases, it may be helpful to vary the
word “sit” (/st/) resides in a dense neighbourhood with 36
number of exposures across story episodes or lecture units by
neighbours such as “pit” (/pt/), “sip” (/sp/), “seat” (/sit/), providing a set number of exposures, testing, learning, and
“sea” (/si/) and “it” (/t/). The word “these” (/ðiz/) resides in a then repeating the process. Differential exposure can be used
sparse neighbourhood with only 9 neighbours such as “ease” to examine whether a child is responsive to minimal exposure
(/iz/), “tease” (/tiz/) and “cheese” (/tʃiz/). Past studies have or requires many repetitions to learn. This also could be
shown that neighbourhood density influences how children helpful in identifying children with specific language impair-
learn new words. For example, Storkel (2004a) showed that ment, who tend to require three times as many exposures to
infants and toddlers (ages from 8 to 30 months) learned dense learn new words as children with typical language develop-
words at earlier ages than sparse words. ment (Rice et al., 1994).
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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
A picture-naming task can be used to measure learning of Oetting, J. B., Rice, M. L., & Swank, L. K. (1995). Quick
the target nonwords. For this task, children are shown one of incidental learning (QUIL) of words by school-age children
the novel objects, and instructed to produce its corresponding with and without SLI. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research,
name. The picture-naming task taps the ability to form a 38, 434–445.
representation of the word-form and link it to the repre- Olswang, L. B., Bain, B. A., Rosendahl, P. D., Oblak, S. B., &
sentation of its meaning or referent. The proportion of correct Smith, A. E. (1986). Language learning: Moving performance
responses for each word type (i.e., common-dense vs. rare- from a context-dependent to -independent state. Child
sparse) at each exposure phase can be calculated and compared. Language Teaching and Therapy, 2, 180–210.
The results are examined to determine which type of Peña, E., Iglesias, A., & Lidz, C. S. (2001). Reducing test bias
nonwords is learned more readily and the approximate through dynamic assessment of children’s word learning
number of exposures required to learn each type. ability. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10,
In the process outlined above, one may incorporate the use 138–154.
of different teaching methods during the second (or later) Peña, E., & Quinn, R. (1997). Task familiarity: Effects on the
exposure phase to examine whether any specific teaching test performance of Puerto Rican and African American
method facilitates learning of the words and whether this children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 28,
varies by word type. For example, certain phonological 323–332.
and/or semantic cues may facilitate learning of common- Rice, M. L., Oetting, J. B., Marquis, J., Bode, J., & Pae, S.
dense words but not rare-sparse words. In addition, the
(1994). Frequency of input effects on word comprehension of
effectiveness of different teaching methods may differ across
children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech
children. Therefore, the teaching phase provides clinicians
and Hearing Research, 37, 106–122.
with ideas regarding which treatment methods may be used
Schneider, P., & Watkins, R. V. (1996). Applying Vygotskian
for each child for each type of word.
development theory to language intervention. Language,
Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 27, 157–170.
Summary Schwartz, R. G., & Leonard, L. B. (1982). Do children pick
In this paper, dynamic assessment was introduced as an and choose? An examination of phonological selection and
alternative measure of word learning because standardised avoidance in early lexical acquisition. Journal of Child Language,
vocabulary tests may be an insensitive and culturally biased 9, 319–336.
measure. Incorporation of two stimulus characteristics, Storkel, H. L. (2001). Learning new words: Phonotactic
phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density, into a probability in language development. Journal of Speech,
dynamic assessment was illustrated. Use of dynamic assess- Language, and Hearing Research, 44, 1321–1337.
ment manipulating these characteristics may help clinicians Storkel, H. L. (2004a). Do children acquire dense neigh-
create more precise treatment plans because specific treat- borhoods? An investigation of similarity neighborhoods in
ment methods will be identified for different types of words. lexical acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 201–221.
Storkel, H. L. (2004b). The emerging lexicon of children
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Gray, S., Plante, E., Vance, R., & Henrichsen, M. (1999). The Storkel, H. L., & Rogers, M. A. (2000). The effect of
diagnostic accuracy of four vocabulary tests administered to probabilistic phonotactics on lexical acquisition. Clinical
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Kroll, J. F., & Potter, M. C. (1984). Recognizing words,
pictures, and concepts: A comparison of lexical, object, and Junko Maekawa is a doctoral student interested in cross-
reality decisions. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, linguistic word learning. Holly L. Storkel is an associate
23 (1), 39–66. professor interested in interactions between sound and
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words: The neighborhood activation model. Ear & Hearing,
19, 1–36. Correspondence to:
Macmillan dictionary for children. (4th ed.). (2001). New York: Junko Maekawa
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. University of Kansas
Maekawa, J., & Storkel, H. L. (in press). Individual Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders
differences in the influence of phonological characteristics on 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence KS 66045–7555 USA
expressive vocabulary development by young children. phone: +1 (785) 864 4428
Journal of Child Language. email: [email protected]
USING NONWORD REPETITION IN

VOCABULARY ASSESSMENT
Jill R. Hoover and Holly L. Storkel
This article was peer reviewed clinicians with a way to compare a child’s vocabulary to
others of the same chronological age. A complete evaluation
of vocabulary targets both the expressive and receptive
Standardised vocabulary tests have been criticised for domains, through the administration of two separate tests.
their cultural/experiential biases and insensitivity to The two types of tests require children to either name a
word learning differences. This review discusses the picture (i.e., expressive) or select one from a set of four (i.e.,
utility of supplementing the diagnostic process with a receptive), allowing clinicians to obtain separate standardised
processing-based measure, such as a nonword repetition scores for each domain. Furthermore, some standardised
task. Nonword repetition tasks have been heralded as a vocabulary tests provide a comparison of receptive and
more sensitive indicator of individual differences in expressive standard scores which can be used in diagnosing
vocabulary/word learning. Evidence on the relationship word finding deficits. A standard score on the receptive
between vocabulary and nonword repetition is discussed vocabulary test that is significantly higher than that on the
along with a review of the currently available tests of expressive test can be taken as an indicator of a word finding
nonword repetition. Suggestions for constructing a non- deficit.
word repetition task specific to the needs of individual
Although standardised vocabulary tests are important to
clinicians are offered.
the diagnostic process, they are not without criticism (e.g.,
Campbell et al., 1997; Gray, Plante, Vance, & Henrichsen,
1999; Rodekohr & Haynes, 2001). Campbell et al. (1997) argue
Keywords: that performance on these tests draws heavily upon know-
assessment, ledge and world experiences, rather than underlying processes
nonword repetition, responsible for acquiring new words. A specific item on a
test bias, standardised vocabulary test that could be sensitive to
vocabulary, experience might include one related to geographically
word learning specific events (e.g., tornado). Experience with such events
contributes to a child’s general knowledge base of specific
T ypically developing children acquire new words rapidly.

The production of a few words around the age of 12
months rapidly takes off around 18 months, growing ex-
vocabulary items. Standardised vocabulary tests have also
been criticized for reflecting cultural biases; scores have been
found to be less accurate for children from varying cultural
ponentially from that point forward. The number of words backgrounds (Campbell, et al., 1997; Rodekohr & Haynes,
known by a child increases from approximately 3,500 in 2001). Obtaining a norm-referenced score from a standardised
kindergarten to nearly 6,000 at the end of the second grade test allows for the comparison between a target child and his
(Beimiller & Slonin, 2001). As typical language learners develop or her peers. However, clinicians should bear in mind that
and expand their vocabulary with relative ease, children with performance on such a test heavily indexes experiences. Thus,
language impairments generally do not. These children are in order to avoid misdiagnosis on the basis of experiential/
generally late to acquire their first words and can continue to cultural differences, clinicians ought to consider supple-
experience a slower rate of growth, as they often have
menting, but not replacing, knowledge-based measures with
difficulties learning new words relative to age-matched peers
those that place greater demands on underlying linguistic
(e.g., Leonard, 1998; Rice, Burh, & Nemeth, 1990). Consequently,
processes.
one element to consider in the diagnosis of language
impairment may be word learning ability. Given the contri- Standardised tests been criticised not only for their reliance
bution of vocabulary acquisition/oral language to later on prior knowledge/cultural experiences, but also for their
academic skills (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, inability to correctly classify children with language impair-
2005), assessment of vocabulary is critical in the early ment. Gray et al. (1999) evaluated the accuracy of diagnosing
identification of language learning differences. However, preschool language impairments using standardised vocabu-
standardised vocabulary tests have been criticised for their lary tests in children between the ages of 4 and 5 years. While
experiential/cultural biases and insensitivity to language children with language impairments as a group scored
impairment (Campbell, Dollaghan, Needleman, & Janosky, significantly lower than their peers with typical language,
1997; Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998). These criticisms suggest their individual scores still fell within the normal range of
that there is a need for including alternative measures of development. Dollaghan and Campbell (1998) found similar
vocabulary that are sensitive to word learning skills, rather results in older children between the ages of 6 and 9 years.
than experience or culture. Although differences in scores between children with varying
language ability are detected by standardised tests, such
Drawbacks to standardised scores may not always be sensitive enough to identify the
word learning deficits of children with language impairment.
vocabulary tests Thus, performance on standardised tests should be inter-
Vocabulary in children is most commonly assessed through preted with caution if used as the primary indicator of word
the administration of standardised tests. Such tests provide learning deficits during the screening process.

Alternative diagnostic tools been documented (Campbell et al., 1997). Since word learning
deficits can be one aspect of language impairment, per-
One possible solution that has been offered to counteract the
formance on nonword repetition might be more sensitive in
drawbacks of standardised vocabulary tests is to supplement
identifying children with such characteristics than
them with measures that rely primarily upon linguistic
standardised tests (Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998; Edwards &
processing rather than prior knowledge/experience
Lahey, 1998; Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990a; but see Bishop,
(processing-dependent measures). Processing-dependent
Adams, & Norbury, 2006; Ellis Weismer et al., 2000).
measures utilize items that are either novel (i.e., nonwords) or
Therefore, a NWRT might be used as a supplemental task that
equally familiar to all children, thus relying more on linguistic
is free from cultural biases and more sensitive in detecting the
processing than prior knowledge/experience (Campbell et
phonological aspects of word learning deficits (Bishop et al.,
al., 1997). One such task is the nonword repetition task
2006; Campbell et al., 1997; Edwards & Lahey, 1998; Ellis
(NWRT). In a NWRT, children hear a list of novel words that
Weismer et al., 2000; Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990a; Rodekohr
they are required to repeat one at a time. Novel words are
& Haynes, 2001).
constructed to resemble words that could be possible in the
target language. Children’s responses are phonetically
transcribed and given two scores: whole-word score and Administering a NWRT
proportion of correct sounds. The former is scored as correct Given the shortcomings of standardised vocabulary tests,
only if the child repeats the novel word exactly as presented. supplementing the diagnostic session with a NWRT might be
The latter score allows the child to receive partial credit for a promising option for clinicians. Administering a NWRT is
recalling one or more sounds in the target word. Nonword straightforward and takes minimal time. Clinicians can use a
repetition has been regarded as a processing-dependent NWRT that is either commercially available or has been
measure because it requires children to recognise and pro- published in a research report. Clinicians will need to
duce unfamiliar phoneme sequences as opposed to retrieving consider their clinical needs when deciding which NWRT is
known words from their lexicon. Supplementing standardised most appropriate for their population.
vocabulary tests with a NWRT comes from a theory The Children’s Test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) is a
suggesting the presence of a link between phonological standardised test of nonword repetition for children between
memory and vocabulary/word learning in preschool-age the ages of 4 and 8 years (Gathercole & Baddeley, 1996). This
children (Gathercole & Baddeley, 1989). Baddeley (1986) test consists of 40 nonwords varying in length from two to
suggests that phonological memory, one part of working five syllables, takes approximately 4 minutes to administer,
memory, is responsible for recognising, holding, and and uses the whole-word scoring method. All nonwords have
producing novel phonological information, such as the been pre-recorded by a female speaker of British English. The
nonsense words in a NWRT. Similar to nonword repetition, Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) is a
one aspect of learning a word for the first time also requires a standardised test that includes nonword repetition as one of
child to recognise, hold, and produce novel phonological many subtests (Wagner, Torgesen & Rashotte, 1999). This
information. Although nonword repetition does not involve a NWRT includes fewer items than the CNRep (18 compared to
semantic (i.e., meaning) component, the phonological 40) but can be administered to a wider age range of in-
component of nonword repetition and learning a new word dividuals (5–24 years as opposed to 4–8 years). Nonwords
parallel one another. Nonword repetition has therefore been vary in length from 3 to 15 sounds and are spoken by a
regarded as a supplemental task that may be used to evaluate speaker of American English. The scoring method on this task
the phonological aspects of word learning. is the same as the CNRep (i.e., whole-word score).
Using nonword repetition to supplement knowledge/ If the clinical population of interest does not match the age-
based measures has also been supported by a correlation range appropriate for standardised tests of nonword repetition,
between performance on nonword repetition and vocabu- clinicians can refer to tasks that have been used in research
lary/word learning in children (Gathercole & Baddeley, 1989; where nonword lists and normative data have been pub-
Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990b; Gathercole, Hitch, Service, & lished. Typically, published research reports provide
Martin, 1997). Specifically, children with larger vocabularies normative data on both scoring methods (i.e., whole-word
are often better at repeating lists of novel words (Bowey, 2001; and proportion of correct sounds). Mean scores and standard
Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, & Baddeley, 1992; Roy & Chiat, deviations are usually available for various ages and
2004). As children’s vocabularies increase, the relationship language abilities and can be used to benchmark a child’s
becomes even stronger, suggesting that performance on performance relative to others his or her age. Clinicians
nonword repetition is facilitated by a growing vocabulary – interested in administering a NWRT to preschool children
with the strongest relationship demonstrated during the could refer to Roy and Chiat (2004), whereas those interested
preschool and early school-age years (Gathercole & Baddeley, in the school-age population should refer to Dollaghan and
1989; Gathercole & Adams, 1994). Finally, children with high, Campbell (1998) or Ellis Weismer et al. (2000). While the
rather than low, scores on nonword repetition and stand- normative data in Roy and Chiat (2004) pertains only to
ardised vocabulary tests are better able to learn and later typically developing children, that in Dollaghan and Camp-
recall novel names (Gathercole, & Baddeley, 1990b; Gather- bell (1998) pertains to children with and without language
cole, et al., 1997). However, recent evidence suggests that impairments. Ellis Weismer et al. (2000) present normative
additional complex working memory measures might be data for groups of children differing in nonverbal cognition
more sensitive than nonword repetition in predicting later and language ability. Clinicians interested in administering
language ability (Gathercole, Tiffany, Briscoe, Thorn, & The the NWRT to students in the secondary grades and older can
ALSPAC team, 2005). Thus, using performance on a NWRT to refer to Gupta (2003) where normative data are provided for
predict language ability beyond the preschool years should individuals with normal language between the ages of 18 and
be interpreted with caution. 26 years.
A significant difference in performance on knowledge- but Clinicians can calculate a standardised score, namely a z-
not processing-dependent measures in children from score, to determine where a child’s score falls relative to
minority and majority groups in the United States has also others his or her age by using means and standard deviations
from published research reports. A z-score is used to designing a NWRT for very young children or those with
determine how far an individual score lies from the mean of a articulation errors. By constructing novel word stimuli using
larger sample. Z-scores are calculated by subtracting the early-acquired sounds, the risk of poor performance due to
child’s score from the mean of the larger published sample articulation constraints is minimised. One disadvantage of
and dividing that value by the standard deviation of the standardised tests of nonword repetition is that several of the
larger sample. Z-scores can be positive or negative and reflect nonwords are composed of late-acquired sounds (e.g.,
how far above or below the mean a score deviates. For “frescovent”, Gathercole & Baddeley, 1996), making it dif-
example, a child with a z-score of +1.00 has a score that is one ficult to determine the source of poor performance.
standard deviation above the mean, whereas a z-score of A final issue to consider when constructing a NWRT is the
–1.00 reflects a score that is one standard deviation below the regional dialect of the individual to be tested. Gerken (1979)
mean. Typically, scores between –1.00 and +1.00 are suggests that when a speaker’s dialect is judged to differ from
considered to be age-appropriate. an adult listener, accuracy on language production tasks can
be affected. The CNRep (Gathercole & Baddeley, 1996)
features a speaker of British English, while American English
Constructing a NWRT is used on the CTOPP (Wagner et al., 1999). A unique feature
Not all population characteristics (e.g., ages, clinical of the CNRep is that with permission from the publishing
populations, regional dialect) are represented in the currently company, clinicians may request to have a speaker of a given
available tests of nonword repetition. When mean per- regional dialect prerecord nonwords from the test for use
formance scores are not available for a specific age-range or with speakers of that dialect.
population (e.g., adults with aphasia, children with delayed
articulation, speakers of a specific dialect), clinicians might
consider constructing a list of nonwords and collecting their Conclusion
own data in order to develop a set of norms. Using means The inclusion of a NWRT in the assessment process has many
and standard deviations from the sample of interest, z-scores advantages over relying exclusively on standardised tests.
can then be calculated for a given individual. This self- This task has been regarded as less culturally biased and
constructed task can then be used to supplement standardised more sensitive in detecting word learning differences
tests in the diagnostic process. resulting from difficulties holding phonological information
Typically, nonwords that match the sound patterns of the in memory. Therefore, NWRT has been heralded as an
target language are selected for a NWRT. It has been indicator of the process, rather than the product, of word
suggested that word-likeness, or how similar a novel word is to learning (Campbell et al., 1997). Given its relationship with
a real word, affects repetition (Dollaghan, Biber, & Campbell, vocabulary ability and word learning (Bowey, 2001; Gather-
1995; Munson, Kurtz, & Windsor, 2005). Nonwords that are cole, & Baddeley, 1990b; Gathercole et al., 1992; Gathercole et
more word-like are repeated more easily than those that are al., 1997), nonword repetition appears to be a robust supple-
less word-like (Dollaghan et al., 1995; Munson et al., 2005) ment to standardised vocabulary tests; however, it should not
and therefore clinicians should consider this factor when be regarded as a primary means of evaluating word learning
selecting nonwords. Typically, NWRTs use less word-like differences in children with language impairment. While
nonwords. some children with language impairment have poor per-
Clinicians should also consider the age of acquisition of the formance on NWRT, others do not, thus nonword repetition
sounds in the nonwords. This might be particularly useful in fails to identify all children with language impairment
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(Bishop et al., 2006). Rather, it may be more sensitive in Gathercole, S. E., Tiffany, C., Briscoe, J., Thorn, A., & The
detecting differences in children who have difficulties with ALSPAC Team. (2005). Developmental consequences of poor
the phonological aspects of word learning. In addition to phonological short-term memory function in childhood: A
performance on the NWRT, clinicians should continue to longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,
consider performance on standardised vocabulary and 46, 598–611.
language tests, parent/teacher reports, and observation of the Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C. S., Emslie, H. & Baddeley, A. D.
child in his or her natural environment in making a final (1992). Phonological memory and vocabulary development
clinical diagnosis and identifying intervention goals. during the early school years: A longitudinal study.
Developmental Psychology, 28, 887–898.
References Gerken, K. (1979). The ability of listeners to report oral
responses of Black and White children. Language, Speech, and
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford Hearing Services in the Schools, 10, 35–46.
University Press. Gray, S. Plante, E., Vance, R., & Henrichsen, M. (1999). The
Biemiller, A. & Slonin, N. (2001). Estimating root word diagnostic accuracy of four vocabulary tests administered to
vocabulary growth in normative and advantaged populations: preschool-age children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services
Evidence from a common sequence of vocabulary acquisition. in Schools, 30, 196–206.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 498–520. Gupta, P. (2003). Examining the relationship between word
Bishop, D. V. M., Adams, C. V., & Norbury, C. F. (2006). learning, nonword repetition, and immediate serial recall in
Distinct genetic influences on grammar and phonological adults. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56A,
short-term memory deficits: Evidence from 6-year-old twins. 1213–1236.
Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 5, 158–169. Leonard, L. B., (1998). Children with specific language
Bowey, J. A. (2001). Nonword repetition and young impairment. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
children’s receptive vocabulary: A longitudinal study. Applied Munson, B., Kurtz, B. A., & Windsor, J. (2005). The
Pscholinguistics, 22, 441–469. influence of vocabulary size, phonotactic probability, and
Campbell, T., Dollaghan, C., Needleman, H., & Janosky, J. wordlikeness on nonword repetitions of children with and
(1997). Reducing bias in language assessment: Processing- without specific language impairment. Journal of Speech,
dependent measures. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 1033–1047.
Research, 40, 519–525. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2005). Path-
Dollaghan, C., Biber, M. E., & Campbell, T. F. (1995). Lexical ways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition to
influences on nonword repetition. Applied Psycholinguistics, reading. Developmental Psychology, 41, 428–442.
16, 211–222. Rice, M. L., Buhr, J.C., & Nemeth, M. (1990). Fast mapping
Dollaghan, C., & Campbell, T. F. (1998). Nonword repetition word-learning abilities of language-impaired preschoolers.
and child language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 55, 33–42.
and Hearing Research, 41, 1136–1146. Rodekohr, R. K., & Haynes, W. O. (2001). Differentiating
Edwards, J., & Lahey, M. (1998). Nonword repetitions of dialect from disorder: A comparison of two processing tasks
children with specific language impairment: Exploration of and a standardized language test. Journal of Communication
some explanations for their inaccuracies. Applied Psycho- Disorders, 34, 255–272.
linguistics, 19, 279–309. Roy, P., & Chiat, S. (2004). A prosodically controlled word
Ellis Weismer, S., Tomblin, J. B., Zhang, X., Buckwalter, P., and nonword repetition task for 2- to 4-year olds: Evidence
Gaura Chynoweth, J., & Jones, M. (2000). Nonword repetition from typically developing children. Journal of Speech,
performance in school-age children with and without Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 223–234.
language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1999).
Research, 43, 865–878. Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing. Austin, TX:
Gathercole, S. E., & Adams, A. M. (1994). Children’s Pro-Ed.
phonological working memory: Contributions of long-term
knowledge and rehearsal. Journal of Memory and Language, 33,
672–688.
Acknowledgement
This project was supported by NIH grants DC000052,
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1989). Evaluation of the
DC004781, DC006545.
role of phonological STM in the development of vocabulary
in children: A longitudinal study. Journal of Memory and
Language, 28, 200–213. Jill Hoover is a doctoral student in the Child Language
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1990a). Phonological Doctoral Program at the University of Kansas. She is
memory deficits in language disordered children: Is there a interested in lexical factors in morpho-syntactic
causal connection? Journal of Memory and Language, 29, development in preschool children. Holly Storkel is an
336–360. associate professor in the Department of Speech-
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1990b). The role of Language-Hearing Sciences and Disorders and is
phonological memory in vocabulary acquisition: A study of interested in interactions between sound and word
young children learning new names. British Journal of Psych- learning.
ology, 81, 439–454.
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1996). The children’s test Correspondence to:
of nonword repetition. London, UK: The Psychological Jill R. Hoover, MA
Corporation. Child Language Doctoral Program
Gathercole, S. E., Hitch, G. J., Service, E., & Martin, A.J. Dole Center, Room 3031, 1000 Sunnyside Ave.
(1997). Phonological short-term memory and new word Lawrence KS, 66045-7555 USA
learning in children. Developmental Psychology, 33, 966–979. email: [email protected] website: www.ku.edu/~wrdlrng
LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH READING

Suzanne Adlof and Holly L. Storkel
meanings from context should be an important part of

intervention for children with vocabulary and reading
deficits. Such instruction, if effective, would provide two
Children with early reading and vocabulary deficits often main benefits: improving children’s ability to deal with
struggle with development in these areas. Although unknown words in context, and increasing overall vocabulary
(Fukkink & de Glopper , 1998).
direct instruction is effective for teaching individual
To help poor readers understand the processes involved in
vocabulary words, it is time consuming, and may not be
deriving word meanings from context, one must first under-
sufficient to close the vocabulary gap between good and
stand how learning words from context differs from learning
poor readers. Instruction in deriving the meanings of
by direct instruction, as well as the factors that influence
unknown words from context may help to increase
children’s ability to perform this skill. It is also critical to
vocabulary knowledge in children with reading and consider the evidence supporting the most common instruc-
vocabulary deficits. Toward this end, we review the tional approaches. Although more research is needed, the
research concerning factors that influence word learning current evidence suggests that instruction does improve
from context and instructional approaches that have been children’s ability to derive words from context, and it appears
shown to be effective in teaching derivational skills. that such instruction can be a useful component to inter-
vention aimed at improving reading and vocabulary.
Keywords: Incidental word learning

context clues,
When individuals learn a new word, they must learn to
derivational learning, associate a form representation with a meaning repre-
incidental word learning, sentation. For spoken language, the form representation is
reading, simply the phonological, or sound, representation. In written
vocabulary instruction, contexts, the form representation also includes the ortho-
vocabulary graphic, or spelling, representation. The first mapping of a
form representation with a meaning representation is referred
T he importance of vocabulary knowledge for reading suc-

cess is widely accepted. Vocabulary knowledge influences
the development of word reading and reading comprehension
to as initial mapping, and both the form and meaning
representations may be rather coarse and non-specific, or
even inaccurate. Through repeated exposures to the word in
skills (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002). Children find it easier to various contexts, namely extended mapping, these repre-
decode written words when they are part of their spoken sentations become more refined.
vocabularies; likewise, they comprehend a text better when Two main features differentiate vocabulary learning through
the words are familiar (Adams, 1990). This relationship reading from vocabulary learning from direct instruction.
between reading and vocabulary is also believed to be First, with direct instruction, the initial mapping period
reciprocal, in that vocabulary facilitates the acquisition of generally includes an explicit definition of the target word
reading skills, and reading facilitates growth in vocabulary and a model of the word’s pronunciation. Often students are
(Stanovich, 1986). In the early grades, most of reading given one or more examples of how to use that word in a
instruction is focused on word reading, as children learn to sentence. In contrast, written contexts do not always give
associate words that are already in their oral vocabularies explicit cues to an unfamiliar word’s meaning, and the child
with their printed forms. However, as children move towards may infer only a vague representation of the word’s meaning.
upper elementary grades, they begin learning new words Nonetheless, with continued exposures in new contexts, the
from the texts they read. child develops a more refined understanding of the word.
Most school-age children acquire new words very rapidly. Therefore, word learning from reading contexts is an incre-
For example, Nagy and Anderson (1984) estimated that mental process, whereby knowledge of a word is increased
typically developing school-age children acquire an average and refined with each consecutive exposure in a new mean-
of 3,000 words per year. Whereas direct instruction can only ingful context (Schwanenflugel, Stahl, & McFalls, 1997).
account for the learning of a few hundred words per year, A second difference between incidental word learning and
Nagy, Herman, and Anderson (1985) state that incidental word word learning via direct instruction involves the processes by
learning, or the unconscious learning of new words while which children come to understand what attributes are not
reading, can be considered the primary source of vocabulary associated with a particular word. When children encounter a
growth during the school years. new word while reading, they are given relatively few clues
Unfortunately, due to the reciprocal relationship between as to what the word does not mean. Moreover, contexts may
vocabulary and reading skills, children who start school with be misleading, as when a word is used in a sarcastic sense. As
deficits in either reading or vocabulary tend to have difficulty a result, the process of deriving the meanings of unknown
acquiring skills in both areas. Although good readers acquire words from context may result in the inclusion of false
most new vocabulary items through reading, poor readers read attributes, or incorrect features within the word’s definition.
less and are exposed to fewer new words (Allington, 1984), Over- or under-extensions are common when the definition
and when they do encounter new words in text they are less of the word has not been fully clarified. In a study of in-
adept at inferring their meanings (Cain, Oakhill, & Lemmon, cidental word learning, Fukkink, Blok, and de Glopper (2001)
2004). Thus, it appears that instruction on how to derive word demonstrated that the task of mastering a specific target word

involves both learning its true attributes and unlearning false acronym reminded students to: “Substitute a word or
attributes that have been incorrectly associated with that expression for the unknown word. Check the context for
word. clues that support your idea. Ask if substitution fits all con-
text clues. Need a new idea? Revise your idea to fit the
Factors influencing word learning context” (p. 221).
Several factors have been shown to influence students’ ability Cloze approaches involve having children use contexts to
to learn new words from reading contexts. In a meta-analysis complete a sentence. This process is thought to be similar to
of incidental word learning, Swanborn and de Glopper (1999) the process of deriving the meaning of an unknown word. In
estimated that, on average, 15% of unfamiliar words en- this approach, students discuss word choices that would or
countered in text would be learned incidentally. In this study, would not properly fit the sentence context.
three factors were found to significantly influence this rate. Definition instruction focuses on teaching children how to
The first factor is student age and/or reading level. Older and formulate a definition. This approach is based on the
more advanced readers tend to acquire more new words from assumption that giving students a concept of what a “defin-
context than younger and less able readers. The second is pre- ition” entails will make them more aware of the context clues
sensitisation to target words. Students perform better on post- that they can use to can help them derive the meanings of
tests of incidental word learning if target words are pointed unfamiliar words they encounter.
out to them before they read the text. The third significant Across all treatment types, the authors found a “medium”
factor was the ratio of unknown words to familiar words in effect of treatment. By comparing the average effect size of
the text. A low ratio, meaning few unknown words in the con- instruction to the effect size seen for natural vocabulary
text of many known words, was found to be more facilitative growth, they determined that the average effect of instruction
for incidental word learning. Texts that contain a low ratio of was approximately equal to two years of natural develop-
unknown words are easier to comprehend overall, making it ment (Fukkink & de Glopper, 1998). This effect is especially
promising given that the average amount of treatment across
easier for readers to infer the meanings of the unknown
studies was five and one-half hours. Moreover, of the four
words.
instructional approaches examined, context clue instruction
Other studies have identified two additional factors which
appeared to be the most beneficial. However, there were only
also appear to affect the rate of incidental word learning. One
a few studies of each approach that met the criteria to be
is reader purpose. A recent study by Swanborn and de
included in the meta-analysis, so this conclusion should be
Glopper (2002) found that students who are instructed to read
viewed with caution.
for a purpose learn more new words than those who are told
Based on this meta-analysis, we can anticipate that
to read for fun and those who are given no specific purpose.
instruction in derivational skills may be an effective way to
The second factor involves the types of words that are to be
improve vocabulary and reading skills for children with
learned from context. Schwanenflugel et al. (1997) found that
deficits. However, there are still many questions that need to
two characteristics of words were significantly related to inci-
be answered to provide the best treatment. First, we need
dental word learning by fourth graders. The first was word
more well-controlled studies of treatment effectiveness that
concreteness, or image-ability. Concrete words (e.g., “beacon”)
control for background and prior vocabulary knowledge and
refer to items with clear physical properties and are easier to
include practice-only control groups. Second, we need studies
learn than abstract words (e.g., “tribute”), which are harder to
which specifically target children with reading and
visualise. The second was part of speech. Nouns were more
vocabulary deficits, because instructional approaches that
difficult to learn from context than other word types, such as
work for average children may not necessarily be effective for
adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. The authors hypothesised that
children with reading and vocabulary problems. Third, it is
this was because the majority of the nouns in their study were
important to remember that to be maximally effective,
less concrete than the words in the other grammatical cat-
instruction should not only improve the way children infer
egories.
the meanings of target words from context when instructed to
do so, but also increase the number of words they are able to
Effectiveness of instruction in learn incidentally while reading independently (Fukkink &
de Glopper, 1998). Thus far, few studies have been able to
derivational skills show generalisation beyond the treatment context.
Research on the instruction of derivational skills is relatively With regard to these recommendations, two recent strategy
new. However, a meta-analysis by Fukkink and de Glopper approaches show promise. The first, a process-based strategy
(1998) demonstrated that it is generally effective. This meta- approach used by Goerss, Beck, and McKeown (1999), is
analysis included 22 treatments in 12 studies. The authors unique in that it was specifically designed for use with poor
identified four treatment approaches among the studies readers. In this approach, students learned a five-step process
included in the meta-analysis: 1) context clue instruction, 2) to deal with unfamiliar words. The first component involved
strategy instruction, 3) cloze instruction and 4) definition reading to familiarise oneself with the context, and then re-
instruction. reading to pay attention to the unknown word. In the second
In context clue instruction, students are taught a set of clues component, potential clues to the word’s meaning were
which can be used to identify the meaning of an unknown discussed. The third component involved forming an initial
word. For example, Buikema and Graves (1993) taught seventh hypothesis of the word’s meaning and giving a rationale for
and eighth graders to identify clues to a word’s sensual the hypothesis. The fourth component involved developing
features (sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound), the action it the hypothesis (examining other potential meanings) and
suggests, or its purpose in the sentence. Other types of con- placing constraints (ruling out meanings that don’t fit) on the
text clue instruction focus on recognising synonyms, antonym, original hypothesis. The last step was to summarise what was
and definition clues. known about the word at that point.
Strategy instruction focuses on teaching a generic process Because this approach focuses on the process of derivation,
for deriving a word’s meaning. Jenkins, Matlock, and Slocum as opposed to the outcome, the investigators evaluated its
(1989) taught students a strategy known as SCANR. This effectiveness by examining whether the student appropriately
used all of the available evidence to evaluate the target ability to derive and infer word meanings. American
word’s meaning, rather than judging the accuracy of the Educational Research Journal, 40, 447–494.
derived meaning. Thus, the intervention in this study did not Baumann, J. F., Edwards, E. C., Font, G., Tereshinksi, C. A.,
provide explicit feedback on the correctness or incorrectness Kame’enui, E. J., & Olejnik, S. (2002). Teachinig morphemic
of students’ definitions. The investigators administered the and contextual analysis to fifth-grade students. Reading
Word Meaning Acquisition Task (McKeown, 1985) to sys- Research Quarterly, 37, 150–176.
tematically evaluate students’ progress in learning the strategy. Buikema, J. L., & Graves, M. F. (1993). Teaching students to
This task assessed students’ ability to select and reject use context cues to infer word meaning. Journal of Reading, 36,
possible meanings for a target word, justify the choices they 450–457.
made, and discriminate contexts that could narrow the pool Cain, K., Oakhill, J., & Lemmon, K. (2004). Individual
of possible meanings for a target word. Although this study differences in the inference of word meanings from context:
was limited by the fact that no control group was included, The influence of reading comprehension, vocabulary know-
over the course of the intervention, all subjects increased their ledge, and memory capacity. Journal of Educational Psychology,
scores on every section of this task. 96, 671–681.
The second approach, developed by Baumann and col- Fukkink, R. G., Blok, H., & de Glopper, K. (2001). Deriving
leagues combines traditional context clue instruction with word meaning from written context: A multicompential skill.
morpheme analysis (Baumann, Edwards, Font, Tereshinski, Language Learning, 51, 477–496.
Kame’enui, & Olejnik, 2002; Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Fukkink, R. G., & de Glopper, K. (1998). Effects of
Olejnik, & Kame’enui, 2003). Students are taught to use instruction in deriving word meaning from context: A meta-
traditional context clues, such as synonyms, antonyms, and analysis. Review of Educational Research, 68(4), 450–469.
examples to form hypotheses about the meanings of un- Goerss, B. L., Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (1999).
known words. In addition, the morpheme analysis portion of Increasing remedial students’ ability to derive word mean-
instruction focuses on common prefix families that give clues ings from context. Journal of Reading Psychology, 20, 151–175.
to a word’s meaning. For example, the prefixes “un-” and “in-” Jenkins, J. R., Matlock, B., & Slocum, T. A. (1989). Two
are part of the “not” family, and the prefixes “mono-,” “bi-,” approaches to vocabulary instruction: The teaching of
and “semi-” are part of the “number” family. In a study of individual word meanings and practice in deriving word
this approach, students were evaluated on their ability to meanings from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 24,
perform morphemic and contextual analysis for treated and 215–235.
untreated words. Results showed that students who received McKeown, M. G. (1985). The acquisition of word meaning
this combined treatment approach were able to generalise the from context by children of high and low ability. Reading
instruction to transfer words and performed morphemic and Research Quarterly, 20, 482–496.
contextual analysis as well as students who received instruction Nagy, W. E., & Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words are
in only one approach. Therefore, it appears that when these there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly,
two components are combined in one approach, students 19, 304–330.
learn to use a larger repertoire of tools to use when encoun- Nagy, W. E., Herman, P. A., & Anderson, R. C. (1985).
tering unfamiliar words. Learning words from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 20,
233–253.
Schwanenflugel, P. J., Stahl, S. A., & McFalls, E. L. (1997).
Conclusion Partial word knowledge and vocabulary growth during
Taken together, improving children’s ability to infer meaning reading comprehension. Journal of Literacy Research, 29,
from reading contexts can be an important component of 531–553.
intervention with school-age children. To this end, the Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some
effectiveness of several different instructional approaches has consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of
been documented, although additional research is needed to literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–364.
provide stronger support for each approach with children Storch, S. A., & Whitehurst, G. J. (2002). Oral language and
with language or reading impairments and to differentiate code-related precursors to reading: Evidence from a longi-
the relative effectiveness of each approach. Factors to tudinal model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934–947.
consider in clinical treatment include teaching specific context Swanborn, M.S.L., & de Glopper, K. (1999). Incidental word
clues along with a generic strategy, pre-exposing children to learning while reading: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational
unfamiliar words that will be encountered in texts, and Research, 69, 261–285.
teaching morphological cues that can also be used to derive a Swanborn, M.S.L., & de Glopper, K. (2002). Impact of
word’s meaning. Instruction in derivational skills is not reading purpose on incidental word learning from context.
expected to replace traditional direct vocabulary instruction, Language Learning, 52, 95–117.
but appears to be a promising complement to traditional
instruction that could help to close the gap between good and
poor readers. Suzanne Adlof is a doctoral student at the University of
Kansas studying the relationship between language and
reading disorders. Holly Storkel is an associate professor
References at the University of Kansas interested in interactions
Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning between sound and word learning.
about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Allington, R.L. (1984). Content coverage and contextual Correspondence to:
reading in reading groups. Journal of Reading Behavior, 16, Suzanne M. Adlof
85–96. University of Kansas
Baumann, J. F., Edwards, E. C., Boland, E. M., Olejnik, S., & Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders
Kame’enui, E. J.(2003). Vocabulary tricks: Effects of in- 1000 Sunnyside Ave, Lawrence KS 66045 USA
struction in morphology and context on fifth-grade students’ email: [email protected]

CHILDREN’S PRODUCTION OF
POLYSYLLABIC WORDS
Haley Gozzard, Elise Baker and Patricia McCabe
This article was peer reviewed These studies suggest that children’s mastery of polysyllabic
words is incomplete at 4 years, despite children having
mastered the production of vowels and singleton consonants
in mono- and disyllabic words.
The aim of this study was to compare production of
The literature suggests that a relationship exists between
polysyllabic words (words of three or more syllables) in
poor production of polysyllabic words and speech, language
single words and connected speech of typically
and literacy difficulties (e.g., Leitão, Hogben, & Fletcher, 1997;
developing 4-year-olds. Six children produced up to 50
Lewis, Freebairn & Taylor, 2000). For example, children with
target polysyllabic words during a single word picture
reading impairment have difficulties spontaneously pro-
naming task and in connected speech. All participants
ducing and repeating polysyllabic words relative to their
made errors with the target words, which supported the
typically developing peers (Gillon & Dodd, 1993).
suggestion that children’s development of polysyllabic
Despite the link between polysyllabic production and
words is incomplete at four years. No significant differ-
speech and language development polysyllabic words are not
ence was found between the children’s productions of
frequently included in phonological assessments. Published
polysyllabic words in single words and connected speech
single word (SW) assessments, such as the Goldman-Fristoe
which may indicate that single word sampling may be
Test of Articulation 2 (Goldman & Fristoe, 2000) or the PACS
sufficient to screen polysyllabic production.
pictures (Grunwell, 1987) contain few polysyllabic words.
Additionally, in assessing children’s productions of poly-
syllabic words, speech pathologists need to consider
Keywords: the context in which the production occurred. This
assessment, has been a neglected area to date. Polysyllabic words
have been assessed as either single words (e.g.,
connected speech,
James, van Doorn, McLeod & Borowsky, 2004) or in
polysyllabic words, connected speech (CS; e.g., Kehoe, 1997). However, for
single words samples of mostly mono- and disyllabic words,
differences have been reported in the results
A wealth of information is available on the typical

acquisition of singleton consonants, vowels and Haley Gozzard
consonant clusters in English speaking children (e.g.,
obtained during SW and CS tasks (e.g., Healy &
Madison, 1987; Morrison & Shriberg, 1992; Wolk &
Meisler, 1998). At the time of writing, no comparison
Smit, Hand, Frelinger, Bernthal, & Bird, 1990). From this, we of children’s productions of polysyllabic words in SW and CS
know that typically developing children have acquired was available. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to
vowels by 3 years (Lieberman, 1980) and most singleton compare typically developing 4-year-olds’ productions of
consonants by 4 years (Bowen, 1998). However, children polysyllabic words in SW and CS contexts.
continue to make errors on polysyllabic words beyond these
ages. James, van Doorn and McLeod (2001) reported that Method
children mastered the production of vowels in mono- and
disyllabic words by 3 years, but continued to master vowels Participants
in polysyllabic words until 6 years. Further, James, van Doorn Six participants between 4;0 and 4;11 years participated in the
and McLeod (2002) reported that children continue to acquire study. They were monolingual speakers of Australian English
mastery of consonants in polysyllabic words until 7;11 years. and had typically developing speech, measured using the
Table 1. Participant characteristics
Andya Mike Peter Megan Emma Kate

Age (years;months) b
4;1 4;1 4;3 4;5 4;8 4;9
Gender M M M F F F
Speech %ile rankc 95 67 43 47 74 42
Receptive language %ile rankd 25 75 37 91 91 50
Expressive language %ile rankd 50 37 37 50 50 75
Hearing WNL WNL WNL WNL WNL WNL
Main phonological processes e
FS FS CS, FS FS FS FS
a
Names have been changed.
b
As at the second session
c
GFTA-2
d
CELF-Preschool Quicktest
e
Processes occurring with a frequency > 40% (Hodson & Paden, 1983): FS = Later fricative simplification, CS = Cluster
simplification (due to gliding)
Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation 2 (GFTOA-2) Sounds in the samples were audio recorded to re-check phonetic
Words subtest (Goldman & Fristoe, 2000). Participants also transcription and to calculate reliability. Transcription reli-
had typically developing language skills, measured using the ability was calculated using point-by-point agreement for
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) – both broad and narrow transcriptions. Intra-judge reliability
Preschool: Quicktest (Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 1992), and on 10% of each sample was 94.7% for broad (excluding
normal hearing, as defined by a pass at 20dB during hearing diacritics) and 93.0% for narrow (including diacritics) trans-
screening (ASHA, 1990). The participants were recruited from cription. Inter-judge reliability was conducted by having an
a randomly selected preschool in the western Sydney metro- experienced, qualified speech pathologist transcribe 10% of
politan area. Table 1 contains the participant characteristics. each sample for each participant. Inter-judge reliability was
92.6% for broad and 90.0% for narrow transcription.
Stimuli
Fifty polysyllabic words containing a variety of consonants, Data analysis
vowels, stress patterns and word shapes were identified (see All participants’ productions were entered into the PROPH
appendix). The SW stimuli consisted of a book of 46 coloured module of Computerized Profiling v. 9.5.0 (Long, Fey, &
photographs and clipart pictures. The CS task was based on Channell, 2003). Relational analyses were used to measure the
McLeod’s (1997) CS tasks with the CS stimuli being toys participants’ percentage accuracy of words, word shapes,
specifically selected to elicit the 50 polysyllabic words. These stress patterns, consonants (PCC), vowels (PVC) and phonemes
toys were grouped in five categories: cars and trucks; (PPC). Where the participants deleted syllables, the target
animals; playdough; a kitchen playset with plastic foods; and consonants and/or vowels in the deleted syllable(s) were
a doctor’s set. considered incorrect for the calculation of PCC, PVC and
PPC. Statistical analyses were computed using SPSS v.11.0.0
Data collection (SPSS, 2001). Paired t-tests were conducted for all analyses to
Each participant’s speech, language and hearing abilities determine the effect of context on the participants’ pro-
were screened at the child’s preschool. One week later, each ductions. Using the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple com-
child completed a half-hour data collection session in a quiet parisons, a significant result was obtained when p < 0.0025.
area of the same preschool. All participants completed the SW
task before the CS task to ensure the children were familiar Results
with all stimulus items. The percentage of polysyllabic words each participant
In the SW task, participants were asked to name each produced correctly is summarised in table 2. There was no
picture. If prompting was required, cues were given in the significant difference between the mean percentage of correct
following order: semantic, binary choice and delayed imitation productions in SW and CS tasks for broad (t = 0.081, df = 5, p
(McLeod, 1997). In the CS task, one group of toys was offered = 0.939) or narrow (t = 0.934, df = 5, p = .393) transcription. No
at a time. The participants were encouraged to play with and participant produced all consonants or vowels correctly, as
talk about the toys and the researcher used parallel talk, self shown in table 3. Similarly, the participants made errors on
talk and prompting to elicit speech (McLeod, 1997). target word shapes and stress patterns as shown in table 4.
The researcher transcribed the children’s polysyllabic word Table 5 shows that across participants there was no significant
productions online using narrow phonetic transcription and difference between SW and CS.
Table 2. Percentage of polysyllabic words produced correctly by each participant
Andy Mike Peter Megan Emma Kate

B N B N B N B N B N B N
SW 61.0 39.0 32.3 21.0 30.6 27.8 71.2 45.8 47.7 36.9 52.5 44.1
CS 55.6 36.1 39.5 28.4 36.4 28.0 70.5 39.7 39.4 34.9 52.7 33.8
B = Broad transcription, N = Narrow transcription
Table 3. Participants’ percentage accuracy of word shapes, stress patterns, consonants, vowels and phonemes for SW and
CS tasks
Percentage correct
Word shapes Stress patterns Consonants (PCC) Vowels (PVC) Phonemes (PPC)
Participant SW CS SW CS SW CS SW CS SW CS
Andy 87.9 82.2 82.8 80.0 81.7 75.5 91.1 88.0 85.8 82.2
Mike 93.1 91.4 70.7 75.3 77.8 77.6 83.6 84.8 80.3 80.7
Peter 87.3 87.1 81.7 66.9 76.1 67.5 93.0 81.0 83.5 73.4
Megan 87.0 91.4 85.2 86.4 85.7 81.7 91.0 92.9 88.0 86.5
Emma 94.1 82.3 76.2 71.7 82.6 75.7 90.5 88.1 86.0 80.8
Kate 93.0 92.2 75.4 76.6 88.1 80.6 91.3 88.8 89.4 84.2
Mean 90.4 87.8 78.7 76.2 82.0 76.4 90.1 87.3 85.5 81.3

Table 4. Examples of the participants’ productions Conclusion

This study has provided confirmation that typically devel-
Gloss Example Participant Task oping 4-year-olds have difficulties producing polysyllabic
words, despite having mastered the production of vowels
caterpillar [kɾtpl] Kate SW
and most singleton consonants in mono- and disyllabic
escalator [εksne] Peter SW words. The participants had difficulties with the consonants,
hippopotamus [hpoυpɒms] Mike CS vowels, stress patterns and word shapes of the target poly-
stethoscope [mskεfskoυp] Emma SW syllabic words. Within the study, there were no significant
differences between the participants’ accuracy in single
stethoscope [stεpskoυp] Megan SW words and connected speech which suggests that screening of
thermometer [fɒmε] Andy SW polysyllabic words may be accomplished using single word
sampling tools.
Table 5. Results of paired t-tests (2-tailed) between SW References

and CS samples ASHA. (1990). Guidelines for screening for hearing impair-
ments and middle ear disorders. ASHA, 32(Suppl. 2), 17–24.
Measure t df p (2-tailed) Bowen, C. (1998). Developmental phonological disorders: A
PPC 2.840 5 .036 practical guide for families and their teachers. Melbourne: The
Australian Council for Education Research.
PCC 4.477 5 .007 Gillon, G., & Dodd, B. (1993). The phonological, syntactic
PVC 1.391 5 .223 and semantic skills of children with specific reading dis-
ability. Australian Journal of Human Communication Disorders,
Percentage word 0.903 5 .408 21, 86–102.
shapes correct Goldman, R., & Fristoe, M. (2000). Goldman-Fristoe test of
articulation (2nd ed.). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance
Percentage stress 1.166 5 .296 Service.
patterns correct Grunwell, P. (1987). Phonological assessment of child speech.
Note: Using the Bonferroni adjustment (the α-level (0.05) Boston, MA: College-Hill Press.
is divided by the number of t-tests completed), a Healy, T. J., & Madison, C. L. (1987). Articulation error
significant result is obtained when p < 0.0025. The migration: A comparison of single word and connected speech
Bonferroni adjustment reflects a larger study which samples. Journal of Communication Disorders, 20, 129–136.
James, D., van Doorn, J., & McLeod, S. (2001). Vowel pro-
included 20 t-tests, not all of which are presented here.
duction in mono-, di- and polysyllabic words in children aged
3;0 to 7;11 years. In L. Wilson & S. Hewat (Eds.), Proceedings of
the 2001 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference (pp.
Discussion 127–136). Melbourne: Speech Pathology Australia.
When compared to the adult target, the participants in the James, D., van Doorn, J., & McLeod, S. (2002). Segment
present study made errors in all areas analysed. This provides production in mono-, di- and polysyllabic words in children
further confirmation that typically developing 4-year-olds are aged 3–7 years. In F. Windsor, L. Kelly & N. Hewlett (Eds.),
continuing to master polysyllabic words, which is consistent Themes in clinical phonetics and linguistics (pp. 243–256).
with the findings of James et al. (2001, 2002). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
In the present study we investigated the influence of James, D., van Doorn, J., McLeod, S., & Borowsky, T. (2004,
sampling condition on the participants’ productions of poly- 1 September). Productions of polysyllabic words by children aged
syllabic words. There was no significant difference between 3 to 7 years. Paper presented at the 26th World Congress of the
the SW and CS tasks in terms of the relational analyses. This International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics,
Brisbane, Australia.
is surprising, considering that differences have been reported
Kehoe, M. (1997). Stress error patterns in English-speaking
between SW and CS tasks in other studies (Healy & Madison,
children’s word productions. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics,
1987; Morrison & Shriberg, 1992; Wolk & Meisler, 1998).
11(5), 389–409.
However, variations exist across these studies. For example,
Leitão, S., Hogben, J., & Fletcher, J. (1997). Phonological
Healy and Madison (1987) reported that their participants
processing skills in speech and language impaired children.
made more errors in CS while Wolk and Meisler (1998) European Journal of Disorders of Communication, 32(2), 91–111.
reported that their participants made fewer errors in CS. Lewis, B. A., Freebairn, L. A., & Taylor, H. G. (2000).
Finally, Morrison and Shriberg (1992) reported that while Academic outcomes in children with histories of speech sound
differences existed between contexts in their study, neither disorders. Journal of Communication Disorders, 33(1), 11–30.
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comparison between SW and CS production need to be production in young children. In G. Yeni-Komshian, J. F.
interpreted cautiously, as all participants completed the SW Kavanagh & C. A. Ferguson (Eds.), Child phonology (Vol. 1:
task first. Order effects may have influenced the participants’ Production, pp. 113–142). New York: Academic Press.
productions in the CS task. Future research will need to Long, S.H., Fey, M.E., & Channell, R.W. (2003). Computerized
control for order and practice effects. profiling (Version 9.5.0). Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University.
The participants had a wide range of speech and receptive McLeod, S. (1997). Sampling consonant clusters: Four
language abilities, and represent only a small sample of a procedures designed for Australian children. Australian
large population of typically developing children. Replication Communication Quarterly, Autumn, 9–12.
with a larger sample of children with typical and impaired Morrison, J. A., & Shriberg, L. D. (1992). Articulation testing
development will provide clarification of the influence of versus conversational speech sampling. Journal of Speech and
speech and language abilities on children’s productions of Hearing Research, 35, 259–273.
polysyllabic words. This could involve children up to 7;11 Semel, E., Wiig, E. H., & Secord, W. (1992). Clinical Evaluation
years, as James et al. (2002) proposed that children’s develop- of Language Fundamentals – Preschool. San Antonio, TX: The
ment of polysyllabic words continues until this age. Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Smit, A. B., Hand, L., Frelinger, J. J., Bernthal, J. E., & Bird,
A. (1990). The Iowa articulation norms project and its
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SPSS. (2001). SPSS for Windows student version (Version
study
11.0.0) [CD ROM]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 3 syllables
Wolk, L., & Meisler, A. W. (1998). Phonological assessment: aeroplane, ambulance, animals, banana, broccoli,
A systematic comparison of conversation and picture naming.
bulldozer, butterfly, capsicum, computer, crocodile,
Journal of Communication Disorders, 31, 291–313.
cucumber, dinosaur, echidna, elephant, hamburger,
hospital, kangaroo, koala, medicine, microwave,
Haley Gozzard is a speech pathologist working for Nepean mosquito, motorbike, octopus, platypus, policeman,
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care. This potato, pyjamas, rectangle, sausages, spaghetti,
research was completed as part of her honours thesis. Dr stethoscope, tomato, triangle, umbrella, vegemite,
Elise Baker and Dr Patricia McCabe are both at the vegetables, zucchini
School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Uni-
versity of Sydney, and provided supervision for the project.
4 syllables
avocado, caterpillar, cauliflower, escalator, helicopter,
Correspondence to:
Pinocchio, rhinoceros, television, thermometer, vacuum
Haley Gozzard
cleaner, washing machine, watermelon
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
PO Box 1118, Penrith NSW 2751 Australia
phone: 02 4734 9400 5 syllables
fax: 02 4734 9402 hippopotamus
email: [email protected]

WHY ANY OLD WORDS WON’T DO

The importance of vocabulary selection
David Trembath, Leigha Dark and Susan Balandin
participants. Few new words are added to a core vocabulary

over time (Stuart, Vanderhoof, & Beukelman, 1993). Thus,
core vocabulary items do not require frequent revision or
People with complex communication needs may benefit updating.
from the use of augmentative and alternative com- Core vocabulary is particularly important to people who
munication (AAC) systems. In order to be effective, these use AAC. A relatively small set of words can be used to serve
systems must contain words and messages that will a range of communicative functions across a variety of
support the user’s communication. In this article, we dis- interactions and activities. This is an advantage when space is
cuss some issues that speech pathologists might consider limited, as is often the case on a communication board. A
when selecting vocabulary for people who use AAC. child at preschool, for example, might use the core vocabu-
lary item “mine” to claim possession of a toy when another
child tries to take it away; to respond when a teacher holds
Keywords: up a series of paintings and asks who each painting belongs
to; and to tell the other children that s/he wants to take a turn
augmentative and alternative communication
on the swing. However, although useful, core vocabularies
(AAC), tend not to contain the highly individualised words that
vocabulary selection reflect a person’s individual interests, personality, social
groupings and memberships in all the contexts in which s/he
R esults of a recent Victorian epidemiological study in-

dicated that 1 in 500 people may have complex communi-
cation needs (Perry, Reilly, Cotton, Bloomberg, & Johnson,
communicates. Consequently, people who use AAC also
require fringe vocabulary.
Fringe vocabularies are large, comprising all words not
2004). These people require a functional communication included in the core vocabulary. Thus, fringe vocabularies
system to participate in the same social, educational, and may be highly individualised, consisting almost entirely of
employment activities that are available to their peers information carrying content words such as nouns, verbs, and
without disability (Light, Beukelman, & Reichle, 2003). With- adjectives (Balandin & Iacono, 1998a). Unlike core vocabulary,
out a functional communication system they are likely to fringe vocabularies reflect an individual’s activities, interests,
experience loneliness, poor access to health care services, environment, personal style, age, and group membership
restricted community participation, and less independence (Stuart et al., 1997). They enable people to personalise their
than their peers without disability (Balandin, Berg, & Waller, messages and are continually updated with new words
2006). Consequently, it is critical that people with complex (Balandin & Iacono, 1999).
communication needs have access to augmentative and A recent study by Dark and Balandin (2006) highlighted the
alternative communication (AAC) systems that meet their importance of fringe vocabulary to people using AAC while
communication needs. engaged in leisure activities such as sailing. In addition to
A growing body of literature provides evidence for the core vocabulary, the participants needed a wide range of
effectiveness of AAC approaches in supporting the specific vocabulary items in order to communicate effectively.
participation of people with complex communication needs In the sailing activity, for example, it was important to have
in a wide range of activities across a variety of contexts. The access to specific words associated with parts of the boat (e.g.,
use of AAC can also benefit communication partners by hull, mainsail, port, starboard), words for maintaining safety
facilitating the communicative interaction. To be used (e.g., life jacket, hoist, swell), common instructions (e.g., come
effectively, however, an AAC system must contain relevant about! to the starboard side; sandbank!), and the names of
vocabulary that adequately meets the individual needs of the people involved in running the activity. Surprisingly, in this
person who uses it (Beukelman, McGinnis, & Morrow, 1991), activity the participants used many of these fringe vocabulary
across a range of interactions with a variety of communi- words more frequently and commonly than the words
cation partners. contained in the core vocabulary, indicating the need for both
core and fringe vocabulary in any selected vocabulary.
The vocabulary needs of people
who use AAC Methods for selecting vocabulary
People who use AAC have the same vocabulary needs as Speech pathologists may use a variety of methods to facilitate
their peers without disability. The results of research the vocabulary selection process. These include the use of
involving both people with and without a disability indicate informants, environmental inventories, and word lists
that all people, regardless of age, gender, or nationality, use a (Yorkston, Honsinger, Dowden, & Marriner, 1989). The use of
relatively small core vocabulary. Core vocabularies are multiple methods or sources of vocabulary is likely to result
composed of frequently and commonly occurring words and in the selection of all important words and messages (Fallon,
show a high degree of commonality among users (Banajee, Light, & Paige, 2001).
Dicarlo, & Sticklin, 2003). They consist primarily of structure
words such as pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, auxiliary Using informants
verbs, modals, indefinites, and adverbs (Stuart, Beukelman, & Family members, teachers, colleagues, friends, and therapists
King, 1997). Core vocabularies are stable across contexts and often play an important role as informants when selecting
vocabulary for a person who uses AAC. The least structured vocabulary is likely to be valid and, at the same time, age and
approach to utilising informants is the “blank page” method. context appropriate. For example, a speech pathologist might
Informants are asked to write down all of the words and record the vocabulary used by an adult without a disability as
messages that they think might be useful to the person who she applies for a home loan at the bank in order to identify
uses AAC on a sheet of paper. No additional guidance is appropriate vocabulary for a client who uses AAC and who is
provided. More structured methods for utilising informants soon to make a similar application.
involve the use of categorical frameworks and vocabulary Ecological inventories can also assist speech pathologists in
checklists. Informants use a list of possible words or categories ensuring that they select vocabulary that is appropriate to a
of words (e.g., people, places, hobbies,) to guide the process variety of contexts and language genres (Balandin & Iacono,
(Fallon et al., 2001). This decision-making process is 1998b; Stuart, 1988). Stuart (1988) noted that people who use
inherently subjective, and participants tend to select too AAC may want to use slang to identify with different groups
many words just because they are there and may be useful. and to express a variety of messages. She cautioned that
Informants using the above methods tend to select nouns vocabulary that includes slang must be revised and updated
and other content words in the belief that they are valuable regularly as the use of outdated slang marks a person as
for functional communication and are easy to identify, easy to different and outside the group. Unless the person who will
teach, and easy to assess (Adamson, Romski, Deffenbach, &
use the vocabulary can be actively involved in the selection
Sevcik, 1992). A primary school teacher, for example, may
process, the speech pathologist using an ecological inventory
provide a student with a topic board containing symbols
still has to make subjective judgments about which words
representing materials that will be used during a craft
and messages to select and may focus on fringe vocabulary
activity. However, without other vocabulary items to enable
selection. The use of word lists may help ensure that core
requests for help, expression of preferences, and social
vocabulary is also included in the words and messages
engagement, the student will not be able to participate in the
activity to the same extent as peers without disability. selected.
The challenges faced by informants selecting relevant
vocabulary are compounded when they have little Using word lists
knowledge of the context in which the words and messages Word lists provide a rich source of core vocabulary and offer
they select may be used. A speech pathologist working with a a useful framework for selecting vocabulary for people who
child in a clinical setting on a fortnightly basis is unlikely to use AAC (Morrow, Mirenda, Beukelman, & Yorkston, 1993;
“guess” the words and messages that will be most useful to Stuart, 1988). A variety of lists is available, including lists
the child during lunchtime at school, let alone keep up with developed through the study of children and adults (e.g.,
the child’s changing interests, activities, and social networks. Banajee et al., 2003; Stuart et al., 1997). Increasingly, word lists
Consequently, all decisions about vocabulary for a person are available on-line (see table 1), providing a useful tool to
who uses AAC must include multiple informants, including if parents, therapists, and educators involved in the vocabulary
possible the person who will use the system, and must take selection process.
into account a range of individualised communicative con- However, caution and common sense must be used when
texts. selecting vocabulary from word lists. No single list is likely to
meet all the individualised communication needs of each
Using environmental and person who uses AAC (Yorkston, Dowden, Honsinger,
Marriner, & Smith, 1988). In addition, the use of a large
ecological inventories
composite word list may not be practical, particularly when a
Environmental and ecological inventories can be used to person is just learning to use AAC or when the AAC system
identify the communication opportunities and demands can store only a limited number of messages (Morrow et al,
within a particular environment or setting (Beukelman & 1993). Therefore, word lists are best used in conjunction with
Mirenda, 1998). Environmental inventories involve observing a range of other vocabulary selection methods (Beukelman,
the person who uses AAC in a particular environment (e.g., Jones, & Rowan, 1989).
preschool, workplace) and then working with informants to
identify relevant vocabulary. This method has advantages
over the blank page and categorical framework methods, as it Social validation
takes into account the environment in which communication The use of multiple vocabulary selection methods increases
occurs. Nevertheless, there is a reliance on the informant the likelihood that relevant words and messages will be
“guessing” what the individual might want and need to selected. Nevertheless, even the most comprehensive
communicate, which may result in the selection of the wrong approaches may not yield vocabulary that is socially valid.
words. Speech pathologists and others involved in the selection
Ecological inventories may result in more accurate process have a responsibility to ensure that the vocabulary
selection. They involve conducting a detailed analysis of the selected is constantly reviewed and updated to meet the
communicative demands, needs, and abilities of an individual’s current and future communication needs. This is
individual in a specific context, through identifying the particularly important in situations where the person using
vocabulary used by a peer of the same age. In this way, the the system cannot easily engage actively in the selection
Table 1. Examples of on-line vocabulary resources
Website URL
At Home with Gail M. Van Tatenhove http://www.vantatenhove.com
Barkley Memorial AAC Centres, The University of Nebraska http://aac.unl.edu/
AT Basics, University of Buffalo http://atto.buffalo.edu/
Dynavox Technologies http://www.dynavoxsys.com/

process, and when the AAC system can only store a limited Fallon, K. A., Light, J. C., & Paige, T. K. (2001). Enhancing
number of words and messages. A system that contains vocabulary selection for preschoolers who require
vocabulary that is outdated or no longer useful will not be augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). American
functional and may create a negative impression of the Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10(1), 81–94.
person who uses it. Light, J. C., Beukelman, D. R., & Reichle, J. (2003).
Communicative competence for individuals who use AAC: From
research to effective practice. Baltimore: Brookes.
Summary Morrow, D., Mirenda, P., Beukelman, D. R., & Yorkston, K.
Useful and appropriate vocabulary is a key to successful (1993). Vocabulary selection for communication systems: A
communication. Speech pathologists can play a valuable role comparison of three techniques. American Journal of Speech-
in facilitating the process of selecting the words and messages Language Pathology, 2(2), 19–30.
for inclusion on a person’s AAC system. Unfortunately, no Perry, A., Reilly, S., Cotton, S., Bloomberg, K., & Johnson, H.
one method is likely to yield all the right words. Vocabulary (2004). A demographic survey of people who have a disability
must be continually reviewed and updated to ensure the and complex communication needs in Victoria, Australia.
selection of not just “any old words” but individualised, Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing; 9(3):
relevant, and socially valid vocabulary. 259–71.
Stuart, S. (1988). Vocabulary selection: Augmentative
References communication. South Dakota State Speech-Language-Hearing
Journal, 31, 17–19.
Adamson, L. B., Romski, M. A., Deffenbach, K., & Sevcik, R.
Stuart, S., Beukelman, D. R., & King, J. (1997). Vocabulary
A. (1992). Symbol vocabulary and the focus of conversations:
use during extended conversations by two cohorts of older
Augmenting language development for youth with mental
adults. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 13(1),
retardation. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35(6),
40–47.
1333–1343.
Stuart, S., Vanderhoof, D., & Beukelman, D. R. (1993). Topic
Balandin, S., Berg, N., & Waller, A. (2006). Assessing the
and vocabulary use patterns of elderly women. Augmentative
loneliness of older people with cerebral palsy. Disability and
and Alternative Communication, 9(2), 95–110.
Rehabilitation, 28(8), 469–479.
Yorkston, K., Dowden, P., Honsinger, M., Marriner, N., &
Balandin, S., & Iacono, T. (1998a). A few well-chosen words.
Smith, K. (1988). A comparison of standard and user
Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 14(3), 147–161.
vocabulary lists. Augmentative & Alternative Communication,
Balandin, S., & Iacono, T. (1998b). Topics of meal-break
4(4), 189–210.
conversations. Augmentative & Alternative Communication,
Yorkston, K., Honsinger, M., Dowden, P., & Marriner, N.
14(3), 131–146.
Balandin, S., & Iacono, T. (1999). Crews, wusses, and (1989). Vocabulary selection: A case report. Augmentative &
whoppas: The core and fringe vocabulary of Australian Alternative Communication, 5(2), 101–108.
mealtime conversations. Augmentative and Alternative
Communication, 15, 95–109. David Trembath is a lecturer in communication and life-
Banajee, M., Dicarlo, C., & Sticklin, S. B. (2003). Core long disability at The University of Sydney. Leigha Dark
vocabulary determination for toddlers. Augmentative and works as a speech pathologist at The Spastic Centre of
Alternative Communication, 19(2), 67–73. NSW and is a PhD candidate at The University of
Beukelman, D. R., Jones, R., & Rowan, M. (1989). Frequency Sydney. Associate Professor Susan Balandin is an
of word usage by nondisabled peers in integrated preschool NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. Her research interests
classrooms. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 5(4), centre on people with life-long disability and complex
243–248. communication needs who are ageing, health interactions
Beukelman, D. R., McGinnis, J., & Morrow, D. (1991). for people with life-long disability, and AAC.
Vocabulary selection in Augmentative and Alternative
Communication. Augmentative & Alternative Communication,
7(3), 171–185. Correspondence to:
Beukelman, D. R., & Mirenda, P. (1998). Augmentative and David Trembath
alternative communication: Management of severe communication School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
disorders in children and adults. Baltimore: Brookes. The University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe NSW 1825
Dark, L., & Balandin, S. (2006) Prediction and selection of phone: 02 9351 9870
vocabulary for two leisure activities. Manuscript submitted for fax: 02 9351 9163
publication. email: [email protected]
As a student member of the Association you will receive copies of publications,

access to CPD events and the National Conference at member rates,
be kept informed of what’s happening in the profession
and have plenty of opportunity to network.
Why not join as a student member today and be entitled to a special rate
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For more information see www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
WORDS! WORDS! WORDS!

Talking with teachers about vocabulary
Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly
6. will support the development of key concepts in maths

Vocabulary is a key influence on progress in many and science;
aspects of learning and literacy. Knowing how to talk 7. has been shown to influence the development of
with teachers about vocabulary is an important tool for friendships and social relationships; and
those speech pathologists working in education settings. 8. underpins successful classroom instruction and
This paper shares ideas and experiences gained through
discussion.
conducting workshops for teachers about oral language
in the classroom.
1. Oral and written language –
Keywords:
demonstrating the link?
Vocabulary is a key to oral and written language competence
classroom intervention,
– both in the ability to express oneself and also in how well
communication with teachers, we can comprehend what we hear and read. Many teachers
linking oral and written language, see the development of written language as their main
vocabulary teaching priority. It is therefore important that we “engage”
teachers by demonstrating the link between oral vocabulary
Words! and the student’s performance in both early reading
Words! Words! acquisition skills and reading comprehension. We utilise a
I’m so sick of words! simple written text such as the passage below and through a
I get words all day through; series of comprehension questions we analyse and demon-
First from him, now from you! strate the potential assumptions and pitfalls for a child’s
Is that all you blighters can do? understanding. In this way, teachers gain valuable insight
Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady) into the link between oral language competence and reading
and comprehension.
T his is how many of our clients with speech and language
problems feel every day in the classroom. We understand
their communication difficulties and are not surprised that
Sally and Rebecca went on a school excursion to the museum on
Friday. The group was taken by Miss Smith. The two friends
they feel overwhelmed by the language demands. We also were tired after the trip.
know that good oral language skills and in particular, a rich Who were the two friends?
and robust vocabulary will support them in their learning. So Where did they go on Friday?
how do we help these students and their teachers to realise Who was Miss Smith?
that vocabulary is more than “just words”? What made them tired?
Over the past ten years “Love and Reilly” have had the
privilege of working with teachers in workshops across the
country. These workshops have aimed to: 2. The cues to what?
1. promote understanding of oral language and how it The teachers in our workshops are often surprised to realise
impacts on literacy and learning in the classroom; that the reading cues they are already familiar with and
2. give insight into the difficulties encountered by “the child utilise frequently with written language overlap and reflect
at risk”; and the core components of oral language, namely the form,
3. demonstrate practical ways of addressing language in the content and use. For example, teachers often use semantic
classroom. cues to prompt children’s early reading, “What word would
We have shared ideas with teachers about oral language make sense? Can you think of another word for that?” To respond
and literacy and they in turn have shared with us their ideas successfully to such cues the child must make use of
and experiences, their concerns and successes with the vocabulary knowledge and experience, word associations
students in their classrooms. This article does not attempt to and have the ability to retrieve words from their oral
present you with new, cutting edge research, but is rather an language “store”.
attempt to share twelve tips or thoughts regarding talking with
teachers about language and vocabulary in particular.
The importance of vocabulary can not be overestimated. A 3. Talking the talk
broad and flexible vocabulary: Most of the tasks in teaching literacy in the classroom require
1. has been shown to have a reciprocal and cyclical students to be meta-linguistic. That is, they are required to
relationship with reading; think about, analyse and talk about language itself – sounds,
2. is linked to listening and reading comprehension; words, meanings, grammar and large passages of text.
3. leads to growth in phonological awareness as meanings Focusing and “brainstorming” on words, their meanings,
are refined; synonyms, opposites, word origins and sound structure relies
4. activates schema and background knowledge upon which on meta-linguistic awareness.
we can integrate new knowledge; Teachers need to appreciate that these are not inbuilt skills,
5. is an important ingredient in the mastery of literate and that many children in their classrooms will need to be
language; stepped through the process gradually with very explicit

explanations of the tasks. Learning to “talk the talk” takes some preschoolers with small and others with large
time, patience and practice. vocabularies. Rather than closing this gap with school in-
struction, the word knowledge gap becomes even wider as
these children move through the school years. Studies have
4. Not just one vocabulary! shown that children with specific language impairments have
When some teachers talk about vocabulary they are referring particular difficulty learning and retaining new words and
solely to the child’s written vocabulary. However, it is useful that they may require many more exposure to words before
to talk of four different vocabularies: speaking, listening, these words are understood and used in their own com-
reading and writing vocabularies which may differ in the munications (Oetting, Rice, & Swank, 1999).
depth and breadth of knowledge and flexibility of use.
8. Knowing a word
5. Building networks of meaning To really know a word, students must learn about its sounds,
A word is really a network of meanings. We have found that how to pronounce it, its meaning/s and how it is used in
teachers respond positively to demonstrations of how a single sentences, and later how to read and spell it. In our
word is really an integral part of broader concepts and workshops we often introduced this notion by asking the
networks of meaning. For example, the word green is linked teachers in the audience “What do you know about the word e.g.,
with colour, vegetables, conservation, Ireland, political party and circumference?” As they brainstorm responses we group their
grass. It is also associated with the more abstract concepts of answers to lead a discussion about key areas of lexical
inexperience, unripe or envious. When we work with
representation as described by Stackhouse and Wells (1997).
children on vocabulary we should aim to make these
A superficial knowledge of a word may be reflected in a
connections. Not only will this assist them to learn new
child’s spelling difficulties, tasks that require rapid retrieval
words, but the research suggests that these meaning networks
of naming, and in word finding problems.
play an important role in word retrieval and reading fluency
It is also useful for teachers and students to understand
(Wolf, Miller, & Donnelly, 2000; German, 1994).
that words can be “known” on different levels. Some words
For older children, learning about morphology is an
we have only a “hunch”, for example, belligerent or
important avenue for vocabulary learning, particularly after
grade three. If children brainstorm and discuss all the words mendacious, while with other words their meanings are
that are formed using the word sign – signed, signs, signal, appreciated deeply in a wide variety of contexts.
resign, design, designer, resignation, signature, signatory – they Say it … and say it again! As vocabulary grows, many new
become more aware of word meanings and associated words words are introduced that have a sound structure similar to
and as well gain insight into spelling peculiarities such as the other words. Consider these words: conversation, conservation,
silent g in the word sign. Deep knowledge of one word really consternation, constellation, constipation. Words that are not
teaches many other words and a large proportion of the new articulated and stored accurately are unlikely to be retrieved
words acquired by school aged children are morphologically and used confidently on future occasions. Consequently, we
complex (Nagy & Anderson, 1984). emphasise with teachers how crucial it is for word learning,
accurate spelling and decoding, to support a student’s efforts
in pronouncing new words (Wolf-Nelson, 2002).
6. Word learning – Not an
easy task 9. So many words to learn
While the growth in vocabulary may appear to be spon-
Normally developing young children show a remarkable
taneous and natural in young children, it is important to keep
growth in vocabulary during the early years of life; indeed,
in mind the complexity of learning vocabulary (Wolf-Nelson,
children of school age learn about 3,000 words per year. The
2002). We often teach workshop participants a made-up
average high school graduate will need a working vocabulary
word, for example “spizz”. We do a quick brainstorm of
of 80,000 words. Yet only about 300 of these words will be
participant’s initial thoughts and then verbally provide the
learned each year through organised classroom instruction.
word within in a sentence. (When bath-time was over, Jack said
Most of the other words are acquired through reading and
to his Mum, “Water was spizzing in there.”) Discussion and
feedback ensue as participants try to “guess” the word’s incidental learning. For the language/learning disabled child
meaning. It is interesting to see their first attempts as they who also makes a slow or tortuous start with early literacy,
make use of the context, sentence structure as well as the these avenues for word learning are often severely restricted.
phonological information in the word. We then provide It is vital, therefore, for the parents of these children to make
further context and use the word in another sentence. This the time to continue reading to their children and engaging in
enables participants to refine their understanding of the word discussion about the stories and the words they find in them
and its use in different contexts. Finally we provide another (Justice, Meier, & Walpole, 2005).
sentence which illustrates an abstract idiomatic usage of the
word. In this way the teachers learn about “fast” and “slow
mapping” of words and gain some insight into what might be
10. But what sort of vocabulary
difficult for a child with language learning difficulties is needed?
(McGregor, Freidman, Reilly, & Newman, 2002). Some words are adequate for informal familiar interactions
but are inadequate for expressing the ideas and thought
7. “The rich get richer and the processes that become increasingly important and abstract as
students progress through the grades at school (Nippold,
poor get poorer” 1998). It is essential to academic progress and the transition to
Research from the US National Institute of Health (1999) has a literate style of language usage that vocabulary receives
shown that there is a significant vocabulary gap between specific emphasis in the classroom program. In the workshop
format we have found it useful to demonstrate sentences that absurd, necessary, freezes, co-incidence, fortunate. Tier 3:
are in the oral versus literate style so that teachers can infrequently used content words necessary for understanding
discover for themselves some of the features of literate a particular topic, e.g., galaxy, lava, peninsula.
language. For example: It is suggested that teachers of school aged children focus
on tier 2 words, as a rich knowledge of words in this tier has a
The meal was yummy.
powerful impact on verbal functioning. We have found in our
The fillet mignon tasted delicious.
workshops that asking teachers to identify tier 2 words from
They said they’d come. a story book is an effective way of getting them started
The group announced that they would attend. thinking about vocabulary targets. Tier 2 words are also the
focus of the Text Talk literature based program of vocabulary
He went to the shed and got some wood and rope.
instruction aiming to enhance reading comprehension skills
He tiptoed into the tumbling down shed, where he found
(Beck & McKeown, 2005).
some long planks and some very strong rope.
Another approach to vocabulary is topic centred. It
Passages from popular fiction picture books can be used to involves pre-teaching a core of words that are essential for the
further illustrate some of the features of literate language understanding of particular topic. For example within a topic
style, such as the change in word order, specific vocabulary of ancient Egypt, activities centred around the words Pharaoh,
including linguistic and cognitive verbs, expanded noun vizier, hieroglyphics, pyramids, nomads, sphinx, River Nile will
phrases, the use of connectors, adverbs and colourful promote understanding of the topic and engagement during
language including similes, metaphors and idioms. lesson time. In addition teachers could focus on features of
Double trouble. English is rich in double meanings and literate language in direct vocabulary activities, for example,
figurative language, and this often presents a problem for the use of thinking verbs, connectors or rich descriptive
those learning English as a second language or for those with language. Word focus should not be confined to the one
a language difficulty. On one occasion, prior to a workshop classroom. An example of a successful collaborative whole-
commencing, we transcribed sentences heard as the school vocabulary program is described by Hadley,
participants arrived – “I had a close shave.” “It was bucketing Simmerman, Long and Luna (2000).
down.” “I’ve been running round in circles all day”.” Talk about
straight from the horse’s mouth.” Reading these out a little later
certainly highlighted the point that words don’t always mean
12. The teacher’s attitude makes
what we initially say that they mean! a difference
Another useful practical workshop activity is to take a By modelling our own interest in words and enthusiasm for
word such as back and brainstorm with teachers the way this learning new vocabulary, speech pathologists and teachers
word is used, illustrating how the meaning can change. For can motivate students so that they want to become “word
example: backstop, back up (drive in a car, computer), back down, detectives”. For example, you may mention an unusual word
backpack, back out, back into, back strap (lamb), back (a horse), stab that you have read; be seen to be looking a word up in the
in the back, you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours, full back, half dictionary; share a word that you have difficulty pro-
back, … Children also need to be introduced to this concept nouncing; create fun and motivating activities that focus on
from an early age so they become open to the possibility of vocabulary development.
alternative meanings and nuances in word usage. Games and Children’s efforts to learn words should be rewarded. From
books that highlight this aspect of language can be useful to verbal acknowledgement to certificates, students should be
all children in the class (Love & Reilly, 1997; 2005). rewarded for an attitude of curiosity about new words and
their meanings and their efforts to use vocabulary. Perhaps
teachers could introduce an award for the “Vocabulary Star”
11. Which words to choose? of the week.
Robust vocabulary instruction has been the focus of much We shouldn’t forget the joke! Jokes are a wonderful
research and innovation of vocabulary programs in schools in resource for classroom discussion of words – their sound
the United States – led by Dr Isabel Beck and Dr Margaret structure, multiple meanings and also their idiomatic or
McKeown. Three tiers of vocabulary are described (Beck, figurative use. Examples: Where would you go if your dog was
McKeown, & Kucan, 2002). Tier 1: common words that rarely sick? To the dog-tor. Or Why shouldn’t you listen to chooks? They
require specific instruction, for example, play, come, mouse. use fowl language. Many joke books also have illustrations
Tier 2: high frequency words that can be related to concepts which will support students as discussion takes place about
and situations across a variety of domains, for example, what made the joke funny. Vocabulary learning can be fun!
As naturally competent language users, teachers should
not be surprised that it takes extra effort (and meta-linguistic
awareness on their part) to understand and program for the
"These thoughts did not come in vocabulary needs of their students. We should encourage
teachers to “stop and take the words out of the air”, using
any verbal formulation. I rarely practical resources that will engage the students and provide
a tangible focus for vocabulary learning and extension.
think in words at all. A thought However, both teachers and students need to be know why
comes, and I may try to express they are doing the activity. Tasks can and should move
between oral and written genres. Some activities may begin
it in words afterward." as an oral activity but then move on to involve writing or
reading. Alternatively, many opportunities for learning new
Albert Einstein words can occur through story book reading (Justice, Meier,
& Walpole, 2005).

Summing up Justice, L. M., Meier, J., & Walpole, S. (2005). Learning new
words from storybooks: An efficacy study with at-risk
We should encourage teachers to aim to: kindergarteners. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in
1. maximise opportunities to learn vocabulary; Schools, 26, 17–32.
2. directly teach selected vocabulary; Love, E. & Reilly, S. (1997). Time for talking. Melbourne:
3. consider pre-teaching of core vocabulary for “at risk” Pearson Education.
students; Love, E. & Reilly, S. (2005). Word journey. Melbourne: Love
4. plan for vocabulary instruction and accumulate tangible & Reilly Speech and Language Products.
resources; Nagy, W. E., & Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words
are there in printed school English? Reading Research
5. model enthusiasm for words and their own strategies for
Quarterly, 19, 304 –330.
vocabulary building;
Nippold, M. A. (1998). The literate lexicon. In M. A.
6. encourage and empower students to become self learners;
Nippold (Ed.), Later language development: Ages nine through
7. reward effort and performance in vocabulary learning; nineteen (pp. 29–38). Austin, Texas: Pro Ed.
8. work as a team with other specialists and parents to McGregor, K. K., Freidman, R. M., Reilly, R. M., &
promote vocabulary. Newman, R. M. (2002). Semantic representation and naming
More specifically teachers and speech pathologists should: in young children. Journal of Speech and Language Research, 45,
1. choose words that are useful and applicable in a wide 232–246.
range of settings; National Institute of Health (USA). (1999). www.nichd.
2. choose words with instructional potential; nih.gov/publications
Oetting, J. B., Rice, M. L., & Swank, L. K. (1995). Quick
3. give rich and meaty explanations of word meanings;
incidental learning (QUIL) of words by school age children
4. provide multiple exposures – “re-visiting” the target
with and without SLI. Journal of Speech and Hearing research,
words often and in many different contexts;
38, 434–445.
5. teach “networks” of meanings – elaborating on associated Stackhouse, J., & Wells, B. (1997). Children’s speech and
words and meanings; literacy difficulties – A psycholinguistic framework. London:
6. provide practice opportunities for the target words Whurr Publications.
outside the classroom; Wolf, M., Miller, L., & Donnelly, K. (2000). Retrieval,
7. encourage child friendly definitions; automaticity, vocabulary, elaboration, orthography (RAVE-O):
8. use story books for planning and implementing vocabu- A comprehensive, fluency based reading intervention
lary instruction. program. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(4), 375–386.
Wolf-Nelson, N. (2002). Activating the vocabulary sponge:
What happens when authors need words to tell their stories.
References ASHA Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, 9, 33.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing
words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford
Press. Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly are writers and educators
Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2005). Text talk – Vocabulary with a background in speech pathology and teaching. As
and comprehension program. Scholastic. www.teacher. “Love and Reilly” they develop practical language
scholastic.com/products/texttalk resources and provide professional education for teachers
German, D. J. (1994). Word-finding difficulties in children and speech pathologists. In 2000 they were the joint
and adolescents. In G. P. Wallach, & K. G. Butler (Eds.), recipients of the Mona Tobias Award (Learning Dif-
ficulties Australia) for outstanding service in the field of
Language learning disabilities in school-age children and
special education.
adolescents (pp. 323–347). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Hadley, P., Simmerman, A., Long, M. , & Luna, M. (2000).
Facilitating language development for inner-city children: Elizabeth Love and Sue Reilly
Experimental evaluation of a collaborative classroom-based Love and Reilly – Speech and Language Products
intervention. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 64 Rowell Ave, Camberwell Vic 3124
31, 280–295. phone: 03 9889 7498 and 03 5255 2033
Electronic copies
of ACQ
Speech Pathology Australia members are able to access past and present
issues of ACQ via the Speech Pathology Australia website.
www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
Hard copies are available to everyone (members and non members)
at a cost by emailing [email protected].
POWERFUL LANGUAGE, BAD LANGUAGE

Libby Clark
W e live in a world increasingly full of, and influenced by,

visual images. They come to us in newspapers and
magazines, on billboards and TV, and now through SMS and
grounds and television impact on the development of
important social ideas such as “respect” and “community”, I
am forced to reconcile my own swearing habits with these
the web. They are beautiful, annoying, readily replaced and concerns.
they are arguably changing the nature of education and
learning. However, despite the growing power of visual
imagery, words are still the most powerful form of com-
Definitions
munication we have. Most definitions of swearing revolve around the use of taboo
Words are powerful in their ubiquity. Whether spoken or words in any given language and culture. Taboos vary
written, words are the tools by which we “do” just about between cultures and even between groups within cultures
everything we need to do in our lives. Without words, or the and they are important in defining what sort of behaviour is
voice to give weight to the words, people find themselves acceptable within a particular group of people. Exploring the
without power. But the power that comes from being “use- question “What is a swear word nowadays?” shows us clearly
ful” and “handy” is not the only power words have. Words that taboos are changing. As taboos change, so do patterns of
are versatile little packages of meaning – and the subtle language use connected with taboos.
semantic differences between words (i.e., nice vs wonderful
vs fantastic) can have a powerful impact on the listener. One Some things change, others stay the same
group of words, known as performatives, are so powerful Broadly speaking, swearing relates primarily to three areas in
they actually constitute an action being completed simply Anglo-Australian culture: sexual activity, bodily functions
through the word being spoken. In phrases such as “I and religious beliefs. Another word for swearing is
nominate …” or “This meeting is adjourned”, the action is “profanity”, and though not used that much these days, it
carried out through the saying of the words “nominate” and gives us an interesting link to the history of swearing. The
“adjourned”. Another such performative is the word word “profane” comes from the Latin word meaning “out-
“swear”. When we swear an oath of allegiance or swear to tell the side the temple”. From a historical perspective, most of our
truth, or even swear in a new parliament, we are using the word swear words can be related back to the use of religious terms
as a performative. I find it intriguing then that this same “outside the temple” or outside of a religious context. A brief
verbal “package” (word) is used both for formal, serious look at just a few such profanities gives you some idea of how
occasions in our culture, but also to denote what many subtly we change the sound or shape of the original so as to
consider to be the worst aspects of language – profanity and mask, to some extent at least, the word origin and thus avoid
obscenity. the “taboo” associated with the use of these words outside a
In the remainder of this article, I would like to explore how religious context.
our use of swearing and other aspects of “bad language”
damnation damn; darn (more common in US English than
change over time. First, however, I would like to explain why
Australian English)
I believe swearing is a reasonable topic for a speech
Jesus geez; gee willikins; gee whiz; crikey
pathology journal.
god’s truth strewth
Swearing occurs predominantly in spoken language. While
we are more likely to see swear words in print in 2006 (with “Bloody”, a variation of either “by god’s blood” or “by our
or without the symbols such as ** which only partially hide lady”, became known in the 19th century, as “the great
the full shape of the word!) than we would have ten years Australian adjective” particularly through its use by bullock
ago, swearing is most common in spoken interaction with drivers who had a great reputation for both swearing and the
others, or in talk to self. It is one of the very few aspects of more colourful cursing (calling for divine punishment). In
language that is so heavily weighted towards the spoken. As 1914, the word created a storm in Britain when Eliza Doolittle,
such, swearing presents a timely reminder of the multiple in a public performance of Pygmalion, said “…not bloody likely.
ways in which spoken language is shaped by context and by I’m taking a taxi”. Over the years between 1914 and 2006, the
the relationship between speaker and listener. In addition, word has attained “common usage” status as a marker of
swearing reminds us of how the meanings of words and the mild frustration; to such an extent that the majority of people
way we use them change over time. Our professional focus would no longer have any sense of the taboo that this word
on language tends to be more on isolated aspects of language connects to (god’s blood) and many no longer consider it a
(phonetics, morphology, semantics, syntax, etc.) rather than “swear” word as such. Likewise, the word “damn” would
the way language is used in context. generally pass as an expression of frustration rather than a
A more personal reason for my interest in swearing is that I word that breaks some taboo. This was not the case 60 years
belong to a generation of people, and of women in particular, ago in the 1940s, when a furore was caused with the final
that took to swearing with something approaching relish. scene of Gone with the Wind where Rhett Butler utters the
Where women of my mother ’s generation had very clear famous final words in the film, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a
ideas about the relationship between swearing and personal damn!”
character, these boundaries are now much more blurred. When I was a child, “drat” (from “god rot it”) was as far as
Women of all educational and social backgrounds have you were “allowed” to go; anything stronger heard by a
greater freedom when it comes to swearing than was true parent was likely to result in having your mouth washed out
even 20 years ago. While I have serious concerns about how with soap. In the playground, we were a bit cheekier, and you
current rates of swearing in public contexts such as school could say “chase the bug around the table” really quickly and

thus swear by default! A colleague tells me that at her school, the dog – because a person saying the word would have
the thing was to underline all the “naughty” words in the given the word more power. Nevertheless, these ads show us
dictionary! that the referential meaning of the word “bugger” is no
longer very strong, and that you can “get away with” swear-
Different types of meaning ing if you do it well!
A word which definitely is still on most people’s register of The furore created in the British media following the use of
“swear words” is the “f” word. Yet in a couple of more recent the word “bloody” in the recent campaign to encourage more
legal cases this word has been deemed an “ordinary response UK tourists to come to Australia is another interesting case of
of frustration not an obscenity”. In part this situation arises “acceptable” swearing, though this example shows that
because of the dual potential of swear words to have words do not have the same “tone” or meaning in different
referential meanings and/or emotive meanings. If a word is cultures – even cultures that share the same language base. It
deemed to be used in a referential way (referring to the act or would appear that the status of “bloody” as a swear word is
thing) then that is deemed obscene; using a word in an much higher in Britain than it is in Australia, although mostly
emotive way is not deemed to be legally “obscene”. The the concern sprang from the fact that a government agency
likelihood of a term being considered “emotive” vs “referential” was sanctioning the use of even a mild swear word in a
also depends on the way such a term is used in the broader highly public context – that of advertising a country to
community. Hence, in another court case where the defendant another country. Besides the issue of whether the word still
called the judge a “wanker” under his breath, he was not counts as a swear word, there was also a difference in per-
deemed to be in contempt of court because the word no ception of intent. Australians use the phrase “Where the
longer bears a strong referential meaning in the way it is bloody hell are you?” to indicate something like “justifiable
commonly used in our society. frustration”. A gloss on this phrase would give us something
like “I’ve done everything you asked me to do, everything is
ready for you – so what’s keeping you?”The Brits seemed to
Swearing and context take the intent behind the word “bloody” as something
One of the most important aspects of swearing is the context approaching anger rather than mere mild frustration.
in which the swearing occurs. Changes in context shape what
you can say when and to whom, and even in what tone of Swearing with intent
voice. There are more constraints on swearing in public
One of the more fascinating aspects of swearing is the very
places than in private; more constraints in formal vs informal
limited nature of research on the topic. We could hazard a
settings; more constraints between unfamiliar vs familiar
number of possible reasons: the taboo nature of the topic, or
people. Though there is probably an abiding constraint about
because it is one of the most “spoken” elements of a language
swearing in front of our parents even though they fall into the
and therefore not readily available for analysis, or even
“familiar” group!
because it would be difficult to get a grant to study it (!). In
We can all be offended by hearing people use words we
her recent book Language Most Foul (2004), Ruth Wajnryb
may have actually used ourselves, mostly because we per-
provides an interesting exploration of the different possible
ceive the use of certain words in public is still unacceptable.
intentions behind swearing. Her ideas are summarised in
The difficulty is deciding what is appropriate and when.
Table 1.
There are no hard and fast rules; it all depends on context.
When we start to analyse the different purposes or intents
The “context” that exists for a few seconds after I drop a brick
behind the use of swearing, we begin to see that it is not an
on my foot, or hit my fingernail again with a hammer is such
amorphous mass. For me, these differences indicate that we
that I can use words in public that I could not use in the
need to be more mindful of the intent behind the use of
ordinary flow of conversation.
swearing when we comment on it or judge people because of
The famous “bugger!” utility ads are a good example of the
their use of swear words.
“acceptable” proliferation of swearing into the public
domain. Most people would have described them as a bit
naughty or cheeky but acceptably and recognisably “Aus- Conclusion
tralian”. I’d argue that these ads might have not worked as I hope that this brief exploration of swearing has caused you
well if they’d had a person as a central character, rather than to stop and think a little more deeply about how swearing
Table 1. Intentions of swearing
Intention Description Example

Abusive swearing derogatory words directed at somebody or something that answer was c**p
Expletive word or phrase used in a reflex manner as emotional release bugger
Obscenity swearing with reference to body parts and functions s**t; d**k; p**
Vulgarity referring to sensitive or taboo topics in public places “what a hot ass”
Profanity vulgar use of sacred term; profanity differs from blasphemy Holy Toledo Batman
in that there is no deliberate intention to vilify
Blasphemy deliberate use of words to vilify anything connected to religion “Jesus Christ!”
Curse expressing the wish that evil befall another May your children all burn in hell
Euphemistic swearing replacing an offensive term with one that is seen as gosh! instead of God!
unacceptable willy instead of penis
Libby Clark lectures in linguistics and applied linguistics

in the speech pathology program at Charles Sturt Uni-
"We are masters of the unsaid versity, NSW. She also presents a regular linguistics
comment segment on local ABC Regional radio.
words, but slaves of those we
let slip out." Correspondence to:
Libby Clark
Winston Churchill Lecturer, Speech Pathology Program
School of Community Health
Charles Sturt University,
changes over time as well as when and how you swear and Albury. NSW. 2640
what your intentions are when you do so. In our personal Australia.
lives, we may do as we please but in our public or profes- Phone: 02 6041 6747
sional lives there will be times when swearing with clients is Fax: 02 6051 6727
acceptable and times when it is definitely not. In a world that Email: [email protected]
encourages young people to challenge authority, we need to
teach our younger people how to do this in ways other than References
swearing or we run the risk of being ground down by an Kidman, A. (2001). What is swearing. Last updated 23 March
increasing frequency of swearing. Swearing is also a powerful 2003, viewed 17 May 2006. www.gusworld.com.au/nrc/
reminder that all words change over time and that learning to thesis/ch-1.htm
use any word is not as simple as being able to physically say Ludowyk, F. (2001). The anatomy of swearing. Viewed 17
the word. Competent use of any word, particularly of swear May 2006. http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/ozwords/
words, involves learning very complex and shifting rules for April%202001/Swearing.html
what words “work” in a particular context and what the Wajnryb, R. (2004). Language most foul. Crows Nest, NSW:
social repercussions are for a particular choice of word. Allen & Unwin.
SOLVING CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS

Tips for the neophyte, apprentice, novice, beginner, rookie
Suze Leitão
T he person usually credited with inventing the first cross-

word is Arthur Wynne, who emigrated to America from
England. He created a ‘wordcross’ which appeared in a New
Probably the most common type of clue is the anagram, in
which the letters of the straight are re-arranged somewhere in
the wordplay. How do you know when an anagram is
York newspaper in 1913 and was shaped like a diamond. The signalled? Just think of the huge number of words that can
name changed to ‘crossword’ and these grew in popularity mean ‘re-arrange’ – from the traditional ‘badly’ through
over the next few months, really taking off when the first words such as: involved, possibly, confused, analysed, wrong,
book of crosswords was published in 1924. It was in Britain, deployed, and in some cases, there is no signal word at all!
however, that the notion of a more difficult version – the Pile made by breaking the law (6) (wealth)
cryptic crossword – emerged. Compilers used pseudonyms
such as one of the earliest who called himself ‘Torquemada’ What about other devices? A common one is the hidden
after the ‘Grand Inquisitor’ in the Spanish Inquisition, which word which can be signalled by clues such as ‘in, inside,
sums up the torture many feel when trying to solve a clue! within, some’.
Material used in many long skirts (5) (nylon)
So, what is a ‘cryptic’ crossword? Then there is the reversal, where a clue suggests you turn
In a cryptic crossword, a clue usually consists of a basic the word back-to-front;
definition – the straight answer (usually to be found at the
Tom returns with witty saying (3) (mot)
beginning or end of the clue), and any number of definitions
of parts of the answer (the cryptic part, the wordplay). One the double meaning clue where you have to step back from
answer will fit both the wordplay and the straight – when the obvious and reflect on the less likely;
you find it, you will know it is the correct answer, though it
Locksmiths? (12) (hairdressers)
can sometimes be hard to work out why!
the homophone, with its potentially misleading more
Eventually true to the beat (2, 4) (in time) ‘usual’ meaning;
One key trick is the notion of ‘the mental comma’. In other Die of cold (3,4) (ice cube)
words, the clue may not parse logically, the pause or comma
may actually occur in an unexpected place. and many others such as the first or last letter clues which
may use key words like initially/first/finally; or where the
Beats striking cricket scores (7) (outruns) answer sounds like a part or all of the clue.

We heard vowel sounds (3,3,1) (you and I) http://www.puzzlepeople.com.au/cryptic_about.htm

Sometimes there is no straight, the clue simply consist of http://home.gil.com.au/~vburton/cryptics/intro.htm
cryptic parts that are added together! With this wintery weather, let me leave you with a clue:
Bravo, illness out achieving oral outcomes! (6, 9)
(You’ll have to work this one out on your own!
Why do crosswords?
Well, they certainly extend one’s vocabulary (the theme of
this issue) let alone stimulate the mind! And of course, there
is a whole vocabulary of cryptic words and abbreviations to
learn.
“The right word may
Try http://website.lineone.net/~eddiexword/AbbrevA_C.
html for a start.
be effective, but no
We hope you enjoy this, our first (and probably last) word was ever
attempt. Given the topic area, we can give you one clue, and
it’s a straight one! The answers will be within the theme of
speech pathology.
as effective
So, go and get your dictionary, thesaurus and any other as a rightly timed
reference books you may need.
If you want to log onto the web try these for a start: pause.”
http://www.pennypress.com/solvers/cryptic.shtml Mark Twain
http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk/xwdbooks.html
VERBAL SOLUTIONS!
Suze Leitão, Paul Norman and Cori Williams
1 2 ACROSS
4 Sounds like a misdeed involving nails (6)
3 4 7 Rescheduled time soon required for inter-
personal pragmatic success (8)
5 6 9 Call up on this in segmental view (5)
10 Father deceased (6)
7 12 Sound pastoral approach initially for profes-
sional association (3)
8 9
13 Feed flames around rats initially to pet feline
10 11
(6)
15 Hope men aren’t a minimal unit (7)
12 16 Army not empty deployed through measure of
mobility (12)
13 14 17 Initially causes verbal aphasia (3)
18 Bird that follows every mouthful (7)
15 19 Vocal vibrator as sungod returns in wild cat (6)
21 Oh! Polygon soundly re-organised the system (9)
22 It heard rumbling within! (7)
16 DOWN
1 This container of the past can record the
current account (4,7)
2 Express love in illicit behaviour (5)
17 18 3 Sounds like he’d mediate a deal in his area (5)
5 Unable to hear inside, after explosion (4)
6 We can find out lots from the sanest mess (10)
8 Wernicke resides in this abandoned half globe
19 20 21
(4,10)
10 He (or she) loves the sounds of analysed hot
nice pain! (11)
22 11 In which will I speak thuth? (4)
13 Oral delivery (6)
14 Bicuspid, molar, incisor, canine! (5)
20 Something smells in keno set-up (4)

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Speech Pathology Australia

Print Post Approved PP381667/01074 ISSN 1441-6727 Volume 8, Number 3 2006

Also in this issue

FROM THE EDITORS

2007 National Conference

102 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT AND WORD LEARNING

test items are potentially biased. Culturally and linguistically

USING NONWORD REPETITION IN

T ypically developing children acquire new words rapidly.

106 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

Would you like to

108 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH READING

meanings from context should be an important part of

Keywords: Incidental word learning

T he importance of vocabulary knowledge for reading suc-

110 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

112 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

A wealth of information is available on the typical

Table 1. Participant characteristics

Andya Mike Peter Megan Emma Kate

Table 2. Percentage of polysyllabic words produced correctly by each participant

Andy Mike Peter Megan Emma Kate

B = Broad transcription, N = Narrow transcription

114 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

Table 4. Examples of the participants’ productions Conclusion

Table 5. Results of paired t-tests (2-tailed) between SW References

116 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

WHY ANY OLD WORDS WON’T DO

participants. Few new words are added to a core vocabulary

R esults of a recent Victorian epidemiological study in-

Table 1. Examples of on-line vocabulary resources

118 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

As a student member of the Association you will receive copies of publications,

WORDS! WORDS! WORDS!

6. will support the development of key concepts in maths

120 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

122 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

POWERFUL LANGUAGE, BAD LANGUAGE

W e live in a world increasingly full of, and influenced by,

124 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

Table 1. Intentions of swearing

Intention Description Example

Libby Clark lectures in linguistics and applied linguistics

SOLVING CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS

T he person usually credited with inventing the first cross-

126 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA

We heard vowel sounds (3,3,1) (you and I) http://www.puzzlepeople.com.au/cryptic_about.htm

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