Meaningful Words and Vocabulary Development

I really enjoyed the Yopp and Yopp article for this week because I can relate personally to its content. The Yopps proposed that wide reading is a necessity in developing vocabulary because "written texts typically provides multiple exposures to words and an opportunity to experience words in meaningful contexts." They contrasted this with the oral language which is assisted by facial expressions, gestures, and intonation that help portray meaning, making more specific or advanced language choices not as important. While both oral and written language are important in acquiring new words, I personally agree with the Yopp's assertion that written language is superior in exposing students to rich vocabulary. Just recently I began reading children's chapter books and young adult novels for fun (thank you information sciences). I hated reading in school, and consequently rarely read in high school. When I visited my parents about a month ago, my dad pointed out that I spoke differently than in the past. I inquired about this, thinking he was referring to my accent, and he said that it was my language: I sounded more articulate. I recognize this too as I find myself using more meaningful words both in my writing and oral language. Even leisure reading serves an educational purpose- how cool!

 Consider the missed opportunities when opting to watch a movie based on a book versus actually reading it. You miss out on content (depth of plot and character development) and a chance to create your own visualizations, but especially you lose exposure to rich vocabulary. Think about the example below.

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