How and why your child should increase their vocabulary.

1 It allows them to access texts.

Here’s a scary statistic.

So this means that if your child recognizes less than 98% of the vocabulary in a text, they are unlikely to be able to understand enough of it to answer questions on it accurately.

The texts in the language paper are complex. The fictional extracts often come from novels written for adults. The non-fiction extracts are sourced from broadsheet newspapers, and from 19th century biographies or journals. Dickens is a firm favourite. This means that unless your child is reading widely, they are unlikely to have acquired a sufficiently varied vocabulary to be able to access all of the texts.

Before you start tearing your hair out because your child steadfastly refuses to read anything which is not on social media, please don’t despair. It is possible to systematically build their vocabulary. Just watch this webinar for ideas.

2 It creates a halo effect.

Many of the questions in the language papers do not explicitly test your child’s vocabulary level. However, if a student can put together a beautifully crafted response to a question and can choose words that precisely convey their intended meaning, it is bound to create a positive reaction in an examiner.

3 It facilitates flair in creative writing.

Here is the AQA success criteria that an examiner uses to assess question 5 in both language papers.

As you can see, the more ambitious the vocabulary the candidate chooses, the higher the level they tend to achieve. It helps, of course, if the words chosen are spelled correctly.

Here’s a short extract of a level 4 character description, so that you can see ‘ambitious vocabulary’ in action.

“Frozen, I stare at his aged face. Ice-cold grey eyes concealing a once warm soul that has petrified along with his spirit. …But the once expressive and spirited man now appears troglodytic in comparison. I see despair emanating from his aura of darkness.” (upper level 4)

Mastery of sophisticated vocabulary really is vital for your child’s success in GCSE English. Which is why I consistently guild on students’ existing knowledge of words in my course ‘Advance your English language.’

I introduce your child to new words every week and provide plenty of opportunities for meaningful practice.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help your child to succeed in their English GCSEs.

1. Book a free customised learning session

Thinking about working with a fully qualified, experienced teacher, who can help your child to map out a path to success in their English GCSEs?

BOOK YOUR 20 MINUTE CUSTOMISED LEARNING SESSION​ ​HERE​​​

2. Sign up for your child to work with me closely in my 12 week ‘Advance your English language’ programme.

If you’d like your child to work directly with me to improve their English language skills and to receive plenty of personalized feedback along the way, to help them to transform their predicted grades, you can enrol your child on the course​ ​HERE. ​​This is for child if they:

• Are not getting the feedback they need on their English work.
• Are serious and motivated to do extra work every week to get them the grades that you know they can achieve.

p.s. if you’re wondering how the ‘Advance your English language programme works, check out this video where I share the structure I use:​​ CLICK HERE >>​​ Advance your English language programme