Making Subject-specific Vocabulary Accessible for Every Learner

Every subject has its own language. Words such as evaporation, democracy, numerator, or photosynthesis are essential for understanding the curriculum. But for multilingual learners, unfamiliar vocabulary can become a barrier, particularly when they are learning a new concept and the English needed to talk about it at the same time.

Vocabulary teaching therefore matters in every classroom. The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools guidance reminds us that ‘every teacher communicates their subject through academic language’. Making this language explicit can help learners understand, participate, and show what they know.

Start with the words that matter

Not every unfamiliar word needs the same attention. Before a lesson, identify the key vocabulary that learners will need in order to understand the concept and take part in classroom talk and written work.

Focusing on a small number of essential words gives learners time to explore and use them properly.

Make meaning visible

Flashcards, diagrams, objects, demonstrations, and gestures can help learners connect a new word with its meaning.

For example, rather than introducing erosion through a written definition alone, show an image of a coastline being worn away. Learners can grasp the concept visually before moving onto the language used to describe it. This can be particularly helpful for learners who are new to English or have limited literacy.

Teach it, use it, revisit it

Understanding a word is only the beginning. Learners need opportunities to hear, say, read, and write new vocabulary.

In their study of vocabulary instruction for emergent bilingual learners, Crosson, McKeown, Robbins, and Brown recommend ‘multiple, diverse, high-quality encounters’ with new words.

Practical example: In Science, introduce evaporation alongside an image and model:

Water evaporates when it is heated.
Then provide a sentence scaffold:
_____ evaporates when _____.

Learners can practise orally with a partner before using the scientific vocabulary in writing. Revisit the word later through a labelled diagram, retrieval question, or matching activity.

Build towards independence

Images, word banks, and sentence frames provide a useful bridge into subject learning. As learners become more confident, gradually reduce these supports so they can retrieve and use subject-specific language independently.

This progression is also reflected and supported in Learning Village’s image-based, structured approach, which helps learners develop vocabulary alongside the language structures they need to access curriculum learning.

Top tip: Choose 3-5 essential words before a lesson. Make their meaning visible, model them in context, and plan at least two opportunities for learners to use them. The goal is not simply to recognise new vocabulary, but to use it confidently.

References
A. Quigley and R. Coleman (2019) Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools, London: Education Endowment Foundation.
A. C. Crosson, M. G. McKeown, K. P. Robbins and K. J. Brown (2019), Key Elements of Robust Vocabulary Instruction for Emergent Bilingual Adolescents, Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50.4, pp. 493–505.