Getting vocabulary right in PE

Marc Rowland in Addressing Educational Disadvantage in Schools and Colleges The Essex Way says every moment in school needs to be a language development and comprehension moment. Language is the key to success in accessing the curriculum, in participating in lessons and in developing background knowledge that binds learning together. Oral language, in particular, is a key indicator for future academic success. This is the case for all subject areas, particularly vocabulary and three different levels of words as outlined in Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Dr Isabel Beck:

Tier 1 – high-frequency words, including objects and adjectives. These are rarely taught in school as they tend to be acquired preschool (e.g. table, door).

Tier 2 – cross curricular and often descriptive. Usually these can be explained using easier and more familiar words – for example ​‘fortunate’ is a more mature way of describing being lucky. These are words that are useful across subjects and in various situations (e.g evaluate, service, environment, flexibility). Students are likely to encounter these words through exposure to written texts and are unlikely to come across them in day-to-day discussion.

Tier 3 – low-frequency words. These are subject specific words and are not encountered a great deal in everyday language; when they are, they tend to be particular to a subject (e.g. respiration, cardiovascular, vasodilation, sagittal). If students don’t understand the meaning of the words, and so can’t use them appropriately, their academic achievement will be limited.