As a speech-language therapist, I often meet parents who are concerned about their child’s reading struggles. “She can sound out the words, but she doesn’t seem to understand what she’s reading,” or “My son can read fluently, but he gets stuck when he needs to answer the comprehension questions.” These sentiments are commonly heard in our field of practice, and highlight the crucial truth: strong reading skills rest on a foundation of rich oral language, particularly vocabulary understanding and usage. This was reinforced recently by Dr Carol Tolman in a training session at Bellavista School, where she stated that readers need to know at least 95% of the words used in a text to comprehend it adequately.

A robust vocabulary supports speech clarity, expressive and receptive language, listening comprehension, reading comprehension and literacy development. Children with limited word knowledge may struggle in many areas, including taking part in classroom discussions, understanding what is read to them and making sense of what they read independently.

Oral language, particularly vocabulary, forms the bedrock of literacy. Research shows that the size and depth of a child’s vocabulary in the early years strongly predict later reading comprehension and academic success. Children with richer vocabularies understand more of what they hear and read, express ideas more clearly and learn new concepts faster.

In speech and language development, vocabulary directly influences expressive language, receptive language, social communication and literacy development. Strong vocabulary positively influences expressive and receptive language by promoting the ability to find the correct words to share thoughts, tell stories or ask questions, to understand instructions, follow conversations and grasp explanations. A rich vocabulary can also positively extend into social communication contexts through the use of precise words to build friendships and navigate social situations. Strong literacy skills are created when children understand the words which they have heard or read; this builds comprehension skills as well as written output.

For literacy, the impact is profound. Decoding (sounding out words) is important, but comprehension depends heavily on knowing what those words mean. A child who decodes the word “consequence” perfectly but has no idea what it refers to cannot grasp the meaning it has within a text. Vocabulary also supports comprehension skills: the ability to understand the main idea, details, sequence, predictions and inferencing of a text. Similarly, written output is impacted in the areas of narrative or creative writing skills and the ability to put thoughts and ideas onto paper.

Strengthening oral language foundations takes time, but the results can be transformative. At Bellavista School, we integrate vocabulary support within the curriculum through our weekly vocabulary drive. The chosen words are explicitly taught in a morning vocabulary session presented by therapists and teachers. The phonology (how the word sounds), orthography (how the word is written), semantics (the definition and multiple meanings of the word), syntax (the words used in sentences) and the morphology (how the addition of prefixes and suffixes impacts the words), are discussed. Furthermore, an activity using each word is carried out to ensure consolidation of the words. A handout is also sent home with each child, for carryover and extended practice of the words at home.

This year I have had the pleasure of working within the foundation phase and focused on multisensory, hands-on activities. We held ice cubes to understand ‘thaw’; each student was given a pipe cleaner as we introduced the word ‘bristle’, and students acted out the word ‘slither’ to gain a better understanding of this action word. One student always comes to me the following day and shares sentences using the vocabulary words introduced the previous day. Seeing her vocabulary grow and trickle into her academic and social life is deeply rewarding.

You too can make a powerful difference at home with these simple strategies:

• Talk abundantly and meaningfully: Narrate your daily routines “We’re slicing the carrots into thin strips. Did you know that when you cut vegetables into thin slices, it’s called julienne?”; describe objects in detail, and explain new concepts simply but accurately.
• Read together daily: Use story time as moments to enhance vocabulary by asking questions, making predictions and explaining unfamiliar words in context. Picture books, non-fiction and chapter books all build rich language.
• Expand and model: When your child says “big dog,” respond with, “Yes, that’s an enormous German Shepherd with shiny black fur!”
• Play with words: Word games, rhymes, category sorting (e.g., “Name all the farm animals you can think of?”), and describing games such as I Spy or 30 Seconds Junior all strengthen semantic networks.
• Use themes and repetition: Focus on a topic (e.g., ocean life or cooking) for a few days during dinnertime discussions to deepen understanding and reuse newly introduced vocabulary.

Consistency matters more than perfection. Even 10 minutes of rich conversation daily can significantly boost word learning. At Bellavista School, we hope to foster early and ongoing vocabulary development, and to positively change the trajectory of vocabulary awareness. Whether through home strategies, school collaboration or specialist assessment, every word you nurture brings your child closer to confidence, connection and academic success. Together, we can gently ensure every child moves “beyond the words” to a brighter educational future.

Content by www.bellavista.co.za

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