Approved reading book vocabulary review

Reading grows vocabulary slowly and surely

*Learning Vocabulary in Another Language* by I.S.P. Nation (Cambridge University Press) documents how vocabulary expands through repeated encounters in meaningful reading alongside deliberate study. A reading companion follows that evidence: harvest words from a text you understood, then make sure they return.

The five-step pass

Read for meaning first and underline words that blocked you. Guess each from its sentence before checking anything. Confirm with a dictionary, but only the sense that fits. Record the word with its phrase and one example of your own. Retrieve the whole set the following day with the book closed.

Record phrases, not orphan words

Words travel with partners: decisions are made, not decisions do. Noting the pair means your speaking borrows the same route your reading built. One line per item: word, phrase, your sentence. The line takes ten seconds and survives the week; a bare word list rarely does.

Fit the text to reach

A text you understand at ninety per cent teaches the rest through context; a text you understand at fifty per cent teaches guessing games. When in doubt, choose the easier text and read it twice. Extensive reading beats struggling once through a hard page.

Exercise: run one weekly cycle

Choose a short text, complete the five-step pass for six items, schedule three retrievals, and note next Sunday which ones retired.

Worked example

Select a short text at the learner's level. Read it once for gist, then again to note unknown words. Choose five words to learn, record their families, and test retrieval after one day and one week. Combine reading with vocabulary tracking so progress is visible.

Common pitfalls

• Looking up every unknown word.
• Learning words out of context.
• Ignoring word families.
• Reading without follow-up retrieval.

Practice

Read two short texts this week. Track five words from each and review them after seven days. Note which words stick and which need more exposure.

Checklist

• Text at the right level.
• Five words selected.
• Word families recorded.
• Retrieval scheduled.
• Progress reviewed.

Mini-exercise

Choose one short article. Extract five words, learn their families, and test yourself after three days.

Related lessons

Continue with reading a short text in three passes and retrieval practice for new vocabulary.

Source

Original LinguaPro lesson informed by *Learning Vocabulary in Another Language* by I.S.P. Nation (Cambridge University Press). No text from the book is reproduced; the five-step pass and weekly cycle are original.