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Oxford Wordlist Research Stage 2 An investigation of high frequency words in Years 3 and 4 students’ writing development Conducted in 2009 Publishing the list • 404 most frequently used words • Words in common / words unique • Foundation list www.oup.com.au/thesuccessfulteacher Summary Report - Anne Bayetto www.oxfordwordlist.com Speaking our Language: The Story of Australian English Bruce Moore “...of all the markers of identity, language is by far the most significant. This language we speak, which gives voice to our Australian identity is not, however, a uni-faceted thing. It is...a multifaceted entity. Australian English is central to the process of giving voice to our Australian identity: in important ways, we are WHAT we speak, and we are HOW we speak.” Statistics • 896 students • 2688 samples • 315 345 words Demographics School Year (this equates to 4th and 5th year of formal schooling) Year 3 1437 (479 students) Year 4 1251 (417 students) Gender Male 1332 (444 students) Female 1356 (452 students) School Setting Low SES 1170 (390 students) Mid SES 516 (172 students) High SES 1002 (334 students) Location Rural = 20% of total Rural 537 (179 students) Urban 2151 (717 students) Language Background English Speaking (ESB) 1629 (543 students) Non-English speaking (NESB) 1059 (353 students) Indigenous = 1.7% of total 45 (15 students) Word Counts Average word count per sample P/K/R 21 Year 1 51 Year 2 78 Year 3 104 Word count spread No. of words <50 50 – 99 100 – 199 200 – 299 300 – 400 >400 Year 3 % 13.8 41.5 38.0 6.0 <1.0 <1.0 Year 4 % 8.9 28.9 45.8 13.1 2.5 <1.0 Year 4 133 Text Types 1st year - Yr 4 Narrative Recount Description Discussion Explanation Exposition Info Report Poetry Procedure Response Other P/K/R % 17 58 15 0 <1 <1 5.3 <1 <1 3.4 <1 Year 1 % 31 50 7.2 <1 <1 2.1 6 0 <1 1.7 <1 Year 2 % 48 40 5.6 0 <1 1.3 3.1 <1 <1 <1 0 Year 3 % 55.6 25.1 10.6 <1 0 1.0 <1 2.3 2.6 <1 1.4 Year 4 % 58.9 22.8 10.6 <1 0 2.8 1.3 1.0 1.0 <1 <1 Unique Words Words on OWL+ but not on OWL (136 words) any anything arrived been before both box boys brown bus can't chocolate class clothes cold cool dark days decided died different doing drove each eating end even everything excited eyes face felt few finally fire forest front getting ghost giant girls give goal gold gone green ground gun hair hand happened hard having hear heard hit hole hot hour hours I'll kept kicked kids king knew land later left let Unique Words (cont) let's life light live looking minutes money most mother never no one nothing open opened parents person pet police puppy quickly rain ready replied right run running same sat say screamed second shot should shouted six small soon space stay stop stopped story stuff suddenly sunny tell ten than think thought through top town under used wait wasn't way week which while whole window year years yelled Implications for educators Anne Bayetto Pre-assess students’ spelling knowledge of words in the 2008 Oxford Wordlist no matter what their year level. Pre-assess students’ spelling knowledge of words in the 2010 Oxford Wordlist Plus. Words that students can already spell should not be included in their spelling programs. Implications for educators Unknown words need to be taught. Words in Oxford Wordlist Plus may be used as a springboard. Develop students’ spoken and written vocabulary. Teach students how to write more complex sentences. Implications for educators Consolidate students’ understanding of regular and irregular verbs. Tread carefully when putting quantity of words ahead of quality. Adverbs enhance verbs. Prepositions have a place! Keep building knowledge about compound words. Implications for educators Expand pronoun knowledge. Increase expertise in the use of adjectives. Keep teaching comparatives and superlatives. Designated NAPLAN text types aren’t the only genre to be taught. In summary... “Words form the thread on which we string our experiences” Aldous Huxley