Children lost for words

THE vocabulary of teenagers is so poor they do not know words such as “identify”, “complete” and “evaluate”.

Oxford University Press (OUP) researchers have found that four in five teachers believe the vocabulary range of some children is such that many are unable to understand questions and instructions in GCSE and Sats test papers, leading in some cases to low self-esteem among youngsters.

Caroline Derby, a publisher at OUP, said some 11-year-olds did not know words such as “complete”, “replace” and insert”. Some 16-year-olds struggled with “explain”, “identify” and “analyse”. But she added that schools had started to address the issue, and some were now spending a designated amount of lesson time teaching vocabulary.