Vocabulary Enrichment Intervention Programme

Enhance the understanding and use of vocabulary in secondary school students and young adults.

Specifically designed for older children and young adults with language and communication needs, this practical language Programme was created by a specialist speech & language therapist with input from secondary school teachers and students. It focuses on enhancing the understanding and expression of vocabulary and word meanings in students aged from 8 to 18, and aims to:

• Create an awareness of how improved vocabulary knowledge can be used to enhance learning in school and social interactions in school and home environments.
• Encourage an awareness and interest in words and language, introduce the concept of words and meanings and identify their role and use in language, communication and social interaction.
• Introduce the word map and explore the rich networks of information attached to each word, including the meanings and make up of words using root and base words, suffixes and prefixes, synonyms and antonyms, and the etymology (origins) of words.
• Focus on themes taken from the UK National Curriculum, including living and non living organisms, planet Earth and the world, the human body, emotions, healthy living, and occupations.
• Enhance the understanding and use of figurative and idiomatic language as well as more compound and complex sentence structures.
• Introduce a range of cueing techniques to aid in word retrieval.
• Provide effective strategies for word learning to encourage independent word learning skills.
• Teach an effective, efficient and realistic use of the dictionary as a tool for word learning and explore the role of the thesaurus in enhancing oral and written work.

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"Devised by Dr Victoria Joffe as part of a research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Vocabulary Enrichment Intervention Programme is a comprehensive intervention pack aimed for use with secondary pupils who have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)... Detailed plans are provided for all sessions, along with a DVD with pictures, templates and frameworks. Homework tasks known as ‘Missions to achieve’ are also part of the intervention... Having fun is a priority in the sessions, and activities are varied and age-appropriate."
- Bristol SENCO Newsletter