Why Reading Comprehension Breaks Down for English Learners—and the Vocabulary Fix That Actually Works
- Kyle Larson
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Why memorizing word lists fails—and how low-cognitive-load vocabulary tools support real English language learning
When I taught in China, my agent gave me very clear instructions on how to teach English.
“Have them repeat vocabulary lists. Hundreds of words. Every day.”
The students were used to it. They chanted words in unison. They copied them down line after line. On quizzes, many of them could recognize the words. To my agent, it looked like progress.
But when those same students sat down to read—real texts, real passages, real content—their reading comprehension hadn’t improved.
So I went off-script. Not completely—but enough.
Instead of isolated lists, I started anchoring vocabulary inside the text itself. We slowed down. We highlighted important words. We talked about them in context. We had real conversations about what the text meant.
And something shifted.
Students began using words they had struggled to memorize before. Not because they’d repeated them more—but because they finally needed them to make meaning.
That experience changed how I think about vocabulary instruction—and why reading comprehension so often breaks down for English learners.
Vocabulary is the key.
But memorization isn’t acquisition.
Is Vocabulary the Key to Reading Comprehension for English Learners?
Yes—especially when we’re talking about understanding text.
Study after study shows that vocabulary knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension. If students don’t know the words on the page, they cannot fully understand the meaning of the text—no matter how strong their decoding or fluency skills are.
One older study that showed that the acquisition of vocabulary is the greatest predictor of reading comprehension was Laufer's, "How Much Lexis Is Necessary for Reading Comprehension?" In it, he says, "Second language readers who do not know a sufficient proportion of the words in a text are unable to achieve adequate reading comprehension."
But here’s the critical distinction that often gets missed: Reading comprehension improves when students can access word meaning easily and repeatedly while reading—not when they memorize definitions in isolation.
Vocabulary isn’t something students “learn once.” It’s something they build gradually, through continual viewing and use.
Why Memorizing Vocabulary Lists Doesn’t Improve Reading Comprehension
This is where many well-intentioned programs fall short.
Memorization-based vocabulary instruction often fails because:
Words are learned without meaningful context
Students rarely see or use the words again
Definitions are too dense or abstract
There’s no support while students are actually reading
Students might recognize a word on a test—but recognition is not comprehension.
If a student can’t:
Quickly access meaning while reading
Use the word to explain an idea
Encounter it again across texts
Then the word doesn’t stick—and it doesn’t support reading comprehension.
The Real Problem: Friction and Cognitive Load
Here’s the issue most classrooms don’t talk about enough: cognitive load.
Think about what we often ask English learners to do when they encounter an unfamiliar word:
Stop reading
Look it up
Decode a complex definition
Translate it mentally
Return to the sentence
Try to remember what they were reading
That’s a lot of friction.
When vocabulary access is slow or difficult:
Students guess
They skip
Or they disengage entirely
Over time, this leads to avoidance—not growth.
How Low-Friction Vocabulary Tools Support English Language Learning
The most effective vocabulary tools reduce friction instead of adding to it.
Low-friction vocabulary support means:
Definitions are short and student-friendly
Meaning is immediate
Students stay in the text
Vocabulary becomes part of reading—not a separate task
This is the principle behind our academic vocabulary glossary.
What Makes This Vocabulary Glossary Different?
Every entry in the glossary is intentionally designed to support reading comprehension in real time.
Each word includes:
One clear idea
Plain language
No academic fluff
Space for students to personalize meaning
Here are a few examples:
Analyze
To look closely at something to understand how it works or why it matters.
Infer
To figure something out using clues from the text and what you already know.
Evidence
Details from the text that support an idea or answer.
Contrast
To show how two things are different.
These aren’t dictionary definitions.
They’re working definitions—the kind students can actually use while reading, writing, or discussing a text.
Just as important, there’s room for students to:
Add translations
Write synonyms
Clarify meaning in their own words
That flexibility is where true vocabulary acquisition happens.
How Many Vocabulary Words Do English Learners Need?
This is a common question—and it’s the wrong focus.
The issue isn’t how many words students are exposed to.
It’s how often and how easily they can access those words.
A smaller, consistent set of high-utility academic vocabulary—used daily across reading tasks—does far more for reading comprehension than long lists students see once and forget.
Consistency beats volume.
Access beats coverage.
A Free Vocabulary Resource You Can Use Immediately
All of this only matters if teachers and students can actually use the tool, and that’s why we’re offering our academic vocabulary glossary for free.
You can:
Download it
Print it
Bind it
Share it
Use it across content areas
This gives students language tools they can use independently, in the moment they need them.
👉 Download the free academic vocabulary glossary here
Because vocabulary isn’t an add-on. It’s the foundation of reading comprehension for English learners.
If you would like to get all of our physical resources in one place, accompanied by an online suite of useful tools students can use today, click here to see Ace the Next Level.
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