Sunday 19 May 2019

Thinking smarter with vocabulary and using the GCSEs

Like most people, I am thinking about vocabulary and looking at ways to improve and increase a student's vocabulary. One of the key sources for vocabulary is the GCSE English Language paper. 

I am jealous of other subjects in the way they can microanalyse the chances of things being or not being on their exam papers. We don't really do that in the way other subjects. They look at exam papers in such detail that makes our 'it might not be Exposure or Ozymandias' look pathetic when compared to their detailed analysis of X, Y and Z not being on the paper but A, B and C will definitely be on there. 

Based on the way other subjects interrogate their papers, I thought I'd do the same with the reading texts on the papers. My simple question was: what words would some students struggle with the meaning of? Then, for the duration of an hour or so, I went through each paper and looked ay the words used and catalogued them. The result is a list of words that could cause students difficulty in a future exam. There's no guarantee that students will meet these words in an exam, but there is a good chance they might. 

Anyway, I compiled the list so that when teaching vocabulary next year, we have a starting point. Of course, there are billions of words, but at least this is a start. Interestingly, the non-fiction texts tend to have more difficult words than the fiction texts and, surprisingly, I felt the specimen materials seemed to have been easier with the word choices even when the texts might be harder from an understanding point of view. 

You might disagree with my choices, but it is a start. 

Thanks for reading, 

Xris 









P1 Nov18
clients
prehistoric
ceased
oiled
resilient
striding
sheathed
gleam
ivory
mesh
sculptured
gaped
taloned
poised
warily
reptilian
jerked
pronounced
remit
crusted
undulate
wilderness
lunged
blazed
engulfed
idol
levelled
metallic



P1 Nov 17
archaeological
gulps
haze
shimmer
dented
unrelenting
chorus
expanses
pastures
submission
inhospitable
concealed
slope
awning
demoralised
monotonous
significance
momentum
P1 Jun 18
terraced
soared
on par
kindle
illuminating
triumphed
devotion
conviction
sullen
disillusionment
crept
uncharacteristically
routine
quickened
meticulous
prospector
discouraged
bankrupt
critically
formulate
swelled
elements
vaguely
entirely

P1 Jun 17
practically
sufficient
sacrificed
striking
opal
stifled
resolve
meaningless
charmed
perishable
exquisitely


P1 Spec 16
cynical
bewildered
multitudes
hastily
inclination
uncoiled
gaiety
immense
P1 Spec 16
mound
shards
quivered
plunged
rustle


P1 Spec 16
adrift
bulk
pounding
conviction
unseeable
presence
fragrance
immaculate
Paper 2



P2 Jun 17
obnoxious
thrived
withered
unprecedented
giddy
gibberish
ambush
crook of arm
totters
uncontrollably
obliviously
liberty
stern
droop
fret
scold
P2 Jun 18
bronzed
dazzled
hollow
pestered
spread-eagled
native
ritual
legions
dexterous
slanting
majestically
uttering
exultant
verge
engulf
engulfment
crest
waded
exploits
mount
erect
exultingly
amidst
thronged
stimulated
exploits
galloping
enchanted
serene





P2 Spec 16
huddle
uniform
unrelieved
terraced
anonymous
debris
disused
blistered
perilous
entombed
hardened
endured
inching
ominously
treacherous
seeping
smothered
stupefying
catastrophe
wanton
void
feeble
displaced
fabled
successive
foundations
agitated
strained
roused
situated
accustomed
startled
scarcely
colossal
ashen
hues
pungent
persist
upheaved
P2 Spec 16
dilated
emerging
grandiose
devastation
undiluted
overcast
exhaled
resign
good-humoured
chit-chat
salubrious
wackiness
loathing
broad
concussion
derangement
gaily
profusely
disposed
bilious
dense
immense
enact

P2 Nov 17
beamed
disadvantage
brooding
industrial
adjacent
grim
forbidding
derelict
grime
oasis
enthusiastically
raring
darting
fluttering
mischievous
glint
ensemble
flourish
inclination
tantamount
philosopher
dismal
squalid
discordant
bawling
respectability
distressing
profusely
P2 Nov18
residential
assumption
congested
relatively
thus
characterise
waging
recline
barge
sole
plausible
morals
cocooned
despite
apparent
obliged
majority
minority
urban
bordering
proceeded
exceedingly
stead
inflicting


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