Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building

In our coverage of the first Republican presidential candidates' debate last month, we used our vocabulary list builder to find the most relevant word each candidate used. Now, before Republicans take to the stage again, we want to explain what we mean by "relevance." Understanding it sheds light on not just how we're analyzing candidates' speech, but also how we're pulling vocabulary from academic and literary texts. Continue reading...

In an opinion piece in Education Week, research neuropsychologist Steven L. Miller argued that education technology should be used to close "30 million word gap." Its ability to personalize learning makes it faster than anything a teacher can do in a classroom, and with the gap ever-widening, speed is key. Continue reading...

A new study of how word learning lights up reward centers in the brain shows that word learning makes us as happy as taking drugs or eating great food. It also helps to explain why our vocabulary game is so much fun. Continue reading...

An SAT tutor's story about how one motivationally challenged student was able to use list-building — as well as list-learning — to make words' meanings really stick in his brain. Continue reading...

It's that time of year -- when you vow to do better in all things and yet, even as you solemnly swear, you know most of us will abandon our resolutions early on in the coming year. The good news? You're here on Vocabulary.com, which is designed to transform your current resolution into a word learning habit that affects the way you speak, read, write, and think. Here's how we make your resolution stick. Continue reading...

Four thousand children in 37 cities and 15 states set a new Guinness World Record for "largest vocabulary lesson" last week, through a vocabulary-focused read aloud organized by PNC's "Grow Up Great" program. But even as educators rally to the "close the word gap" through high profile efforts such as this one, new research shows that the task may not be quite so clear as increasing the sheer number of words children hear. Continue reading...

When it comes to word learning, a lot of people will ask, "How many words should you learn in a day?" Setting a daily goal makes any long-term learning or self improvement project less overwhelming. The only problem with this approach? The number of words you can learn in a single day is zero. Continue reading...