Vocabulary Development in the Arts & Humanities Classroom

Students often feel overwhelmed in the arts and humanities classrooms because the vocabulary is a mixed bag of words derived from other languages that seem simple but have substantial weight when considered in context or words that cross disciplines with similar, but nuanced meanings in each content area. 

Written By jwright

On May 13, 2021
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When I was a teenager, I attended a boarding school in Denmark. I did not speak Danish, and I vividly recall the confusion and isolation I felt as a result. I had no idea what people were saying and was unable to decipher the written language around me. It was frustrating not having the words necessary to communicate with others. In time, as I began to develop Danish vocabulary, I was able to string words together in grammatically incorrect sentences. As I gradually became more comfortable with the language, I became an active member of the school community and culture.

I often remember my experience in Denmark when I notice students who appear to feel just as isolated in their classrooms, as if they don’t know the language. Learning, using, and remembering vocabulary is critical in all content areas so that students become more comfortable and open to learning. Vocabulary helps us comprehend what we are reading, helps us write to learn and demonstrate learning, and provides us with language to engage in conversation with teachers and peers. Vocabulary work helps students build background knowledge in all content areas. 

Students in middle and high school are positively overloaded with vocabulary. As text books get bigger and college preparatory requirements increase, the amount of content-specific language that students have to manage is immense. Of course, the arts disciplines are no exception. Students often feel overwhelmed in the arts and humanities classrooms because the vocabulary is a mixed bag of words derived from other languages that seem simple but have substantial weight when considered in context or words that cross disciplines with similar, but nuanced meanings in each content area. 

It’s worth noting that the Lexile© readability index for the content-specific reading that students are required to do in the arts disciplines has a similar scope and difficulty rating as science and social studies. The challenge with this subdomain comes in engaging students with the impressive list of content terms and providing systems for managing them. How do we feasibly integrate vocabulary routines when we barely have time to teach content and still get supplies back in place before the next group of students file in?

When asked what role vocabulary learning played in her music classroom, high school student Lydia embedded vocabulary into her explanation: “Knowing the words doesn’t make me a better singer, but it helps me know how to sing the music. Like the word “largo” or the time signature or the key signature.” – Lydia, freshman, KY Some students, like Lydia, ease into vocabulary effortlessly because the language of the content has become part of the brain’s word bank. Lydia has internalized the vocabulary enough that she can talk about her craft. She and students like her have the ability to talk about their own work and the work of others. Students with limited understanding of the vocabulary may have the innate ability to appreciate a work of art or a performance but find it difficult to share the experience with others, particularly because the vocabulary of the arts is used to much to shape the conversations we have about the arts: “Do I want to use this color or that?” “Do I want my dance to have calm, curvy energy or something more angular?” Giving students the necessary vocabulary to discuss creating, performing, and responding in the arts creates a richer personal connection. When we make a personal connection, we begin to internalize the experience and seek similar experiences. When we have common vocabulary in the arts, we can talk with each other about the work we are creating and about the work to which we are responding. We have a common language to give and receive feedback.

 

How do you engage students with the vocabulary of your discipline beyond defining words from the text?