ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s, researchers have recognized the importance of vocabulary knowledge for individual differences in reading comprehension (Anderson & Freebody, 1981; Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982; S. A. Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986; Stanovich, 1986). Over the last few decades, some consensus has emerged regarding the multifaceted nature of individual differences in vocabulary, relations between vocabulary and reading comprehension ability, and principles that guide effective vocabulary instruction. Although several questions remain unanswered about how to conceptualize, assess, and teach word meanings, enough is known about vocabulary that some useful principles can be offered to educators.
