Let My Students Have Vocabulary Quizzes

When it comes to university teaching, we may have reached the point that the old-fashioned thing is the innovative thing. I recently began incorporating pop vocabulary quizzes in my undergraduate classes. The quizzes are extremely simple: Each is worth one point, involves a single word from the day’s assigned reading and is open (paper) notes. As far as points, the stakes are low. As far as objective, the aim is high.

The word for a vocabulary quiz is not always obscure or especially difficult. While reading The Odyssey, my first-year students were quizzed on “shambles” and “shrewd.” Many of them had the drift but did not quite grasp the meaning of the words. While reading Plato’s Five Dialogues, they were asked about “adjudicate.”

One clear positive result of vocabulary quizzes is more close reading and note taking. The fear of a quiz causes students to look at every page and to look up words they do not know. Everyone bemoans the declining American attention span—often linked to screens—including our students. The possibility of a vocabulary quiz can prompt students to adopt the kind of habits promoted in books like Cal Newport’s Deep Work. The reading required and the paper notes give students practice with focused attention. This is a highly transferable skill.

Vocabulary quizzes align with the motto esse quam videri: To be, rather than to seem. Right now, students are reading less and understanding less. Vocabulary quizzes promote real reading and comprehension and real mastery of language rather than presumed. A better understanding of “shrewd” truly does help us better understand the character of Odysseus, who is often described as shrewd in The Odyssey. It makes a difference if one understands the word “adjudicate,” which is used outside of the Five Dialogues. Many students believe that they grasp meaning from context clues. A quiz is an opportunity to see if that is true. A vocabulary quiz can be a push toward comprehension or a small reward for knowing a word.

These quizzes have the potential to improve vocabulary. Last spring one word was “plausible,” which led to a very valuable in-class discussion, especially focused on the difference between possible and plausible. Another word I have asked about is “contiguous.” It does not come up all the time, but it is nice to know. There are times that it is just the right word to use. Vocabulary is content that has real-world consequences. In the world and in the workplace, the words we use help shape how others see us. Students who graduate with a strong vocabulary have an advantage.

Better reading and a bigger vocabulary can be liberating for students. Many students suffer from impostor syndrome. Students who can be accurately confident in their comprehension of what they read and hear will be better able to engage, in and out of the classroom. They will be less intimidated by their peers, professors or readings. Students who know more words will also be less reliant on outside aids for understanding. Knowing that you actually know the words and aren’t relying on context clues or good community editing is empowering.

Ideally, vocabulary quizzes can make students better readers and more attuned to texts and language. Reading well requires understanding text and subtext, just as interacting with other people well and having healthy relationships does. The wrong word at the wrong time can make a big difference personally and professionally. Politicians and advertisers use persuasive rhetoric on our students every day. The more mastery of language we can impart, the more we can be said to be helping prepare students for real life.

Vocabulary quizzes are not remedial if they work. Preparing for a vocabulary quiz delivers both content and skills, and students who already know the words are in no way put out. Students can gain productivity skills, a larger vocabulary, better reading comprehension and more confidence in their abilities. Vocabulary quizzes worth only a few points are a small percentage of a grade, but they are also a small way to improve the ability of graduating students to shape the conversations happening in our society and can be implemented in almost any class.