It starts innocently. You introduce colossal during a reading lesson. Maybe there’s a giant. Maybe a mountain. Maybe a giant mountain.
By lunchtime, it’s out of control. The sandwich is colossal. The PE cone is colossal. The puddle someone jumped in? Absolutely colossal. One child is even feeling colossally tired (though that might have been the teacher!).
Some words just explode. They’re instantly funny, dramatic and repeatable.
But the next day, it’s time for reluctant — a brilliant word: high-utility, cross-curricular, perfect for character analysis and persuasive writing. You model it. You clap it out. You even throw in a frown and a reluctant shuffle. But do they run out to lunch announcing how reluctant they are to eat their carrot sticks?
Not quite.
Why does one word take root overnight while another floats off before lunchtime? It’s not the word. It’s what we do with it.
Why Some Words Stick
(and Others Don’t)
The EEF’s Vocabulary in Action poster reminds us: teaching vocabulary isn’t one-and-done. Words need revisiting, exploration and use in different contexts (Education Endowment Foundation, 2023).
Words like colossal get lucky — they’re playful, loud and dramatic. But most words need more than a poster or a quick definition. They need deep processing. That means interaction; rehearsal; application. And crucially: talk.
Before children are asked to write a new word, they need to speak it first. Try it out, get it wrong, try again, hear their peers use it — use it themselves, even imperfectly. This verbal practice leads to ownership.
Talk Before Text
The Power of Oracy
We often rush to writing. It feels like “proof” of learning. But vocabulary fluency — using words flexibly and confidently — needs verbal rehearsal.
Enter oracy: the bridge between hearing a word and owning it.
So how do we take a word from ‘seen it once’ to ‘I actually get it’ — and use it?
Here are a few ways to start:
Odd One Out
Three words: reluctant, eager, excited
Ask: “Which doesn’t belong? Why?”
Cue discussion about nuance, opposites and shades of meaning.
Examples and Non-Examples
Is this person reluctant?
“He volunteered to go first.”
“She hesitated and said, ‘I’m not sure…’”
Children begin to test the limits of meaning — and that’s deep processing in action.
Would You Rather?
“Would you rather feel reluctant or determined before a race?”
This simple twist pulls vocabulary into real-life thinking — and talking.
Following introduction to this rich vocabulary, a breadth of opportunities to hear, embed, and use new language is crucial to enable the child to then use it precisely when expressing themselves.
And that precision doesn’t come from silence.
From Familiarity to Fluency
Knowing a word isn’t just parroting a dictionary definition or spotting it on a quiz. It’s being able to use it — in a conversation, an argument, a story or a classroom discussion.
Verbal interaction lets children try on new vocabulary, adjust the fit and wear it comfortably. It’s not extra work — it’s the essential step that adds depth.
The Takeaways
For Stickier Vocabulary
Talk before writing Give every child a chance to play with the word aloud before writing it.
Use oracy for depth Odd one out, examples and non-examples and discussions deepen understanding beyond definitions. See the EEF review on Oral Language Interventions for evidence of the impact of talk.
Spot fluency, not just familiarity Celebrate when children use words confidently in new ways — not just when they repeat “correct” answers.
Some words, like colossal, might go viral on their own. But most words? They need a little help — and it starts with voice.
