The Effectiveness of Context Clues and Isolated Words Lists in High School English Classes.

A study was conducted to determine which approach for vocabulary development--isolated word lists, context clues, or a combination of both--would yield the best results. One sample of 17 sophomores used isolated word lists. The second sample of 20 freshmen used context clues to determine word meaning. The third sample of 13 sophomores used a combination of the 2 methods. All three groups were given pre- and post-tests to determine their progress. Results indicated no significant difference in the mean gains among the sample thereby supporting the study's hypothesis that there would be no significant difference in teaching vocabulary words to high school students through isolated word lists, context clues, or a combination of both. (Contains 3 tables of data, related research, and 34 references; vocabulary pre- and post-tests, comprising more than half the document are appended.) (Author/CR)