This time last year, Rian was at risk of failing his 11+ because of his English skills.
He scored 3 out of 9 on his first attempt at a CGP English passage (for ages 9-10).
Even once he’d been through it with his mum, he only picked up 1 additional mark.
When I went through the questions with Rian, the reason for his difficulties was clear: he had no idea what it meant to be “clad” in something; he’d never heard of “plumage” or “sturdy”. In another passage, he knew what it meant to depend on someone but he hadn’t made the link between “depend” and “dependable”.
In short, he didn’t understand the words in the passage.
Understandably worried, his mum asked which books he should be reading to boost his comprehension.
Instead, I asked her to do 3 things:
To help with one particular passage, I used my illustrated flashcards to clear up the meanings of key words like “timid”, “plume” and “clad”.
Rian needed something more intensive than the flashcards, however, which is why I recommended my weekly vocabulary course.
Rian was definitely one of the quieter students in the classes but it didn’t matter – he was absorbing new words weekly and, crucially, learning about the links between words. That meant words like “dependable” no longer tripped him up.
Within 3 months, Rian’s vocabulary – and comprehension – had come on leaps and bounds (despite his “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” reading habits).
I had to hide my shock when he delivered a perfect answer in a comprehension lesson. (Who was this child??)
Rian’s just received his 11+ results and, whilst he wasn’t my very top student, he may be the one I’m most proud of.
Not only did he excel in his exams generally but his English was top-notch. Way better than my pupil whose mum did comprehension with him every day for 6 months (including weekends), and much better than another child who worked through a vocabulary list weekly.
If your child’s like Rian and struggling with comprehension, now is the best time to do something. Together, we can build up their vocabulary gradually so comprehension goes from daunting to a doddle.
To learn more about the vocab course that made a difference to Rian, head here.
