Glossary · Comprehension and language
What is language comprehension?
Definition
Language comprehension is understanding spoken language: knowing word meanings, following sentences and connecting ideas, the same skills that turn decoded words into meaning.
In the Simple View of Reading, language comprehension is one of the two big parts of reading, alongside word recognition. It includes vocabulary, background knowledge, grammar and sentence structure, and the ability to connect sentences into a whole.
You can check it without print. Read a passage aloud and ask questions. A student who understands well when listening has the language side in place; their reading comprehension will grow as their decoding does.
Language comprehension takes years to build and comes mostly from talk and read-alouds. Discussing books, explaining new words and building knowledge about the world all feed it. It can't be rushed, which is why it needs time every day from the very start, alongside phonics.
In a lesson
Read a short passage about bees aloud to a first grader and ask why the bees left the hive. If they can answer from listening, their language comprehension is ahead of their decoding.
Why does this matter for the record?
A listening-comprehension check once a term is enough. Note it next to decoding progress so the two can be read together.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.