Methods
of Learning Vocabulary
As
every student has to pass the rite of exams with various acronyms, the SAT is
one of the earliest ones he or she may come across. Most people know it is one
of the main exams that high school students undertake and it is based on the
American Curriculum. Perhaps the most obvious quality of American exams are
that they will be:
·
Multiple
Choice Questions (MCQs)
·
Strongly
vocabulary driven
This
might be an advantage or disadvantage to an average student depending on where
his or her skills and affinities lie. Perhaps the saving grace of MCQs lies in
the fact that there is no need to show any sort of working and steps (as is the
case with the British Curriculum) but only to mark the correct answer.
The
bane of the test taker would probably be the onus of having to learn extensive
amounts of vocabulary. This in itself is akin to climbing a mountain and is just
as challenging. Learning new words is often not a big deal, but English makes
it a touch more challenging because it has heavy influences from other tongues.
Words commonly spoken today have roots in the Latin, some of the Romance languages
(French, Spanish, Italian), Greek and others.
So what is the Best Way to Learn new
vocabulary?
Besides the old school methods of picking up a
dictionary and learning the words listed in it, the modern student has an array
of methods that can be utilized.
1) Read
more. It seems to be one of
the most obvious and oldest of ways, but it definitely has great benefits to
bestow on the one willing to undergo the process. At present, individuals have
the great benefit of the internet: besides turning to paper based physical
books, there are e-books, online magazines, and other electronic devices that
can aid the reader to find materials of his or her choice. There are fiction
stories, non-fiction reads, trade magazines, topic based websites for readers
who love reading about science, fashion, religion, politics, health and
personal care, nature, technology, the news etc. What to read is now limited
only by the preferences of the reader.
2) Watch
shows and movies that interest you.
With the advent of Netflix, online streaming, podcasts, and entertainment networks
such as OSN on TV- there is a cornucopia of choice and access. Based on the watchers’selections,
they are exposed to a variety of vernaculars, specialist vocabulary and the
layers of meanings a simple word may have. That in itself is a lesson on how words
can be utilized to convey shades of meanings, their usage, and what part of
speech they are.
3) Listening
to lectures, podcasts, music and news can
also help students learn new words.
4) Using
various educational apps on phones, iPads, tablets, laptops are another means to make the process of learning
simpler and less taxing on the tired student. Certain apps create an interface
that is easy to use, fun and not repetitive in asking students to spell out the
words they wish to learn. They utilize methods like matching, filling in the
blanks, choosing the correct definition for the term or vice versa along with
repetition to attain the goals of learning. They further review the old words
in the following sessions to ensure that the new words have been properly
cemented into the minds of the users.
5) Knowledge
of prefixes, suffixes and roots
is also a great key to help unlock unfamiliar big words. Upon encountering new
enormous words, having the ability to dissect them at the joints of prefixes,
roots and suffixes can greatly aid the student in comprehending the meaning of
this unfamiliar word.
Incomprehensible
In +com+prehens+ ible
§ In = Not
§ Com= With/ Together
§ Prehens= Take/Grasp
§ Ible=Able of doing, being or undergoing
Something you do not have the ability to put together (an
idea/ situation/thing)
Circumnavigation
Circum+ naviga +tion
§ Circum= round about / round
§ Navigat= to move/ to direct or manage
on its course/ to know or plot the position of
§ Tion= noun ending
To go around in a circular way (to reach a goal)
By
using a mix of these methods it will be a simple task to learn new words. Yes,
learning anything new takes time, effort and dedication; however, if the payoff
is that you are scoring well in a major exam, then the trade off is pretty
acceptable. As with any learning process, there is no one size fits all. Every
individual is unique and thus his or her way of observing the world and
attaining information will be too so find the way that best suits you and go
make the world your oyster.
Trainers
at Proper Choice Training Institute work with individual for betterment of
their language skills not only in terms of exam but also for entire lifetime.
