Guide to a good vocab!
So, whats it to build a vocabulary? Vocabulary, in my personal opinion is not mere knowledge of a number of contemporary words but the ability to start using them in your everyday lingo at college, at work, amidst friends. Don't take it a level where it is easily misunderstood for being bombastic. Vocabulary, in addition also implies the ability to recognize roots of words and trying to interpret an unknown word's meaning, given the context in which the word under question is being used.
So how can one build a vocabulary?
1) When you have just entered junior high school or college, start reading books intended to introduce you to a horde of new words, (no, no not a dictionary). There are various books, that are aimed at increasing your vocabulary. One of the best of such books is "Word Power Made Easy" by Norman Lewis.
In this book, every new chapter has 4-5 sessions. And in the beginning session, the reader is introduced to 9 or 10 new words and is explained their meaning and definition. In the following sessions, the reader is explained about the roots and origins of the new words and other words that have been developed from them. In addition, the book also gives the pronunciation of the words. When you do them, read them aloud! It is one of the best books that I've ever read and it is available at an affordable price of Rs. 100 at a good bookstore near you.
2) Circle and Look up! Read journals, news magazines and novels, gateways to a variety of new words and the places where they are used. When you come across a word that you've come across somewhere, but are not able to recollect the meaning, take a pencil and circle it or make a note of it and then look it up in a dictionary. I do this with every novel that i read, only that i don't circle the words. Instead, i note down the new words in a sheet of paper and then look 'em up.
3) Start using the words. So you've spent sometime learning new words from books and looking them up from dictionaries and lexicons. So now if you them to stay in your memory for long, start using them. The key to a good vocab is not just learning but keeping in touch with the new words by occasionally using them in apt situations. As days pass by, you'll feel that your vocab has become richer than before. Go treat yourself to a hot chocolate!
4) Solve crosswords crossies can introduce you to a variety of synonyms. Get started with some guardian crosswords.
So how can one build a vocabulary?
1) When you have just entered junior high school or college, start reading books intended to introduce you to a horde of new words, (no, no not a dictionary). There are various books, that are aimed at increasing your vocabulary. One of the best of such books is "Word Power Made Easy" by Norman Lewis.
In this book, every new chapter has 4-5 sessions. And in the beginning session, the reader is introduced to 9 or 10 new words and is explained their meaning and definition. In the following sessions, the reader is explained about the roots and origins of the new words and other words that have been developed from them. In addition, the book also gives the pronunciation of the words. When you do them, read them aloud! It is one of the best books that I've ever read and it is available at an affordable price of Rs. 100 at a good bookstore near you.
2) Circle and Look up! Read journals, news magazines and novels, gateways to a variety of new words and the places where they are used. When you come across a word that you've come across somewhere, but are not able to recollect the meaning, take a pencil and circle it or make a note of it and then look it up in a dictionary. I do this with every novel that i read, only that i don't circle the words. Instead, i note down the new words in a sheet of paper and then look 'em up.
3) Start using the words. So you've spent sometime learning new words from books and looking them up from dictionaries and lexicons. So now if you them to stay in your memory for long, start using them. The key to a good vocab is not just learning but keeping in touch with the new words by occasionally using them in apt situations. As days pass by, you'll feel that your vocab has become richer than before. Go treat yourself to a hot chocolate!
4) Solve crosswords crossies can introduce you to a variety of synonyms. Get started with some guardian crosswords.
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