VOCABULARY & CONVERSATION

We have combined our vocabulary and conversation together because we believe that vocabulary improvement comes through the use of the vocabulary as you learn it.

The best way to establish this is through conversation. By applying the new vocabulary learnt in real situations the vocabulary is used correctly and the learner can
remember structures of the words used. Eg: nouns, verbs, adjectives etc…

Another aspect to studying vocabulary which we firmly believe, is that studying words in huge
quantities (as some students are led to believe) does not improve your vocabulary tremendously.

We have taught students who were told to learn up to 50 words per day, which in our opinion is
not a good method. Of those 50 words (which are memorized, not learnt), possibly 5-8 of those words will be remembered. This is because the words learnt are not applied in conversation or used in sentences, which is essential to learning and remembering.

Our basic rules to remember when studying vocabulary are:

  1. Note down the type of word you learn (eg: noun, pronoun, adjective, etc…,)
      
    Vocabulary table sample.

  2. Learn vocabulary groups (eg: sport, food, transport, jobs….)
  3. Read familiar, as well as unfamiliar things. Reading about things you know about or like, the vocabulary will be more familiar to you. Reading unfamiliar things will introduce you to new vocabulary, which will also increase your reading ability.
  4. Learn new words thoroughly and try to practice them before moving on to more words. Realistically, 5-10 words per day is enough. This equates to 3,650 words per year if you study 10 words per day.
  5. New vocabulary by context. Reading sentences with unknown words. Try to guess the meaning of the words by understanding the sentence. You will find that the meaning ,which you guess, is often correct.


    Vocabulary by context sample.

  6. Learn words which you will be able to use often. There is no benefit to learning really unusual words if you can neither: use them often, or nobody understands what you are saying.

To take the next step on your way to improved vocabulary and conversation, register with us.