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Power of Words B

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16 views28 pages

Power of Words B

Uploaded by

malowap122
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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“Quick-Fix Workshop”

Communications Centre
“Why do large vocabularies
characterize executives and possibly
outstanding men and women in other
fields? The final answer seems to be
that words are the instruments by
means of which men and women grasp
the thoughts of others and with
which they do much of their own
thinking. They are the “tools of
thought.”
- Johnson O’Connor
• Everyone – from those just
learning English to journalism
veterans – knows the
frustration of not having the
right word immediately
available in that lexicon
(vocabulary) one carries
between one’s ears
• Whether you’re reading a newspaper,
billboard sign, cereal box, or
textbook, it can be extremely
frustrating to encounter words whose
meanings elude us
• Not knowing the meaning of certain
words may hinder your success
academically and in your daily life
activities
Remember: LANGUAGE = POWER
A Few Interesting Facts

• According to David Orr’s 2000


article, “Verbicide,”:
“In the past 50 years…the
working vocabulary of the
average 14 year-old has declined
from some 25,000 words to 10,000
words. This is not merely a
decline in numbers of words but
in the capacity to think.”
• “The problem of
language, however,
is a global
problem. Of the
roughly 6500
languages now
spoken on Earth,
half are on the
brink of extinction
and only 150 or so
are expected to
survive to the year
2100.”
• “Language everywhere is being
whittled down to conform to the
limited objectives of the global
economy and homogenized to accord
with the shallow imperatives of the
‘information age’.”

So, what can we do to


preserve and improve our
crucial knowledge of words?
Learning New Words

• One of the best ways of learning


new words is to meet them in
context
• In such situations it is very
often possible, by reading a
sentence carefully and by
recognizing certain clues, to
guess with reasonable accuracy
the meaning of an unfamiliar word
• Sentences or paragraphs frequently
offer the following clues to the
meanings of unfamiliar words:
 The general sense or meaning of the
sentence or paragraph
 Tone and point of view of the writer
 Connectives such as and and or, which
can signal a likeness, or but, yet and
conversely can indicate a contrast
 Punctuation marks such as a colon
indicating a list, a dash indicating
additional information, or an
exclamation mark indicating intensity
Using Context Clues

• Try to determine the meaning of


each of the following italicized
words from its context in the
sentence. Check a good dictionary
to evaluate how close you have
come
1. Many doctors
today endorse a
holistic view of
medicine – one that
includes attention
to nutrition, Dictionary
exercise, and meaning?
psychological needs
as well as to drugs
and surgery.
2. In spite of the
fact that the
clouds scudded
across the sky
overhead, there Dictionary
was not the meaning?
suggestion of a
breeze, much
less a wind, in
the harbour.
3. I enjoyed
meeting the
affable owner
of the shop; Dictionary
her easy-going meaning?
and cheerful
manner endeared
her to me.
Strategies for Remembering
New Words
• Say the word aloud several times:
• Saying the word aloud, especially
along with a short phrase, will
help you remember it
• Learn how to use the
pronunciation guide in your
dictionary, and if you are an ESL
learner, ask a native speaker to
pronounce new words into your
tape recorder
• Tie new words to old:

• When you encounter a new word,


think of a method for
recalling the meaning
• This will often involve using
a word that you already know
• Use visualization:

• For example, to recall that


draconian measures are harsh
and extreme, visualize Dracula
biting someone’s neck for
missing class!
• Write vocabulary cards:

• This technique DOES work


• Keep a stack of cards in your pocket or bag
and whenever you hear a new word, write it
on a card
• Set aside a few minutes each day to look up
the words in a dictionary
• On one side of the card write the word and
its pronunciation cue
• On the reverse side, write the definition
(in your own words) and also a sentence for
the word
• Make use of your new
words

– Share your new-found words with


friends and family
– Drop new words into a
conversation
– Teach your friends and family
the meaning of your new words
• Review, review , review:

• You can’t expect to learn a new


word and never forget it
• Periodically go back over the
words you’ve learned and quiz
yourself
• Flag the words you missed and
review them again
Using All the Resources

Books:
• There are many books about
vocabulary building available in
bookstores
• Look for one that includes
helpful exercises and the kinds
of words that you would like to
learn
• Read more and keep a
dictionary nearby:

– Reading widely is the most effective


and natural way to improve your
vocabulary
– When you come upon an unfamiliar word,
don’t ignore it but rather write it
down and find its meaning in the
dictionary
• Dictionaries and Thesauruses:

– Buy two dictionaries; keep a quality


dictionary at home (Oxford is best) and
carry a small portable dictionary with
you
– Check online dictionaries, too – the
online Merriam Webster’s WWWebster
Dictionary
– Consult a thesaurus for synonyms but make
sure you understand the meaning of each
word by looking it up in the dictionary
• Word puzzles
– Try “Madlibs” – online or in book
form
• Crosswords
– Make it a daily activity to
complete one crossword from a book
of crosswords or from a newspaper
• Magnetic Poetry
• The Internet:

– You can use the Internet as an


aid to vocabulary development by
exploring the abundant
opportunities for reading
– Read online newspapers:
• The Globe and Mail
• The Hamilton Spectator
• Choose online magazines such as
Atlantic and Mother Jones that
challenge your mind and vocabulary
with full-text articles
• Atlantic has a language section –
select from “Word Court, “Word
Fugitive”, and “Word Police”
www.theatlantic.com/language/
• Read the New York Times Book Review
– www.nytimes.com
(one-time registration is FREE!)
• Subscribe to a service that will
provide you with a new word each
day:
– www.wordsmith.org
– www.vocabvitamins.com
– www.merriam-webster.com
• Word of the Day from OED (Oxford
English Dictionary)
• The New York Times Word of the
Day
– www.nytimes.com/learning/student
s/wordofday/index.html
• Check out the word archive
Have fun building
those vocabulary
muscles!

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