Learning New Vocabulary: Another Technique to Consider

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Learning New Vocabulary
Another Technique to Incorporate

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Overview
One of the most challenging parts of learning language is learning new words, colloquial expressions, idioms, and so forth. Although there is no ‘magic pill’, or perfect solution to this, there are a few techniques that can be provided toward the study of new language you want to learn. In this handout, you will be introduced to additional work we would like you to do in this area of vocabulary development. Think of it as another way to get you to really practice USING the language. 

The Technique

Overview
What do we want you to do now, you ask? Well, it’s quite simple really. Every time you hand in a formal or informal written assignment such as a response journal, paragraph, memo, letter, and so on, we want you to try to incorporate at least two new words from the Vocabulary Review Lists you see at the bottom of your lessons. Now, we are assuming that you will still work independently on your Vocabulary Log work, so if you‘re keeping up with this work, this work will be easier. That is, you can use the language you have studied in your Vocabulary Log and try to incorporate this language into a real communication situation such as the one that might confront you when you write a memo.

Criteria

To improve your vocabulary, do the following on a regular basis:

1.   Use at least 2 new vocabulary items in your writing. You are more than welcome to provide
many more, but we think we will start with 2 at this point.
1.     You will need to underline the word in your writing so that your English instructor can clearly see where you have tried to use new language. This way, the instructor can give you accurate feedback if you have not used it correctly.
2.     At the beginning of a writing assignment, such as the first draft stage, the instructor may ask you to write down the language that you intend to try to use in an assignment. It will be okay if you do not use every word, but your English instructor would like to see you have given this a bit of forethought before the actual writing. 

Example

Let me present an example to you so that you are clear. Let’s say for the purposes of this example that the following is part of a response journal that you have been asked to hand in. Notice the underlined language that indicates new language used.

Language items from today’s lesson I will consider using:  have a point, makes sense, constant, temptation, figure out

Response Journal

Learning new language is a real challenge, and more specifically, trying to understand the meaning in context is sometimes very frustrating. It is a constant temptation to look up every new word I come across in the dictionary. However, it makes sense to try to figure out new words from looking at them in context. Basically, I have learned that looking at the words around the language I am unsure about can often help me figure out the meaning. Now I use my dictionary less and my brain more.

Implications for Your Learning

Once again, this is an active approach to studying new language. Basically, this is a type of follow-up on your Vocabulary Log work. Now you are being asked to take this one step further and present new language you are studying in actual communication work that we are doing in this course. In addition, it is an opportunity for your English instructor to give you feedback on language use issues that still may be presenting a problem for you. Practicing with new language like this is very valuable for your active vocabulary development, and though this may be challenging, the rewards you will receive should not be underestimated! Good luck!

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