Learning vocabulary

First there are many words you do not need at all and there are other words that you simply need to
understand when you read or hear them. And there are words which you need to be able to use yourself and
you need to spend most time learning this last group.

What does knowing a new word mean?

It is not enough just to know the meaning of a word. You also need to know:

 What Words it is usually associated with. Whether it has any particular grammatical characteristics or
how it is pronounced.
 Try to learn a Word not in isolation but in phrases.
 Write down adjectives together with nouns they are often associated with and viceversa.
E.g. royal family, rich vocabulary.
 Write down verbs with the structure and nouns associated with them. e.g. to express an opinion.
 Write down nouns in phrases. e.g. in contact with
 Write down words with their preposition. e.g. at a high level, thanks to your help.
 Note any grammatical characteristics. e.g. note when a verb is irregular, when a noun is uncountable.
 Make a note of any special pronunciation problems with the words you are learning.

What should you do when you come across new words?

When you are Reading something in English, do not look up every new Word or expression or you will soon get
fed up. Only look up something is really important for understanding the text. When you have finishing
reading, look back at what you have read and then perhaps look up some extra words and write down new
expressions that interest you. Similarly, when you listen to English do not be panic. Keep listening and the
overall meaning will often become clear.

Exercise: Before you read the text, check whether you know what the underlined words mean.

A tortoise is a shelled reptile famed for its slowness and longevity.

The Giant Tortoise of the Galapagos may attain over 1.5 metres in length and have a lifespan of more than
150 years. Smaller tortoises from Southern Europe and North Africa make popular pets. They need to be
tended carefully in cool climates and must have a warm place in which they can hibernate.

Which of the marked words can you perhaps guess from the context or from the way the Word is formed?

How are you going to plan your vocabulary learning?

How many words and expressions do you intend to learn each week? ………………………………………..

Where and when are you going to learn them? ………………………………………..

How often are you going to revise your work? ………………………………………..

Learning associated words together

 Learn words with associated meanings together.

Learning words together that are associated in meaning is a popular and useful way of organising your
vocabulary study. Complete the network for the Word CAT. Add other bubbles as you like.

pet feline

jump brown cute

  A Word map. It is a variation on the bubble-network.

theater

 Learn words with grammatical association together

Here some groups of words, each of which has a grammatical connection. Can you see what the
connection is?

1. Child tooth ox singular words

2. Information furniture food uncountable nouns
3. On, behind, under, in front of prepositions

 Learn together words based on the same root

Can you add any words or expressions to these two groups?

1. Price priceless overpriced ……fixed-priced ………………………………..
2. Handy single-handed give a hand ……handycap……………handsome………handling.
………………………………..

Pictures and diagrams can help you learn. Word trees can be useful.

Word forks are good ways of learning adjectives and verbs.

Original
Brilliant
Unusual IDEA
Great
Excellent

Matrices can also clarify collocations

A car A motorbike A train A horse A plane

To fly *
To drive * *
To ride * *
Now complete the following sentences:

1. She has always wanted to have the chance to …………drive………….. a train.

2. Russian women are not allowed to …………fly……………………………. passenger aircraft.
3. ……To ride……………………………… a motorbike can be very dangerous.
 PRACTICE

1. Create a network
2. Create a Word map
3. Give five examples: Words with grammatical connections
4. Give five examples: words based on the same root
5. Create one pictures and one diagrams
6. Create one Word tree
7. Create three Word forks
8. Create two matrices.
.