Wordcraft Home Page Wordcraft Community Home Page Forums The Vocabulary Forum The best way to learn new words
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Junior Member |
Hi everybody!
First of all, I think it's great that I found this website. A forum on vocabulary only -- how cool is that. I'm finishing my Bachelor's and I'm preparing the the GRE. Unfortunately -- or is it fortunately  -- the GRE is heavily dependent on your vocabulary. So, what's the best way to learn new words. How many per day? 5? 10? 50? Flashcards? Etymology? I'm not sure.I've been using vocabularycoach.com and number2.com and I just found freerice.com which is waaay cool, but are they are other good ones? Oh, and I don't want to pay oogles of money to use a website, so free website are preferable Trying to take over the world! Grad school here I come! |
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Member |
In my experience the best way to learn new words is to use them - either by reading them, hearing them or speaking them. And this website, to which I welcome you, is one of the better ways to practise with words.
Incidentally, if I find a word I don't understand in a passage, I always look it up (after having had a guess!) Richard English |
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Member |
I share tv's quandary and agree w Rich most wholeheartedly. I concentate on what I call the Type-2 word, and in answer to tv, one a day is more than sufficient; where Type-1 is the one used in everyday conversation
...but Type-2 is one that often carries a better or more colorful meaning yet which almost everybody knows... ...and Type-3 is the snooty word one woUld wish to avoid When I encounter a Type-2 I should use more often I write it in a notebook I have propped open next to my PC, or transcribe it to a Post-It, which I stick on the wall above my dresser where I would have to see it at least twice a day. The last entry is "feisty" ...where the Type-1 might be "peppy" and the Type-3, "armigerous" "Transcribe" incidentally is Type-2 for the Type-1 "write" or "copy" Join me and tv in our quest to propagate the Type-2 |
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Member |
But folks, we have to distinguish three kinds of "vocabularies":
tville is concerned with the last one, reading-vocabulary. My answer would depend on the time-span available. tville, how much time do you have? This message has been edited. Last edited by: shufitz, |
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Member |
One short thought, with more to follow.
I'm no fan of flash-cards, unless you're in a big rush and have to cram. But remember: A word is much easier to learn if you see it in context. So if you're using flash-cards, put a sample sentence on the back, not just the definition. (In fact, I'd bet that the best way is a sample sentence instead of the definition.) Where to get sample sentences? You could use amazon.com's "search inside the book" feature. Or you could quickly get words-and-sentences by the bunches from wordcraft's archives. (Just cut-and-paste the archives to a wordprocessor, and then eliminate what you don't need.) |
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Member |
It has been so long since I've taken the GREs, so is the vocabulary part merely multiple choice questions, like the SAT and ACT tests? If so, I'd think freerice.com would be a great tool to use between hitting the books.
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Member |
Hello, tvilleguru, & good luck in your studying!
I came across this website just googling, if you can use it. As to the best method of memorizing new vocabulary, this is a function of your own learning style.
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Member |
You know, I find it rather amusing that I found this forum by googling the phrase "best way to learn words"
A small anecdote of some meaning, to be certain. Anyway, I have recently purchased this program called SuperMemo and so far it has done wonders for the rate at which I take on and learn new words. Granted, it's probably not for everyone, and some people probably find their usual methods more than sufficient. I don't want to link to it because I'm not sure if that's acceptable by the etiquette standards of this board, but if anyone is interested, I'm sure they can search for it. |
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So long as you don't spam the forums, Timbo, I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't post a link to the program - it may help others who come here looking for the same thing as you.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine! |
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Attention Timbo and anyone else who is interested in learning how to make a neat-looking link
1. Copy the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the destination page, then 2. Paste the following, deleting the ** asterisks. 3. Attention Timbo and anyone else who is interested in learning [**url=http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/756604565/m/8421033705?r=4031013735#4031013735] how to make a neat-looking link [/url] 4. Press ENTER Here's another example. This message has been edited. Last edited by: jerry thomas, |
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Member |
I endorse the comments of Richard, dalehileman, shufitz etc. We all do it in different ways. I tend to write down on a scrap of paper anything I see that I think I might like to use. The scrap goes into my trouser pocket whence it is frequently retrieved then reinserted. The next step is to try it out, and (in the instance of a fancy or uncommon word) nonchalantly to make it appear as part of your long-established vocabulary. Finally try to use it with skill and discernment. Nothing looks more foolish than a cleverism. Incidentally, when writing I try like the plague to eschew unfamiliar acronyms— like GRE, SAT and ACT.  Good luck. |
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Junior Member |
I have been working on a website for this very purpose. It's free and allows users to study only gre words or sat words also. Or study words from other sources. Check it out and let me know what you think: www.onlinevocabquiz.com. I've been thinking of adding a feature to allow educators to create student word lists too.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated too. |
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Junior Member |
tending towards the philosophical, which then begs the questions/discussion ... if type 1 words are "everyday" mundane words, type 2 are the more colorful words, and type 3 are the snooty words ... why is it that type 3 words are even placed into the dictionary? if type 2 words are "good enough", what was the motivation to conjure up snooty words in the first place? is shakespear to blame?
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what was the motivation to conjure up snooty words in the first place? is shakespear to blame?
Hi, filip, and welcome to the asylum. I have never much been happy with Dale's lexical classificatory system. Words exist because the users of language find them convenient. (And, pace the bardolatrous, while Shagsberd is most certainly blameworthy, Dale was the onliest person I ever encountered who found his system useful. —Ceci n'est pas un seing. |
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Member |
I'm with zmj on this, fjagodzi.
Dale's opinions on most subjects are unusual, to say the least, and I think most members of Wordcraft disagree with his taxonomy. True, there are some inkhorn words that should never have seen the light of day, but to people such as us, who take delight in words, we would never call all such words "snooty". Come on you raver, you seer of visions, Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine! |
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