A Dictionary of Distinctions provides new insights into common words, about the awesome power of ordinary words... Words that so-called "normal" folks take for granted and use every day in their conversations without ever giving them another thought. This book is a journey through the way language shapes our reality. Learn more.....
Many studies have established the fact that there is a high correlation between vocabulary and intelligence and that the ability to increase one's vocabulary throughout life is a sure reflection of intellectual progress. - Bergen Evans
Vocabulary is the basic tool for communication and knowledge. It enables us to send information to others, to interpret facts, opinions and views, and to express ourselves.
How do we Use Vocabulary?
There are four types of vocabulary usage, listening, speaking, reading and writing:
• listening - recognizing words in the process of listening • speaking - using words in speech • reading - recognizing words in the process of reading, and • writing - using words in writing.
What does it mean 'to acquire a word'?
If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future. - Jim Rohn
There are three basic second or foreign language word acquisition levels:
1. Unknown / new word - a learner does not know the word, never saw it written, and never heard of it.
2. Passive word:
a) the learner heard the word in the past but he/she is not sure about its meaning now; b) the learner can recognize / understand the meaning of the word only when it is written; c) the learner cannot spell the word but can pronounce it; d) the learner can write / spell the word correctly but cannot pronounce it correctly; e) the learner heard the word (or saw it written), however, s/he cannot use the word in speech; f) the learner can recognize the word only when it is pronounced by someone, however, s/he cannot spell it correctly.
3. Active word - the learner can use the word fluently and correctly in all situations,in its written and spoken form.
FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program. The partner is the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. FreeRice has two goals: (1) provide education to everyone for free and (2) help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. Learning new vocabulary has tremendous benefits. It can help students formulate their own ideas better, write better papers, emails and business letters, speak more precisely and persuasively, comprehend more of what they read, read faster, get better grades, Ssore higher on tests like the SAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT, perform better at job interviews, conferences, etc.
This is a free resource used in over 24,000 schools to enhance vocabulary mastery & written/verbal skills with Latin & Greek roots. Includes root-word puzzles, word lists, and tests.
Vocabulary Workshop, with a list of the 1000 most common words in English, as well as other useful information. To hear the correct pronunciation, click on the word.
Using some of the recent advances in language learning methodology, Lexiology's adaptive learning system can significantly enhance your students' vocabulary building speed. Every individual is different and so are the learning methods they adopt. This system automatically determines what works best for each student.
Quzzes and games with pictures for ESL students: word-to-picture / picture-to-word games. Learners can choose the games that they enjoy and play them to reinforce their English language skills.
Teaching and learning vocabulary on the web: resourced lists, word tests, vocabulary profilers, frequency-based wordlists, and more. In addition, there is a Bookbox.
Vocabulary building and vocabulary learning techniques, ways of dealing with meaning, recording and remembering new words, working out meaning of unknown words, vocabulary exercises, and references.
The Academic Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead of Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts.
SuperMemo will dramatically increase your speed of learning. You can order SuperMemo or download its freeware version and start using it in minutes. At this site you will find lots of material for learning with SuperMemo in areas such as languages, sciences, economics, geography, and many more.
Lexicology is an area of language study concerned with the nature, meaning, history, and use of words and word elements and often also with the critical description of Lexicography. Although formerly a branch of Philology, Lexicology is increasingly treated as a branch of Linguistics, associated with such terms as lexeme, lexical field, lexical item, lexicon, lexis, on the premiss that they offer a more precise and useful basis for the study of language than imprecise terms such as Word and Vocabulary.
In linguistics fields, a portmanteau is defined as a blend of two or more function words, e.g. porter (French 'to carry') + manteau (French 'cloak') = portmanteau (plural: portmanteaus or portmanteaux) web + seminar = webinar breakfast + lunch = brunch zebra + donkey = zonkey smoke + fog = smog spoon + fork = spork (an eating utensil that is a combination of a spoon and fork) skirt + shorts = skort (an item of clothing that is part skirt, part shorts) chocolate + holic = chocoholic (a person who is "addicted" to chocolate) wiki + encyclopedia = wikipedia Chinese + English = Chinglish Japanese + English = Japlish Spanish + English = Spanglish Hindi + English = Hinglish Tanganyika + Zanzibar = Tanzania
Richard Lederer's Verbivore website was woven for wordaholics, logolepts, and verbivores. It is the website where carnivores eat meat; herbivores eat plants and vegetables; verbivores devour words. Dr. Lederer is the author of more than 30 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series and his current book, and more...
VocabGrabber analyzes any text you're interested in. It generates lists of the most useful vocabulary words and show you how those words are used in context. All you need to do is copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and then click on the "Grab Vocabulary!" button. VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from your text, which you can then sort, filter, and save.
Vintage Vocabulary is devoted to American words and expressions with intriguing histories. The site includes some words that are now obsolete, but encapsulate colorful slices of America's past. It also features recent word inventions that seem like good candidates for future "vintage" status.
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Andrea Rains Waggener has developed a novel writing system that takes you step-by-step through the entire process in such a manner that not only is writing going to be fun for you, but the end result is going to impress editors and publishers. Her system will make your novel writing almost as easy as just filling in the blanks. Click here to learn more...
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