There are four very important principles you need to know when learning a new word.
As learning vocabulary is the most difficult part of learning a new language, it is important that you do it correctly, otherwise will not fully know a word properly.
There are four things you should know about 'learning a word', and each of these are equally as important as the other. Often we tend to focus on only one or two of the aspects, and this is a huge mistake for learners.
So what are the four principles you should know?
1. Pronunciation
Pronunciation is 'how' you say a word. In English, this can be very challenging as the way you write a word does not necessarily tell you how to pronounce it, and vice-versa.
For example, take these 5 words that all share the letters 'OUGH'.
BOUGHT | THROUGH | ROUGH | THOUGH | DROUGHT
How do you know how to pronounce these words?
Do you know which of these words rhyme with stuff, snow or sort?
(you can check the answers to all the questions in this lesson in the video above)
All five of these words are pronounced completely differently even though they share the same vowel spelling (ou). As a result, predicting the way to pronounce a word from its spelling might not be obvious and can in many situation be surprisingly different to what you expect.
So what can we do to learn how a word is pronounced?
The first step is to consult a dictionary, a good one like Cambridge or Oxford. Both online and printed dictionaries show a word's pronunciation using a special alphabet (international phonetic alphabet) that is universal in pronunciation. You can see an example below. The special alphabet is highlighted in the pink circle.
The problem with this is that most learners of English are unaware of how to use this special alphabet, and students may not be keen to learn 'another' alphabet when they might already be trying to learn the English alphabet.
Thanks to technology today, knowing a word's pronunciation is as easy as clicking the sound icon in an app or on a website.
If you do not have access to a digital dictionary, then you should ask a native speaker. Just be careful because many native speakers of English pronounce words differently because of their accents and which country and region they come from.
The second step is to use a notation system that you understand. Many learners have a vocabulary notebook where they write down new words and phrases. In addition to writing down a word's definition, you should write something down that will help remind you of the word's correct pronunciation.
For example, if you want to learn the word 'though', write down a word that you know that rhymes with 'though'.
e.g.
'though' > '~so'
You are unlikely to mispronounce 'So' and will serve as a useful reminder of how 'though' is pronounced.
2. Meaning (in context)
When you are looking up a new word in the dictionary, make sure you find the right meaning of the word you are looking for. More often than not, a word may have more than one meaning, and sometimes they may have a different pronunciation (even though they have the same spelling). For example:
How many meanings of the word 'sow' do you know?
(scroll down for answers)
ANSWER: there are three main definitions of sow.
1. to sow sth (v) David and James will sow the carrots and turnips on Monday. = to put seeds in the ground so that a plant will grow
Here, 'sow' rhymes with 'so'. 'So' would be a good word to choose to help you remember the pronunciation of 'sow' in the verb form.
2. a sow (n) That sow has won several awards at the National Agricultural Festival. = an adult female pig
Here, 'sow' rhymes with 'cow'. The pronunciation, meaning and type of word is completely different to meaning #1.
3. to sow sth (v) When two of my colleagues had been laid off, this sowed doubt in my mind as to how long I would stay employed at the company. = to introduce or spread feelings, especially ones that cause trouble
Here, 'sow' rhymes with 'so, as this is similar to meaning #1 but is used metaphorically to describe planting ideas into people's minds.
The main takeaway of this is to make sure you find the right meaning of the word you are trying to learn. Also, it's important to note down the pronunciation in a way that is easy for you to understand.
3. Word Formation
Word formation deals with a word's 'part of speech' (or type of word). This refers to whether the word is a noun (n), verb (v), adjective (adj), or adverb (adv). Often, when we look up a word for the first time, we are only interested in the word we are looking for, and once we have found its definition, we stop there.
TIP: Learn one, learn them all.
It's a good idea to learn the other forms of the same word. Often, these other forms will be listed nearby or even next to the word you're looking for in the dictionary. In an online dictionary, there will always be a list of its other forms for you to click on.
For example. Let's say you come across this sentence and want to learn the word 'create'.
We will need to create a system to track customer purchases.
You will find that 'create' is a verb. Close to this dictionary entry, you will find the other forms of this word, namely the ones below:
CREATION | CREATIVE | CREATIVELY | CREATIVITY | CREATOR
Do you know what type of words these are?
(scroll down for answers)
ANSWERS:
creation = noun
creative = adj
creatively = adv
creativity = abstract noun from the adj
creator = noun person
So how does knowing the different forms of a word help you?
In many cases, the meaning of each form doesn't change too much (in others they do), but more importantly each form is used differently within a sentence (see my lesson on 'An Introduction to English Sentence Structure' for me details) and this will encourage you to use different kinds of sentences to convey similar meaning. By doing this, you will increase your range of expressions, which is ultimately the goal of learning any language.
Here are some examples using the words above.
We will need to create a system to track customer purchases. = in verb position
This job requires creativity and a sense of humour. = abstract noun used in subject position
The creator of this TV series won many awards. = noun person used in subject position
The student wrote a detailed and creative essay. = adj to describe the object
Your team will focus on the creation of personal wealth. = noun used in object position
Learning the various forms of a word is an easy way to expand your vocabulary quickly. Yes, it will take you a little more time to read the dictionary, but you will be adding 4 or 5 new words to your vocabulary in a much much shorter time.
4. Collocations (or word partnerships)
A collocation is two or more words used together naturally by native speakers. This is extremely important as this will allow you to communicate more effectively, even if you make grammatical mistakes. The collocation is essential for meaning - the grammar takes second place.
For example
do homework (verb + noun collocation) I'm too busy to go out. I need to do my homework tonight.
In English, the collocation with 'homework' is 'do' (from the perspective of the student). If you use a different verb, you will either change the meaning (or perspective; from the teacher) or it will be incorrect.
In general, collocations
are often not predictable, and are often different from what you would say in your language
are extremely important because they are the foundation of all English sentences
can have different forms, for example:
make a mistake (verb + noun)
happily married (adv + adj)
major breakthrough (adj + noun)
conduct extensive tests (verb + adj + noun)
Do you know what the following verb + noun collocations are?
(scroll down for answers)
ANSWERS:
make a difference
have a party
take a shower
do a crime
play a role
To finish, I hope you are aware that learning vocabulary properly requires hard work. But to really know a word and how to use it, requires knowing the four principles of words: pronunciation (and spelling), meaning in context, word forms, and collocations.
In the next lesson, I will show you some ways to help you remember the vocabulary you have just learned.
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