Posted:
Originally posted by: Madhuilove
Hello gur,if you don't mind me asking,I always wanted to know how you strengthened your Vocabulary. So plz if you could guide me ,thank you
Hey Madhu!
Well, there are quite a few factors that played a contribution so I'll do my best to list them out. 😆
- Country: I was born and raised in Canada which is a primarily English speaking country. As such, I've had to speak, listen, read and write in this language for every aspect of my life. Given this fact, knowing how people sentence their structures for various scenarios helps in my own understanding of the vernacular. For example, the way a politician addresses the public is going to be different compared to a five year old screaming across the school grounds. Or the way an ESL student speaks is going to differ compared to a native speaker.
- Education: This played a huge role in developing my skills. Throughout my elementary years, a major part of our learning time was spent on reading. Fifteen minutes used to be set aside every single day for private reading in classroom, and when we were learning new subjects, kids were asked to read paragraphs out loud so that we can practice our pronunciation. We also used to have spelling tests where we had to not just spell out the words but also define and then use them in a sentence in the correct way. Variations of these methods carried on into my high school years as well and it all came together to make me embrace new reading materials rather than shy away from them.
- Reading: Apart from reading books because the curriculum dictated it, I also read in my spare time. I read in genres that I liked, and ones that were out of my comfort zone. I read materials written by published authors and consumed hundred of fanfictions. I also read books written for different age groups so that I can see how the substance of the material changes and how to grip the audience no matter how old they are. One doesn't need to use big fancy words all the time. The material simply needs to be enticing and engaging for the human mind.
- Thesaurus: This might be considered cheating, but I personally find it very helpful. It not only helps to avoid repetition of the same words, but also helps to illustrate what is happening with more precision. For example, there is a difference between the words walking and marching. They both have the same function - taking a person from one place to the next - but the manner in which they're doing so is not. The first can be perceived as a leisure, normal paced action while the latter implies a rush of emotions and an act being conducted because of great urgence.
These are the main ones that I can think of off the top of my head when it comes to vocabulary specifically. If there's anything else you wish to know, feel free to ask!
Book Talk
Anupamaa
