A person’s vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are

familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age and serves as a

usual and fundamental1 tool for communication and acquiring knowledge.

Acquiring an extensive2 vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning

a second language.

1 basic2 wide

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Do you know?

Vocabulary is the basic tool of writing. Can you write

without vocabulary?

Vocabulary Development

Vocabulary is of much more importance than grammar. It is the key to

communicate3 successfully with other people. Words are the currency of

communication. A robust vocabulary improves all areas of

communication-Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

To have mastery over vocabulary4 is of much importance because the

people judge you by the words you use. Secondly, having a better vocabulary

really improves your ability to think.

Vocabulary is the most important skill to

learn any language.

There are two kinds of vocabulary:3 commune4 lexis

2

Do you know?

We have full

command on

our active vocabulary

Vocabulary Development

1- Active vocabulary

2- Passive vocabulary

1. Active vocabulary:he active vocabulary of a person consists of those words

that he can use correctly

in his own speech and writing.

He fully understands the

meaning of those words.

It is also called working or

functional5 vocabulary.

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2. Passive vocabulary:

5 useful

3

Do you know?

Passive vocabulary is

always smaller no

larger than

Active vocabulary

Vocabulary Development

he passive vocabulary of a person consists of those words

which he recognizes when he encounters them in print or

in the speech of others. He can make out the meanings of those

words e.g while reading an editorial in the newspaper, he finds a

number of unfamiliar

words, but he has not

sufficient mastery over

those words. He is able to

judge their meanings

from the context but can’t use them in his own speech and piece

of writing. It is also called recognition6 vocabulary. Passive

Vocabulary is always larger than Active Vocabulary.

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6 identification

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Vocabulary Development

Words are of two kinds:

1. Content Words

2. Structural Words

1. Content Words:Content words are those that stand for

Things , ideas and entities7. They are called Nouns .

Actions- they are called Verbs.

Qualities- they are called adjectives and adverbs.

7 individualities

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All the pronouns: I, You, He, They,

etc.

All the prepositions: on, under, at,

etc.

All the auxiliary verbs: did, shall,

etc.

All the conjunctions: and, but, or,

etc.

Vocabulary Development

2- Structural Words:tructural words are those which have little or no meaning in themselves, but they

bind together other words to make phrases, clauses and sentences.SThe following is the list of structural words

Strategies to improve vocabulary

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Expansion through reading

Expansion through repetition

Expansion through words in context

Expansion through vocabulary trees

Expansion through word walls

Expansion through root words

Expansion through prefixes and suffixes

Expansion through synonyms and antonyms

Expansion through word formation charts

Expansion through word list

Expansion through visual dictionaries

Expansion through word games

Vocabulary DevelopmentThere are many ways to improve your vocabulary. There are a number of

methods to help you improve and expand your vocabulary. You must cultivate a habit of

extensive and regular reading.

1. Expansion through reading:

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Vocabulary Development

eading is one of the best ways of expanding8 vocabulary. While reading the

reader should be encouraged to highlight familiar vocabulary in one color and the

unfamiliar vocabulary with another color. Teacher May also adopt the methods of “Pre

teaching or Reading Vocabulary.” The teacher may write the unfamiliar words on the

board with their meanings before starting reading of the lesson.

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2. Expansion through repetition:Repeat, repeat and just repeat. Repetition has a powerful impact on learning.

8 growing

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Vocabulary DevelopmentThe more times we are exposed to a word, the stronger our understanding becomes. It

takes a minimum9 fifteen encounters with a new word for a student to understand and

apply the word independently.

3. Expansion through words in context:The very best way to learn and teach vocabulary is in context. When students see

new words or expression in context, there are two advantages:

Do not select individual words, teach words in context. Teaching vocabulary “in

context” is more effective.

9 Smallest amount

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Vocabulary Development

4. Expansion through vocabulary trees:Vocabulary trees help to provide content. Once you have mapped out a few

vocabulary trees, you will discover yourself teaching in vocabulary groups. When you see a

cup your mind will quickly relate such words as knife, fork and dishes etc.

So it will help the students get started.

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Vocabulary Development

5. Expansion through word walls: word wall is systematically organized collection of key words from a unit of

study. Word walls receive a prominent place in a classroom environment10. They

are usually front and center, large and easy to see. These word walls are great places to

put sight words and high frequency words throughout the year.

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10 surroundings

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Vocabulary Development

6. Expansion through Root Words:eacher should focus first on teaching roots. Students should be familiar with the

basic word and, then, they will observe how the help them understand the word’s

definition.

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So, before teaching them the words:

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Vocabulary Development “Useful”

“Helpless”

“Careless” etc

Tech them about the words:

“Use”

“Help”

“Care” etc

They know the meaning of root words; they will be able to understand words having

prefixes and suffixes.

7. Expansion through prefixes & suffixes:hen students will have learnt the root words, the next step is to add prefixes and

suffixes. This will help them in enriching their vocabulary. For example, if a

student knows the meanings of the words ‘ ir ’ and ‘in’ are negative prefixes and he knows

the meaning of the words ‘regular’ and ‘correct’ he can easy understand meanings of the

‘irregular’ and ’incorrect’

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Similarly, if a student knows that the suffix ‘ness’ indicates11 a noun and

he knows the meanings of the root word ‘kind’ he will find no difficulty in knowing the

meaning of “kindness

Prefixes showing quantity

Meaning Prefixes in English Words

11 Points to

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Vocabulary Developmenthalf semiannual, hemisphere

one unicycle, monarchy, monorail

two binary, bimonthly, dilemma, dichotomy

hundred century, centimeter, hectoliter

thousand millimeter, kilometer

Prefixes showing negation

without, no, not

asexual, anonymous, illegal, immoral, invalid, irreverent, unskilled

not, absence of, opposing, against

nonbreakable, antacid, antipathy, contradict

opposite to, complement to

counterclockwise, counterweight

do the opposite of, remove, reduce

dehorn, devitalize, devalue

do the opposite of, deprive of

disestablish, disarm

wrongly, bad

misjudge, misdeed

Prefixes showing time

before antecedent, forecast, precede, prologue

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Vocabulary Developmentafter postwar

again rewrite, redundant

Prefixes showing direction or position

above, over supervise, supererogatory

across, over transport, translate

below, under

infrasonic, infrastructure, subterranean, hypodermic

in front of proceed, prefix

behind recede

out of erupt, explicit, ecstasy

into injection, immerse, encourage, empower

around circumnavigate, perimeter

with coexist, colloquy, communicate, consequence, correspond, sympathy, synchronize

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8. Expansion through synonyms & antonyms:

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Vocabulary DevelopmentAnother way of teaching vocabulary is through synonyms and antonyms of the world.

Synonyms and antonyms are fun and lively ways to teach your students new vocabulary

and improve their English language skills e.g.

Synonyms of “intelligence”: bright, smart, gifted, etc

Antonyms of “intelligence: stupid, dim, slow, dull, etc

TESTS OF SYNONYMS

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Vocabulary Development

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Vocabulary Development

9. Expansion through word formation charts:Word formation is one of the keys to success for students of high classes. These word

formation charts provide the concept nouns, personal noun, adjective and verb form of the

key word e.g.

Word formation chart

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Vocabulary DevelopmentKey Word: Pollution

10. Expansion through Word List:Provide students with any key word and make word lists of that word e.g

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Vocabulary Development

11. Expansion through visual dictionaries or cues:

A picture is worth a thousand words. It is

also very helpful for learning precise vocabulary

e.g you can show them the pictures of ‘painter’,

‘policeman’, ‘judge’ etc. Relevant vocabulary will

come in their minds.

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Vocabulary Development

12. Expansion through word games:Word games also improve vocabulary making the exercises fun and

enjoyable. In these exercises you obtain meanings and are required to remember and

associate the right word with the right meaning. There are a number of games which

you can utilize to expand vocabulary e.g.

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Games

Vocabulary Development

n short, vocabulary can make or break your life successful. These several

techniques will dramatically change how you will express yourself. But there is no

magic bullet; you can’t improve your vocabulary overnight. So, the more you

practice, the more you learn.

IHere are some worksheets attached to improve vocabulary for the learners

Vocabulary Tests:

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