Learning Vocab

4 years ago
Many students are always asking me why they cannot remember vocab words more easily.  Or I have students that do not have a large vocabulary which makes it harder to speak and speak confidently.  Are you one of those?  If so, read on about the 3 different categories of vocab that there are. 

There are 2 types of learning that need to take place before you can learn new words: receptive and productive. 
   
Receptive learning means that you will instantly recognize a word (heard and seen it before).  One of the strategies for receptive learning can include studying word parts (prefixes and suffixes), learning word lists and playing games.  These strategies are critically important for you if you are coming to class with a lower working vocabulary.
Productive learning happens when you use words correctly through speech and in writing. 

You may have had teachers in the past that focused more on productive learning while not taking sufficient time to develop receptive learning, which is often where knowledge gaps are.

Nearly all people have larger receptive vocabularies. We know many words that we do not often use. 
What this means for you is that you can often get the gist of a word by the context of the sentences around it.  The difficulty arises when you have to move into the productive stage and use words according to its nuances (shades of meaning). 

Try this little test for yourself (I made up this word, by the way):

The ladies obstuficated in front of the king.

You can likely pick up that it is a verb, so you can make a fairly good guess at the meaning.  You are in receptive control of the nonsense word because you are making connections to it by the context of the sentence. 

But if I tell you that it means they curtsied, then you can now correctly use my nonsense word in other sentences.  You are in productive control of it.

Now for the specific categories of words that relate to business English or academic English or even everyday, conversational English. 
 To develop academic vocabulary, you need to have enough opportunities to talk about the words. 
The Words are grouped as follows: 

Tier 1
Basic words. These are words that do not need explicit instruction except for severe learning disabled students. Examples of these types of words are girl, water, book, or bread.  These are receptive words.

Tier 2
Often used words that are necessary for understanding a text. Examples of these types of words are: traditional, related, thinking, or upset. Many students do not understand synonyms so they lose comprehension when these types of words appear.

Tier 3 (this can relate to the specific class you are taking or the industry you are working in). 
Infrequently used words that are associated with specific things, such as math or science. Examples of these are isometric, podiatrist, equilateral or glandular.  Rarely are these words part of your receptive language, yet we expect you to use them productively in your classes or at work.

I would suggest you take this information and create word games for yourself, or study word parts like prefixes and suffixes.   For example, one word is careful.  Look at the suffix "ful," how it relates the root word, apply it to other root words, then add another suffix on, such as "ly."

I hope these tips help; if you need more advice, there are plenty of great teachers on here to help you.  I highly encourage you to find one with an education background or degree because they will have a lot more tips and tricks to provide you. 

Good luck!