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Date Posted: 18:44:12 05/28/07 Mon
Author: Fabio Vione
Subject: Peer editing to Andrea Faria
In reply to: Andréa Faria 's message, "Task 3" on 21:50:45 05/22/07 Tue

>How to improve your vocabulary
>
>“Words are explosive. Phrases are packed with TNT. (…)
>Words have changed the direction of history. Words can
>also change the direction of your life.” This is what
>Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis state at the beginning
>of their bestseller 30 days to a more powerful
>vocabulary, aimed at helping native speakers of
>English to expand their word power. If improving one’s
>vocabulary is a concern for native speakers, working
>on vocabulary acquisition - although learning a
>language involves a great deal more than that - is of
>paramount importance for those who want to improve
>their command of a foreign language. And if we are
>thinking about a good mastery of English, the task can
>be quite challenging. Due to the vast lexicon and rich
>dynamism of English, no matter how advanced learners
>we are, there will always be a wide number of new
>words and expressions to learn. Some people find it
>quite easy and natural to acquire new words and
>incorporate them to their productive vocabulary by
>investing on reading and trying to apply their new
>knowledge. Others, on the other hand, have to work
>hard and consciously to make even the slightest
>progress. For those who feel they fit in the latter
>group, there are some good tips and procedures to
>follow if they want to meet the challenge. All that
>you need is love of words, an intelligent approach,
>and a little time and disposition to practise and
>revise what you intend to learn.
>
>The first step we need to take is to start looking at
>words intently and with curiosity. It is hard to feel
>you need to learn something if it means nothing or
>seems useless to you. Unless you think something is
>worth learning, there is no point in even beginning to
>work on it. Conversely, when you think something is
>important or useful to you, your chances of learning
>it increase considerably. Therefore, be selective and
>reasonable. Think about your objectives and decide
>what items are important for you to acquire. We are
>constantly coming across a huge number of new words in
>spoken and written texts, but it would be too
>burdening and impossible to try to learn all of them.
>Focus on higher frequency words you are bound to need
>and use. Then, set a sensible goal for yourself - such
>as studying five new words or for fifteen minutes a
>day - and work consciously and seriously to keep it.
>
>The second step is to develop an intelligent plan or
>approach. Learners working on their own generally like
>keeping vocabulary notebooks and studying lists of
>words. However, these may not be efficient ways of
>learning, practising and revising new vocabulary for
>everyone. If you need to get started, working with
>small cards – about 5 x 4 cm – may be more efficient
>and fun. Though it requires some preparation and
>organization, it seems to be one of the best methods
>for increasing and keeping track of your vocabulary.
>First of all, choose the item you want to learn and
>write it on a card, in the top left-hand corner, so
>that you can file your cards once their items are
>acquired. Secondly, on the same side, write the
>pronunciation of the word and its part of speech,
>adding other pieces of information you find useful. On
>the reverse side write the translation and / or
>definition, in English, according to the meaning of
>the word in the context it is in. Use simple drawings
>whenever possible to illustrate the word or
>expression. This is said to help us remember words
>better. After that, write the sentence in which you
>heard or read the word or make a new sentence with it,
>to help you associate the word with a context and
>meaning. When you do this, however, use a symbol, such
>as ~, for the word or expression, so that you can use
>the card to test your productive knowledge, as we will
>see in the next step. You card will look similar to
>this:
>
>One side:
>GO HALVES (pronunciation in phonetic symbols)
>Expression
>
>Reverse side:
>“rachar a despesa”
>to divide the cost of something with someone
>Eg.: When the bill arrived, we decided to ~
>
>The third step involves practising and revising on a
>regular basis. You may work, for instance, from 15 to
>30 minutes a day, depending on how much time you have
>available. Set aside part of this time to enlarge your
>list of new words and the rest of the time to practise
>the words already registered. First, work receptively,
>i.e. read the new words aloud and then try to guess
>their meaning. After that, read the example sentence
>and think of situations where you can use the word. If
>about 3 days later you are still unable to remember
>the meaning of the word, flag the card to remind you
>that the item is a difficult one and demands extra
>practice. After learning receptively, move on to
>productive learning by quizzing yourself: first read
>the definitions and examples and then try to recall
>the word it refers to. When you feel you have acquired
>the new items, file the cards in alphabetical order
>for periodic revision.
>
>All this may seem a bit too complicated, but once you
>start you see how fun and exciting it is. The results
>are impressive if you work intently and regularly.
>Moreover, the sense of achievement can be so
>stimulating that you will soon feel addicted to the
>power of words. In the long run it saves you a lot of
>time and effort as you become increasingly more
>intimate with words. You will perceive the benefits of
>enjoying challenging oral and written texts with much
>more ease and confidence, needing to resort less and
>less to dictionaries and feeling better equipped to
>make guesses about new words you come across with.
>
>
>References:
>
>Funk, Wilfred & Lewis, Norman. 130 days to a more
>powerful vocabulary. New York: Pocket Books, 1971: 5.
>Nation, I.S.P. Learning vocabulary in another
>language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001:
>303-310
>Nation, I.S.P. Teaching and learning vocabulary.
>Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1990: 126

Andrea,
As usual you did an outstanding job, I’m impressed by how you text is well written, observed all the aspects pointed out by chapter 10 and interestingly described a process which seems to be very effective. I’m sure everyone who read your text became interested in it, including me, what means that it was described in a way which caught people’s attention. Unfortunately it goes beyond my abilities to say how you may improve it since I couldn’t find any mistake either in spelling or organization of ideas. It was a pleasure to go through it actually; I've even learnt some new words, such as “burden” and “paramount”. :)
Best whishes,
Fabio

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