#15 Improve Your Vocabulary: The Importance of Hearing Words

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Vocabulary development can be viewed as difficult and perhaps out of reach for some of us. It can be thought of as too time consuming. There are, however, effective ways to develop your vocabulary that are simple and streamlined.

One way to improve your vocabulary is to hear it. Research shows that vocabulary building can occur via listening, even when the listener is exposed to a minimal amount of new words (Cohen, 2008). It is also noted that by just listening, even without repetition (ie a noted way of building vocabulary), vocabulary development can occur. It is also necessary for learners (both English as a second language learners and native speakers) to hear English before actually reading the words (Austermuehle and others, 2007).

A study by Vidal (2003) revealed that students who listened to just 3 lectures demonstrated reasonable increases in vocabulary (Cohen, 2008). It is suggested that listening could substitute for reading in regards to increasing vocabulary, and that when used with interactive teaching, exposure to audio increases vocabulary development (Cohen, 2008). According to Cohen (2008), just listening to stories or the reading of text may be more effective for vocabulary development than once thought.

Verbal vocabulary is often more limited than written vocabulary as we have the ability to use non-verbal communication when communicating orally. This gets rid of the need for a lot of words and meanings.

To improve your vocabulary:

  • Participate in environments where there is rich and quality word usage. This does not necessarily mean a situation in which there is a lot of communication. Rather, because the strength of one’s vocabulary can differ in terms of depth and scope, exposure in an environment where in-depth understandings can be gained is important. The ability to comprehend words as opposed to just identifying them is essential.
  • Quality vocabulary refers to an environment in which new words are used in context. The more times the word is used and the different ways it is used will further increase understanding and improve your vocabulary.
  • The ability to respond in these situations is also important. Not only do you need to listen, but the ability to internalise, analyse, and then produce it is also beneficial to increasing your vocabulary. It assists long term memory of word meanings (McAndrews, 2008).

Audio strategies to improve vocabulary can be as simple as listening in an environment rich with quality words. Another is the use of software that has an audio component. For example, Ultimate Vocabulary software has high quality audio pronunciations of more than 20,000 words.

References

Austermuehle, D, Kautz, T, and Sprenzel, J, Improving the Knowledge and Application of Vocabulary within Content Areas (2007).

Cohen, J, Listening to Learn: Boosting Vocabulary with Interactive Activities (2008).

McAndrews, SL, ‘Language and Vocabulary Development: Understanding Language Development’ in International Reading Association, Diagnostic Literacy Assessments and Instructional Strategies: A Literacy Specialist’s Resource (2008) (viewed 1 February 2009).

Vidal (2003) in Cohen, J, Listening to Learn: Boosting Vocabulary with Interactive Activities (2008).

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