#3 College Matters: When Increasing Vocabulary Becomes a Necessity

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The need to build vocabulary is not limited to generalised societal groupings. Vocabulary development is required by a wide cross section of society. One group that often finds the need to increase their vocabulary is college students and university students. Despite possessing a rich vocabulary and gaining the contextual knowledge that assists understanding, college students and university students still find that they are required to improve their vocabulary.

An Example: The College and University Multiple-Choice Exam

One example that is talked about in the literature is that of the old college friend – the multiple-choice examination. It has been revealed that students require help with the words in these tests. On face value, this appears even more peculiar as the multi-choice test is often rehashed lecture information. So why is there a problem? As Turner and Williams (2007) state, although students claim to know the content asked of in the multi-choice exam, they often get confused by the use of unknown vocabulary. This is where increasing vocabulary building techniques are required.

Improving College and University Vocabulary

Studies reveal that a student’s knowledge of vocabulary can predict their achievement rates (Turner & Williams, 2007). Some ideas for improving vocabulary include:

  • Practice and repetition (verbal and written). Also think about the word, what it means, and how you can use it.
  • Construct a library of new words. This should consist of index cards with the word and variations (such as plural or past tense, meanings, and sentence use) (University of Alabama, 2009).
Improving Receptive Vocabulary (Reading and Listening)

Increasing vocabulary of all types is essential. In relation to college testing and university exams, however, receptive vocabulary is particularly important. This includes understanding vocabulary when reading text (including exam papers) and listening in lectures.

According to McAndrews (2008), some techniques for developing receptive vocabulary include:

  • Being surrounded with rich vocabulary;
  • Actually hearing words in context;
  • Having access to English and family language models;
  • Actively responding to words; and
  • Being able to classify sounds.
A Sure Fire Way to Increase Your College Vocabulary

Building college and university vocabulary is a more focused exercise than the normal run of the mill vocabulary. There are also many reasons why increasing college and university vocabulary is important. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE); the SAT; the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT); and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), are just some reasons why students or prospective college and university students turn to software like Ultimate Vocabulary to develop their college and university vocabulary. The software:

If you are a current college student or university student or will be sitting an entrance exam, increasing your vocabulary is an important tool for achieving your goals. By not building your vocabulary, you could be potentially jeopardizing exam results. Worse still, you could harm long-term career aspirations and goals.

References

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

Turner, H, and Williams, RL, ‘Vocabulary Development and Performance on Multiple-Choice Exams in Large Entry-level Courses’ (2007) 37(2) Journal of College Reading and Learning 64.

University of Alabama, Building a College Level Vocabulary: How to Remember New Words (2009) (viewed 1 February 2009).