#6 Overcoming Barriers to Improving Your Vocabulary: Using Vocabulary Building Software
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We are faced with many barriers that have the power to prevent us from achieving our potential. Life is about overcoming these. Vocabulary development is no different. By using vocabulary-building software, significant benefits can be achieved. The advantages of improving our vocabulary can be life-changing, such as increased reading comprehension (which further develops vocabulary); the ability to communicate clearly and concisely; a more positive professional image; and increasing promotion prospects and job opportunities.
Barriers to vocabulary development
According to the Texas Education Agency (2002), some barriers that might prevent us from building our vocabulary are:
1. The enormity of vocabulary development. This is often related to school-aged children who learn between 2,000 and 3,000 words per year. As adults, however, we confront new situations and work environments, and need to increase our vocabularies in order to succeed. If we don’t have the initial contextual background that assists our understandings, the number of new words we encounter can be overwhelming and beyond our understanding. This is where computer-assisted vocabulary technologies can ease the process.
2. The English that we speak is different to the English that is written. Often, non-verbal vocabulary is more intense and richer than our verbal vocabulary range (see also "What is a Good Vocabulary?"). This can be due to the fact that when we speak to one another, we have other tools at hand to assist our message being understood (such as gestures and mannerisms). The need to develop non-verbal vocabulary can be disguised by the fact that a person’s verbal communication skills may seem fine.
3. The resources used to gather vocabulary information are in themselves obstacles. This refers to context and word parts. The use of context to increase one’s vocabulary is often not as beneficial for those who do not possess the contextual background required to assist understanding. As such, it is also suggested that word parts are not always the best method for gaining vocabulary understanding. Using vocabulary-building software can offer the user a variety of methods to gain understanding.
4. Vocabulary is complex. Just knowing a definition of a word does not signal understanding. Gaining constant experience with words can help us overcome the subtle differences that exist among some words. In Improve Your Vocabulary, Improve Your Success, Troy Simpson says that a word must be used in context 40 times before mastery of that word and its meaning is achieved.
Austermuehle and others (2007) suggest that computer-assisted learning can help develop vocabulary in school-aged children. They refer to the beneficial use of online dictionaries and reference matter; websites that provide content for the words; interactive games that develop vocabulary; hyperlinks; and animated aids. The principle to take away from this is that computer-assisted learning provides a platform on which learning is student-oriented and active – both essential for maximum learning.
Overcoming barriers to vocabulary development with computer-aided learning
Products such as the Ultimate Vocabulary software offer a variety of tools to assist in overcoming the obstacles to vocabulary development. The Word Discover™ product supplies over 50 usage examples; an instant message service (Word Messenger™) periodically reminds the user of their current word list; and the Learning Curve™ product intelligently filters words that have already been learnt.
References
Austermuehle, D, Kautz, T, and Sprenzel, J, Improving the Knowledge and Application of Vocabulary within Content Areas (2007), Master Thesis, Saint Xavier University, Chicago.
Texas Education Agency 2002, Promoting Vocabulary Development – Components of Effective Vocabulary Instruction (viewed 1 February 2009).
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