Sakshi Education
Ten minutes of general reading on any topic that interests you is the first step towards gaining vocabulary.
Who doesn't like to have a healthy physique, a well-toned body and an athletic frame? All of us, without exception, enjoy the very idea of it. And an idea can change our life much beyond our expectations if we work towards it. Basically we are allhealthy individuals not with standing some degree of difference. All that we need is a bit of training and exercise tobe better than what we are. Look for a good gym, go there without any delay, practice the workouts regularly in accordance with the instructions and a few weeks later… there you are, shining in all the glory of a Greek figure.
To me learning a language, especially English is no different from going to a gym for reasons of fitness and feel good factor. Familiarity with language machinery, a few vocab pushups, tense treadmill and conversational walkathon on a VERY REGULAR BASIS make you an expert verbal gymnast. We all have a skill to learn a language. Or else how do you think we would have learnt our mother tongue? It is just a matter of orien-tation that gives us fluency in any given language. And acquiring competence in English is no exception.
Proficiency in a particular language depends on the accumu-lation of the repertoire of vocabulary. Some people even go to the extent of saying that the amount of money a person earns in a lifetime is dependent on the quantum of vocabulary. A nonprofit scientific organization carried years of research to confirm that wealth and words are mutually related. It extended its logic by saying that the first impression a candidate creates in job interviews is through vocabulary, among other soft skills. Precise use of words and clear expressions pave way for princely pay packages, for better or worse, it argued. Whatever justification one offers to earn fat cheques and plum jobs, a wide range of vocabulary is definitely a precious asset. Words are the building blocks of language. The more the number of words, the better and more beautiful is the structure of language. A broad vocab base can be likened to a big ward robe. The more the number of dresses, the better is the opportunity to wear the dressapt for the occasion. If, for example, there are only a few pairs, the person is forced to repeat them or much worse come with an outfit that is a misfit for a particular occasion. Similarly a wide array of words in the word robe provides aptness and competence in communication.
We will make an attempt here to see how best we can learn vocabulary. On an average, a college educated speaker is expected to know 5000 words and add at least 750 new words per year. With regular practice, one can do more than that without much difficulty. A student who spends ten minutes a day in reading a book outside the prescribed syllabus is surely way ahead of his classmates in terms of knowledge, comprehension and vocabulary.
It is rightly said that without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. Since vocabulary is the base to acquire language proficiency, let us see how one can develop this skill.
The four years of Engineering course offers a lot of opportunity to gain mastery in English. The language labs and language text books open up a great scope to get clued in to the nuances of words and expressions. Their listening, speak-ing, reading and writing vocabulary can be thoroughly improved if students just read the text books to begin with. On reading regularly, your passive vocabulary turns into active vocabulary. It means all the words and expressions you have heard earlier, you will begin to use them in your conversation or in your writing. So ten minutes of general reading on any topic that interests you is the first step towards gaining vocabulary.
If Language Labs prescribed in the course both in the first and third years of their study, are properly used, half the battle is won. If in the language labs no constructive language development is made as is the case with a few engg colleges, the students can make use of the available technology to learn the language. Every student's cell phone can teach and develop language skills if the Apps available on phone are used in that direction.
To me learning a language, especially English is no different from going to a gym for reasons of fitness and feel good factor. Familiarity with language machinery, a few vocab pushups, tense treadmill and conversational walkathon on a VERY REGULAR BASIS make you an expert verbal gymnast. We all have a skill to learn a language. Or else how do you think we would have learnt our mother tongue? It is just a matter of orien-tation that gives us fluency in any given language. And acquiring competence in English is no exception.
Proficiency in a particular language depends on the accumu-lation of the repertoire of vocabulary. Some people even go to the extent of saying that the amount of money a person earns in a lifetime is dependent on the quantum of vocabulary. A nonprofit scientific organization carried years of research to confirm that wealth and words are mutually related. It extended its logic by saying that the first impression a candidate creates in job interviews is through vocabulary, among other soft skills. Precise use of words and clear expressions pave way for princely pay packages, for better or worse, it argued. Whatever justification one offers to earn fat cheques and plum jobs, a wide range of vocabulary is definitely a precious asset. Words are the building blocks of language. The more the number of words, the better and more beautiful is the structure of language. A broad vocab base can be likened to a big ward robe. The more the number of dresses, the better is the opportunity to wear the dressapt for the occasion. If, for example, there are only a few pairs, the person is forced to repeat them or much worse come with an outfit that is a misfit for a particular occasion. Similarly a wide array of words in the word robe provides aptness and competence in communication.
We will make an attempt here to see how best we can learn vocabulary. On an average, a college educated speaker is expected to know 5000 words and add at least 750 new words per year. With regular practice, one can do more than that without much difficulty. A student who spends ten minutes a day in reading a book outside the prescribed syllabus is surely way ahead of his classmates in terms of knowledge, comprehension and vocabulary.
It is rightly said that without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. Since vocabulary is the base to acquire language proficiency, let us see how one can develop this skill.
The four years of Engineering course offers a lot of opportunity to gain mastery in English. The language labs and language text books open up a great scope to get clued in to the nuances of words and expressions. Their listening, speak-ing, reading and writing vocabulary can be thoroughly improved if students just read the text books to begin with. On reading regularly, your passive vocabulary turns into active vocabulary. It means all the words and expressions you have heard earlier, you will begin to use them in your conversation or in your writing. So ten minutes of general reading on any topic that interests you is the first step towards gaining vocabulary.
If Language Labs prescribed in the course both in the first and third years of their study, are properly used, half the battle is won. If in the language labs no constructive language development is made as is the case with a few engg colleges, the students can make use of the available technology to learn the language. Every student's cell phone can teach and develop language skills if the Apps available on phone are used in that direction.
Published date : 08 Aug 2015 05:34PM
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