Vocabulary Building

Advanced Vocabulary Techniques

Word Formation:

• Prefixes: un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over- (unhappy, redo, preview)
• Suffixes: -tion, -ly, -ness, -ful (creation, quickly, happiness, helpful)
• Root words: Understanding Latin/Greek roots (spect = see, port = carry)

Collocations:

• Strong coffee (not powerful coffee)
• Make a decision (not do a decision)
• Heavy rain (not strong rain)
• Take a shower (not make a shower)

Contextual Learning:

Instead of memorizing isolated words, learn vocabulary in context:

• Read extensively in different genres
• Keep a vocabulary journal with sentences
• Use new words in speaking and writing
• Review regularly with spaced repetition

Semantic Fields:

Group related words together: emotions (happy, sad, excited, anxious), weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy), food (spicy, bitter, sweet, sour)

Vocabulary Building Strategies

1. Learn Word Families

Study related words together: happy, happiness, happily, unhappy

2. Use Context Clues

Guess word meanings from surrounding text

3. Practice Daily

Learn 5-10 new words each day and use them in sentences