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Vocabulary-Building Tips
Some strategies include studying common prefixes (the
letters that appear at the beginning of a word) and suffixes (the
letters found at the end of a word). Together, prefixes and suffixes
are known as affixes. Understanding that the prefix "pre" means
"before" will help you decode words like preface, precognitive and
premature, for example.
Few of tips rely on memorization
tactics. Most strategies focus on word associations and context.
Students can benefit from creating "word webs." Word webs involve
writing down a root word and creating branches with similar words.
This helps students visualize how groups of words are related.
Reading is one of the most helpful
tools in language comprehension. Pick up a newspaper, buy the latest
issue of Time Magazine, National Geographic or Rolling Stone, or
just pull some John Steinbeck off the bookshelf. Make flashcards for
the more difficult words you run into.
Even playing games like Scrabble can be helpful. Most importantly,
talk to people around you. Conversation is the best tool for
building language skills.
from Going to College Newsletter -
Bridges.com |