Strong Vocabulary— A Key to Excellent Communication

Good communication skills are ranked first among all the ‘must-have’ capabilities and qualities of a job candidate, says a 2016 survey by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Other than the professional arena, strong communication skills play a significant role in our personal conversations with friends and family too. Therefore, it is important for students to focus on improving their abilities in early years of school. To excel in communication, both verbal and nonverbal, the first focus should be on building strong vocabulary.

Expanding vocabulary, however, is a long-term activity that depends on good habits and sensible practice. To succeed in improving word stock you need to be focused and can follow these useful steps:

Reading: Students should read novels, magazines, newspapers in their leisure time as reading helps young minds to expand their vocabulary. Reading offers not just an awareness of words, but a real feel for them. voracious readers have more word stock than others.

Keep the dictionary and thesaurus handy: When you uncover a new word check it in the dictionary to get both its pronunciation and its meaning. Check the thesaurus to find similar words and phrases with their synonyms and antonyms.

Listen carefully: Picking up new words from the people you talk is a brilliant way to enrich your vocabulary. Listen your parents’ and teachers’ conversations carefully and grab some new words from them.

Use a journal: Keep a list of the new words you discover everyday while reading or talking with others. Referring back to the list will enhance your everyday vocabulary. Keeping a journal of all new words can provide positive reinforcement for learning even more.

Go back to the roots: The most powerful tool for learning new words, and to decipher the meaning is improving knowledge on Latin and Greek roots. Latin and Greek elements (prefixes, roots, and suffixes) are a significant part of the English language and a great tool for learning new words. Vocab Tunes, an online initiative by educational reformer Manisha Shelly Kaura and her father Dr. S.R. Kaura has created a four-level K-12 vocabulary program for kids. The program includes a CD comprising 21 root word songs, a handbook and a DVD, and is structured in such a way that students are able to expand their wordbanks by learning root words.

Forget memorizing words and its definition; through Vocab Tunes you will achieve mastery in building vocabulary. All 21 tracks will make you fall in love with learning new words while you singing along and dance with the tune.