A manual:How to work on vocabulary?

October 5th


As I promised I would reflect my work on vocabulary here, so let me take Andy Warhol’s pieces.

There are several types of vocabulary: one, which I translate to 1.) understand the meaning of the text better 2.) memorise the words, which will be remembered in some time after being seen several times, but I don’t write them out, for I consider I won’t be using them in the near future, or they just sound dull. The second type of vocabulary gets written down. This is vocabulary I work on.

I must also mention that I first read a text till the moment I wish to read underling the unknown words. When I stop my reading I take a dictionary.

One more thing: If don’t want to open the monolingual dictionary, don’t open any other. Wait till you want to do it!

Shuffle – mix playing card. Think of a situation, when you use this word. I always make up such an example, where someone speaks. You sit in a local pub. Your friend wants to play cards. You take the cards from your pocket and give them out. Your friend shouts at you: “Shuffle the cards first!” So this way I memorise the word. I don’t write this down. This is done to remember the emotion, which I have in connection with this word. What is left after this in my Vocabulary Notebook? A word itself and some popular phrases with it. It’s my turn to shuffle and shuffle the cards.

You must clearly understand what is important to write down and what is not. For instance, I would hardly ever note the American English, slang, food or words related to medicine. The selection part is the most valuable, because you choose how you would like to speak or write. I mean, if you are so good at language that a wart is a word you are keen to remember, that’s your choice but not mine.

Drip – let liquid fall in drops. The tap is dripping. Her hair was dripping. Drip blood/water/sweat etc. His arm is dripping blood. Drop down/from etc. Water was dripping through the ceiling. In a dictionary are many more ways to use this word, but let it be. Not only write, but do not read too much.

Try to write down phrases more then words.

Have a one-track mind - continuously think about one particular thing, especially sex.

Don’t write the word or phrase you already know.

A drag – (informal) - something or someone that is boring. Don't be such a drag! Come to the party.
Or - Something that is annoying and continues for a long time. It's a real drag having to travel so far to work every day.

I didn’t write in drag, I knew it.

From scratch - if you start something from scratch, you begin it without using anything that existed or was prepared before. We had to start again from scratch.

Other for today:

Dunk
Doze off - to go to sleep, especially when you did not intend to. = drop off, nod off.
Rub


That is all for this hour, because I feel tired after looking up many words. Many of them I don’t have here, for they are too specific. (I have looked thought 21 pages.)

Actually, it is a good idea to learn POPULAR words and phrases, which are used all around and about. This is the another story, though.

What do I do next when I have the words in my Notebook? I look at them for some time for many days, till I feel I know them well. But still I think that the more you read the broader vocabulary you have, even without doing much work with it.