Building vocabulary is important because human beings mostly communicate through words. Without a good vocabulary, you will not understand what people are telling you, you will not be able to pass your message across accurately, and you will not know what is going on around you. Having a good vocabulary enables you to come across as more intelligent since you will avoid the ‘umms’ and the ‘uhhs’ in your verbal communication and because you will be more eloquent, meaning it increases your chances of success in the work place. A good vocabulary improves your self-esteem, meaning you will have an easier time in your social and work life. Traditional methods of building vocabulary include reading books, using wordbooks, reading dictionaries, revising words you have already learnt and using them in your daily life, learning a little Latin, using an online vocabulary builder, and writing. There is however, a shift towards building vocabulary through activities. The greatest advantage of building your vocabulary this way is the fact that it is fun. You get to pick from different activities that interest you, meaning you will participate in the vocabulary building for a much longer time compared to other options like reading. You should build your vocabulary through activities because you will get the right context. It is easier to remember what you have learnt if it was in a fun activity since scientists are of the opinion that the more senses you use in learning something, the easier it is to remember it. This is because you get to pair the words with your motor memory. Common methods of vocabulary building like reading only involve sight while activities involve sight, sound, touch, and even smell. So, what activities will help you build vocabulary? You could build your vocabulary by taking a new class. Learning new skills, be they fishing skills, cooking skills, dancing skills, or carpentry skills, will improve your vocabulary since different skills have different vocabularies. You should therefore learn a new skill in the area you are interested in or in the area you work in such as learning to play the piano if you are a musician. You could visit a museum. Live museums and museums with interactive displays have programs that help you learn words that are associated with their focus. You will also learn historic words. Going to a zoo will help you build your vocabulary since you will learn the names of different animals, some of which have exotic names. Some zoos feature shows where trainers work with animals and explain their capabilities and needs. Similarly, gardening will help you learn gardening lexicon and it will enrich your knowledge of Latin. You could build vocabulary by playing different games. Kids could play alphabet games while you could play word play games, word games such as scrabble, word skill games such as Hig Pig, crossword puzzles, context games, prefix and suffix games, typing games, and idiom and homophone games. You could also play games that are specific to what you are interested in such as SAT games if you are about to take SAT exams.

Belle Jose is the author of this article on Build Vocabulary. Find more information on Building Vocabulary here.

Article Source: http://www.infoarticles.us