Word Practice: A Practical Method to Vocabulary Learning

Memorizing new words can be a nightmare, if we don't know the right strategy to do that. The most common way to do it is by saying it repeatedly until we think we keep the words safely in our brain. Yes, of course we can do this as it is proven to be able to help us memorize a word. However, we need to be careful that this kind of memorization method does not help store that word for a long time in our memory. Thus, we will forget the word after quite a long period of time. Then feeling frustrated will come right after that, as if we have failed doing that.

If it's merely repeating a word without knowing in what context it's used, then it will leave no trace in our memory. Then it's good to memorize a certain by not simply repeating saying the word, but instead, by knowing when to use it in a sentence, the definition by looking up the dictionary, the synonym, and even the picture of it. This combination of interrelated features form a strategy called "WORD PRACTICE".

We can say that "WORD PRACTICE" is a strategy to memorize new vocabularies that involves context, where they are used, synonyms, and images (if it's a noun). It is these four features which help us find where and when a certain word is used. Therefore, whenever we need to call it, we can track it by recalling them. In other words, they help us sort and find a certain word in our memory.

To apply "WORD PRACTICE", we simply start with writing the word we will memorize in the middle of a piece of paper. Then on the top left, we draw a picture of it. We may search for it on the internet by googling. Then, find it's definition on the internet or by looking up a dictionary. We put it on the bottom right. After that, we try to find its synonyms. A dictionary or Google may be very useful for this. Write the result on the bottom left. Last but not least, write a sentence. Google an example or look up the dictionary of its use in context as a basis for you to write your own sentence. Write your sentence on the top right. 

I believe that teachers can adjust this "WORD PRACTICE" model to their own learning. They may also adapt it to their class needs accordingly. An image is attached to see how it looks like.