This vocabulary course is based on the e-book and audio book titled "Vocabulary for College and Beyond: Exam words, synonyms and antonyms, and prefixes, suffixes and roots." The book is written by Nanhee Byrnes PhD, and narrated by John Byrnes PhD.
Why you need this book
The power of vocabulary knowledge
The knowledge of words is fundamental to language skills. It is involved with all the aspects of using the language: reading, listening, speaking and writing.
Reading is much more pleasant and effortless if you know all the words in the passage. Correctly guessing the meaning of an unfamiliar word based on the context is a highly developed skill, and can be time-consuming. In exam situations where time is of the essence, it is always better to know all the words in the passage.
Listening is improved and easier if you know all the words in the speech. Non-natives have difficulty listening to native speech sometimes because they cannot tell whether a spoken segment is an unfamiliar word or a phrase (several short words spoken connectedly). This problem doesn’t arise if we know the word.
Writing and speaking in formal situations, such as academic and business settings, require us to formulate our ideas clearly and precisely. To do that, we need to expand our vocabulary. Truly, having a rich vocabulary helps us understand, think and express ourselves clearly, precisely and elegantly.
Problems with existing vocabulary building methods
Of course, the best way to increase one’s knowledge of words is through reading high level magazines, such as The Economist and The New Yorker, known for their linguistic esthetic. Seeing how words are used in context helps us learn not only their abstract meanings, but also their emotive meanings, such as positive or negative connotations.
This earnest method is time-consuming, and inefficient for someone who needs to prepare for a college-level English language exam (such as SAT, ACT, TOEFL, and GRE). A more expedient method is to use a ready-made vocabulary list. While there are some vocabulary lists on the market, they are inadequate: incomplete collections of test-worthy words, overly-extended collections of professional words that are too field-specific to be tested, or incorrect, convoluted, or archaic definitions of some words.
Another serious problem with using these lists is that they neglect the pronunciation aspect of words. English is not a phonetic language: English words are not pronounced the way they are spelled. The intrinsic stress of multi-syllabic words makes guessing the pronunciation of words even harder. In fact, pronouncing words correctly is a challenge even for college-educated natives. Even natives need to consult a dictionary to find the pronunciations of words they have never heard before. Without knowing the correct pronunciations of words, we cannot use them in our own speech nor recognize them when listening.
Innovations of Vocabulary for College and Beyond
Vocabulary for College and Beyond is designed to help you quickly acquire and easily remember thousands of advanced words, the knowledge of which is expected of a college-level educated person. Naturally, this book is an indispensable tool for those who prepare for a college-level English language exam or who want to expand their vocabulary horizon. These are salient features of the book,Vocabulary for College and Beyond:
Complete list of test-worthy words and their definitions
Exams that test college-level English language skills focus on high-level words that are used across fields of study. So for instance, the meanings of abate and concede can be tested, but those of epiphenomenology and batholith are not. Also, some common words are tested for their secondary meanings. This book contains both high-level words and multiple meanings of common words.
Lists of roots, prefixes and suffixes, and their examples
Many English words are made of word parts, called roots, prefixes and suffixes. The root, also called a stem, is the primary lexical unit of a word as it carries the main semantic content. Roots can be connected to other roots, prefixes (particles attached before the root), and suffixes.(particles attached after the root). The knowledge of roots, prefixes and suffixes is useful to retain the meanings of unfamiliar words since their meanings can be obtained by analyzing their component word parts. In addition, this knowledge is useful to decode academic, field-specific words as these words are normally made from known word parts. Since many English words share the same roots and particles, it is useful to study them based on their roots and particles. So this book contains lists of roots, prefixes and suffixes, and examples of words that use them.
List of synonyms and antonyms
Many English words have similar meanings, many of which come from different sources: e.g., Latin, Greek, and Old German. So it is efficient to memorize words based on their similarity in meaning. This method is especially useful since many exam questions ask for synonyms or antonyms of given words. So this book contains a list of synonyms and antonyms of common words.
Visuals and accompanying Audiobook
Some definitions are easier to understand when they are accompanied by visuals. Visuals are also helpful for distinguishing the meanings of related words. So, this book incorporates images in addition to definitions for some words that can be confusing or unclear in some way.
Studies have shown that students remember content better when they use more sense perceptions when learning. So you will remember words and their meanings better when you speak them out loud when you read them. By shadowing the native speech patterns for words and their definitions, you build not only your vocabulary, but also acquire the natural rhythm and melody of English, which will help you improve your spoken English skills. Each section is named for the first word in its list for easy reference.
Course syllabus:
Part I: Roots, prefixes and suffixes, A-Z
Roots
Greek-Latin word particles with the same meanings
AC - AVI
BARO - CERT
CHROM - CYC
DECA - ETHN
FAC - FUSEG
GALACT- GYRO
HABIT - KINE
LABOR - LUN
MAGNA - MUT
NARC - NUTRI
OCTA - OV
PAC - PHON
PHOT - PORT
POSI - PYR
SACR - SCRU
SOPH - SUR
TACT - TORT
TOM - USU
VAC - VIA
VICE - ZOO
Prefixes
PAN - UNDER
Suffixes
Noun-marking Suffixes: AC - ER
Noun-marking Suffixes: ESS - URE
Adjective, adverb and verb making suffixes
Part II: Exam words, A-Z
ABASE - AMUCK
ANACHRONISM - AZURE
BADGER - BUTTRESS
CABALISTIC - COMPULSORY
CONCEDE - DEVOUT
DIABOLICAL - DYNAMIC
EASE - ERUPT
ESCHEW - EXULT
FACETIOUS - FUTILE
GAINSAY - GYRATE
HABITAT- HYPOTHESIS
ICONIC - INCUMBENT
INDECOROUS - ITINERANT
JADED - LUXURIOUS
MACABRE - MYRIAD
NASCENT - OVERWROUGHT
PEAN - PLOY
POIGNANT - PYRE
QUACK - RUSTIC
SAGACIOUS - SYMBOLIC
TACIT - TYRO
UBIQUITOUS - ZENITH
Part III: Synonyms
Balmy
Careless
Decrease
Excite
Greedy
Humiliate
Morbid
Reward
Talkative