Reading Improvement: Vocabulary Skills (1961)

[Music] you might find it hard to believe that missing a word in a spelling be could lead to the Improvement of someone's vocabulary and reading ability but that's what happened when Jack was given the word in coet Jack the incoit plans lack the completeness needed for success incoit in court in court i n c it t that's not correct Jack Sue inco in Co i n c h o a t e that's fine Su Jack didn't mind missing the word but he was curious to find out how Sue happened to know it so after class he asked her I don't know I probably read somewhere and wrote it down you wrote it down sure I write down words that I don't know so I can look them up later don't you jack bye-bye see you jack wasn't sure whether to believe Sue at home that evening as Jack got ready to do a reading assignment in science he realized how little reading he actually did why didn't he read more because reading wasn't much fun for him because he usually didn't get much out of what he read who am I kidding I just don't read very well that was it but why reading fast as Jack usually did he finished the paragraph quickly he was about to go on but he stopped and looked back at the paragraph he had just read he really didn't have a clear idea of what it was about plasma I've heard it but I'm not sure what it means then he thought of Sue I write down words I don't know so I can look them up later don't you Jack Jack went on reading but now not in the usual way he began noticing words enzymes he had never heard it before proteins he wasn't sure of its exact meaning juices he thought he knew its meaning but it was used in a way that was new to him now Jack began to understand why he didn't get much out of reading all the words he didn't know might as well have been blacked out for the first time Jack realized that his reading vocabulary was poor and then he thought of his speaking vocabulary there were many words he used too often such as swirl fine great neat sure okay kind of you know terrific maybe it was about time he started to try out Sue's suggestion he started a list of new words and the first word on his list was in Co i n c h o a t e Jack practiced the pronunciation and spelling of the word to be sure he knew it in his list Jack included the sentence in which he had heard the word since incoit had been used as an adjective he used the definition that meshed that use of the word Just Begun in an early stage incomplete undeveloped that makes sense the undeveloped plans the incoit plans lacked to completeness needed for success and so Jack had taken an important first step toward improving his vocab ulary whenever he came across a word that was new or unfamiliar to him he would look it up but most often Jack could tell the meaning of a word from the way it was used oxidize without bright red blood your cells could not burn or oxidize your food it probably means burn but I'll write it down anyway and check it later and so Jack's list grew each time read something he would have the list nearby so he could add new words and the sentences in which they had been used after he had finished reading he would look up the pronunciation of the words and their accurate definitions as Jack continued adding to his list he began noticing something interesting about words Technical and scientific words such as photosynthesis Automation and parallel usually have one definite meaning parallel parallel parallel parallel and often the books in which these scientific words were found had their own word lists called glossies Jack found that other words such as democracy class or hand had more than one definition a hand a hand hands hand as Jack built his list he added new words and new ways of using familiar words Jack's vocabulary was growing as he added words to his vocabulary that had been meaningless to him the ideas that these words were building became clearer now he began to get more out of reading than he ever had before and reading was more enjoyable his growing vocabulary was making the difference but Jack discovered that simply keeping a list of words wouldn't guarantee that the words would become a permanent part of his vocabulary he was already beginning to forget some of them he had heard many times that you have to use new words if you want to remember them each time Jack added a new word to his list he tried putting it to use as soon as he could most often he used them in written work for his different classes in English contemporary a person who belongs to the same period of time is another Longfellow was a contemporary of Emerson in history convene to meet for some purpose the First Continental Congress convened in 1774 in science synthesize to make up by combining parts or elements will scientists ever be able to synthesize living matter in physical education psychological of the Mind mental the 4minute mile was for many years a psychological barrier to Runners Jack also tried to use his new words in conversation whenever he could boy look at those blades flail the fla to beat or thrash I I know but never did anything for the school and she she's attractive all right but she's still no cous loquacious talkative fond of talking so in this way Jack made his new words a permanent part of his vocabulary many new words came through schoolwork often when there was a reading assignment Jack's teacher would put on the board a list of words that might be Troublesome Jack studied these words and checked the meanings of those he didn't know usually he added these words to his vocabulary list Jack found he could also profit by listening to other people speak what did she say when she thought I wasn't looking she gave Jane a furtive glance furtive furtive it sounds like it means sneaky Jack added many words to his vocabulary in this way and in other ways as he learned new skills for building vocabulary and so Jack's vocabulary grew bit by bit and with it his reading ability Jack even helped build his father's vocabulary March Yes dear here's a strange word in this editorial incho our incho foreign policy what do you think it means it sounds like a vegetable to be oh you know it can't be a vegetable let me have a look at it then oh that's inco it means Just Begun incomplete or undeveloped and so Jack put his Dev veling vocabulary to work my vocabulary is in Co but growing [Music]