Vocabulary builder techniques focusing on elaboration
The first module of our vocabulary builder course will focus on elaboration. What exactly is elaboration? It is a vocabulary building technique that involves the association of an unfamiliar word to more familiar words, information, objects, or experiences.
Elaboration is actually one of the most effective tools that are offered by vocabulary builder courses today. It is also very easy to practice. All people read at some point in their lives. For example, while reading you chance upon an unfamiliar word – complacent. The dictionary informs you that it means "pleased or satisfied with oneself." You understand the meaning, but if you don’t elaborate on it, you are likely to forget it soon.
Use elaboration as a vocabulary builder strategy
You can turn elaboration into your own vocabulary builder strategy by relating a new word with words that you already know. These related words include synonyms, which are words that have the same meaning as your new word, or antonyms, which are words that have the opposite meaning.
You can find out that some synonyms of complacent are "smug" or "self-righteous" and an antonym would be "apprehensive" These words are more familiar and thinking about them will help you remember your new word better.
Two ways to use elaboration as a vocabulary building technique
We have already mentioned the first way of using elaboration as a vocabulary builder – using related words to remember a new word faster.
Aside from synonyms and antonyms, other kinds of related words are hypernyms and "similar words." Similar words do not have exactly the same meaning as synonyms, but they can still be used interchangeably, since they have the same basic definitions. Hypernyms on the other hand are general terms for more specific words. For example, "shape" would be a hypernym for "rectangle".
When you learn a new word, the easiest and most effective methods of elaboration are usage examples and related words.
The second way you can use elaboration as a vocabulary builder is by observing how your word is used in different ways. Some vocabulary builder software will give you multiple meanings of a word and include examples of how the word is used for each meaning.
It is also helpful if you can think of your own usage examples for a particular word. This will personalize the word for you and help you retain it faster.
Learn to elaborate with computer software
Vocabulary building software should use elaboration as a main strategy for improving your word retention ability. Our favorite vocabulary builder, Ultimate Vocabulary, encourages you to improve your elaboration skills in order to widen your vocabulary.
A special function of the Ultimate Vocabulary, called Word Inspector, is a great tool for practicing elaboration. Whenever you search for a word, Word Inspector shows you all of its related words – synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms, similar words and others. It also provides several examples of your word in action