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I've never heard it said that we read merely to increase our vocabulary. That may be a happy side effect, but it's certainly not a fundamental justification. I
by kungfooey 16y ago
I've never heard it said that we read merely to increase our vocabulary. That may be a happy side effect, but it's certainly not a fundamental justification.
I think most people read 1) to educate themselves and 2) for pleasure.
On learning new words: my wife and I keep a set of flash cards on which we write words we don't know. We don't always look up the definition immediately, but eventually we do and write it down and then we review the words later until we can remember it's definition.
- drallison 16y agoExpanding vocabulary when reading online is a huge advantage. A dictionary and wikipedia is just a click away.
- jseliger 16y agoI think most people read 1) to educate themselves and 2) for pleasure. This describes me, although I probably read for 2) more than 1). Some people also read to appear intelligent, or so they have unusual things to lord over others, which might be a component of 1). We don't always look up the definition immediately, but eventually we do and write it down and then we review the words later until we can remember it's definition. Wow: that's far more discipline than I have. If I find a word I don't know, I usually look it up and write it in the margins of the book (if it belongs to me). It took about six repetitions of looking up the word "candid" when I was a teenager for it to sink in. One nice thing about looking things up is that eventually the words stick and you no longer have to look up very many, unless they're technical.