Etymology: A word attack strategy for learning the English vocabulary

Abstract

Various researches shows that vocabulary acquisition is one of the most important needs of English language learners. Words, like facts, are difficult to remember out of context. There are many ways to build vocabulary-thru practicing them in conversations, reading good books, looking thru newspapers and magazines, watching TV and videos or radio stations, and listening to books and lectures on tape. There are also many resources for those who are actively trying to learn new words. Remembering is greatly facilitated when you have a body of information with which to associate either a word or a fact. Discovering the common roots of words, language learners soon understand of the meaning of many unknown words,they have never seen before, derived from the same root. Etymology is not only useful,effective and interesting, but it also is a fast word attack strategy. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.