Vocabulary Learning Tips

This year vocabulary played a vital role in the CAT. Keeping that in mind I give here seven tips which, I think, will help you improve your vocabulary for the formidable test.
Tip One: READ A LOT! Most words can be learned from context. The more you read, the more words you shall get exposed to and the more words you get exposed to the better vocabulary you will have. Hence, read, read and read. Pay especially close attention to unfamiliar words while reading. Look, as to what the context is and try to guess the meaning. (DO NOT, AT THIS POINT, REFER TO THE DICTIONARY.) Go ahead and complete the reading matter and then, you may refer to the dictionary.

Well, then, read a LOOOOOOOOT!
Tip Two: REFER: Well, I mean, you must refer to the dictionary for the meanings of the new words you came across. Now, if possible make a note of the words, their primary meanings, secondary meanings and especially their contextual usage. Refer to any Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
Tip Three: LEARN: This is a technique that I gathered from my twelve-year experience as an English lecturer. Really, a sincere effort to learn the meanings of the difficult words we made note of along with their usage DOES HELP.
Tip Four: REPEAT: Only learning the words, their meanings and usage won't help because there’s the danger of forgetting. Our memory is short-lived, unless, of course, we make efforts to counter this. One method is to repeat the words as many times as possible during the period immediately after learning them. I read about a research which said that if one repeats a word 10 to 15 times, it will never be forgotten. So, repeat by using it general conversations, by writing the word in sentences, by conducting self-memory-tests, by making flash cards of your own.
Tip Five: Take the help of Vocabulary development books. There are quite a few vocabulary books in the market. The ones that I recommend are: STUDENTS’ COMPANION by Wilfred D Best or RUPA’S ENGLISH MANUAL by Rupa publications (for those who believe they need to begin at the basics); WORD POWER MADE EASY by Norman Lewis (for those who believe vocabulary is boring and also for those who believe they past the basic stage); ALL ABOUT WORDS by Maxwell Nurnberg, Morris Rosenblum (there are many more books by these two authors) and INSTANT VOCABULARY by Ida Ehrlich (for a very systematic approach to the learning of words).
Tip Six: Play Vocabulary Development Games: Yes, games do help. Browse the net for the games, select the ones that suit your level and enjoy learning words like never before.
TIP ABOVE ALL THE TIPS, THE SEVENTH TIP:
ATTEND ALL THE VOCABULARY CLASSES. Do never miss the opportunity to learn new and difficult but very important words under the expert guidance of the faculty. Every vocabulary class should be the starting point of a learning session in your preparation for CAT.

RCphobia to RCmania!

Raju a student of mine is suffering from RCphobia(an unreasonable fear of the reading comprehension section in aptitude tests), a malady most CAT-takers suffer from. The symptoms: extreme dread of RC, a feeling of great discomfort while through an RC passage, a sudden feeling of ‘lost’ness in the middle of a passage, an inability to grasp the message conveyed, headache, hatred, torture, boredom and whatnot.
Raju strongly feels that including RC in aptitude tests like CAT amounts to criminal torture.
If you too are an RCphobic, then read on…
Simply speaking, you find RC extremely boring.
Most students fear or dislike RC because they consider it boring. Well, before I give you the prescription, let us diagnose the ‘dis’ease.
At the outset, let me make one thing clear: that ‘RC is boring’ is a universal truth!
Now, now, don’t misunderstand me; let us, together, comprehend this ‘universal’ statement.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines ‘boring’ as ‘not interesting’. What does this mean?
In our childhood, we were motivated towards different things and actions because they ‘interested’ us. Things that didn’t interest us were habitually avoided, even if they were important, just as we frequently indulged in things that interested us. That was our childhood perspective: we could not differentiate between important and unimportant things. Immaturity led us towards easy, pleasant, comfortable, secure, self-centred, the so-called ‘interesting’ activities. And so, we indulged in them continually. Simply speaking, most things we did were interesting but unimportant. Looking back, we can thus conclude: If what interested us wasn’t necessarily important, and what was important didn’t interest us, then, logically, most things that were ‘not interesting’ may have been very important!
Going back to our ‘universal’ statement, we can surmise thus: When we say RC is extremely uninteresting, what we are actually saying is RC is extremely ‘important’. This is the essence of my logic; some may disagree, but it drives home the point. RC is boring because you ‘think’ so, you ‘feel’ so.
Well, why is it so? Because, what you are now is an extension of your childhood.
Now, consider this—
Our personality is collection of our traits and characteristics. All our present traits were once our habits. Our habits were those that we acquired by frequent repetition of certain activities. Simply put: An action frequently done becomes a habit; a habit continued becomes our trait. And, you know, old habits die hard. This is exactly why you still find yourself in front of the idiot-box wasting time; you still chit-chat with friends gaining nothing of importance; you still smoke; you still fall prey to external attractions; you still lie on the sofa doing nothing; you still day-dream; you still procrastinate; you still hate to do the home work; you still refuse to go to the grocery for mom; and above all, you still HATE TO READ!
If you had read in your childhood with interest, as you did all those ‘interesting’ things, you would not have found RC so boring(all those who don’t dread RC know what I mean). The point is as simple as that.
Does this mean that just because of your childhood folly, you can’t do anything about RC now?
NO, IT DOESN’T!
What it means is you must confront the truth. The truth about likes, dislikes, interests, disinterests, habits good and bad, hobbies, traits, characteristics; the truth about attitudes and one’s judgment of importance. They are not genetic!
What it means is you must change your attitude towards important but not so interesting things.
Yeah, that’s it, YOU MUST CHANGE YOU OUTLOOK TOWARDS RC!
Because, you are a child, no more.
Because, you’ve chosen to take CAT now.
And, because, that’s precisely why RC is important!
So, love RC.
It’s difficult I know, not impossible.
Impossible is nothing!
Just ‘love’ it!