Magic of words

Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.

 — Oliver Wendell Holmes.

 Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall, but wise words endure. 

— Edward Thorndike.

Developing a large vocabulary is the central idea behind reading. Vocabulary is related to the understanding of the text one reads. This is a serious problem faced by children not only in the lower grades but in upper grades as well. Look at it practically. A child of 4 has already developed his own vocabulary based on his or her socioeconomic environment.

 So if the child is benefited at this age with reading, they can master a number of words. Here is where parents can intervene, the child can be guided with quality and quantity reading. This brings receptive and expressive vocabulary usage in the child. This very gain in oral vocabulary development can predict a growth in child’s comprehension later on. So in contrast to dire prognostications, there is much we can do to enable a child to read well.

 In distant past, education was somewhat a state issue, each state having its own curriculum. Today it has changed into a federal one. And it is more proactive and assessments are gaining accountability. Now right from the beginning great emphasis is being given to listening and eventually to reading informational books.

 In the past, reading used to be on the basis of the child’s instructional level. In some cases if the text was difficult to comprehend, we could choose an easier reading material and then gradually speed up the reading capability. But today

the scene is to touch only the organisational aspects of the text by the teacher, a child has to bring out the meaning on his own, with the bare minimum help of the glossary.

So if challenging texts are to be comprehended well, a thorough understanding has to be given to the child. Have you heard of word –spurt? This is the ability of a child to acquire 10 -15 new words related to objects around it in 2-3 weekstime. After the spurt, they suddenly start speaking whole sentences, expressingoriginal thoughts. From there, it becomes much easier to add more and more words, learning words at a much faster rate.

 This is when children can be introduced to books with pictures. The words and picture bear an impression on the child and very soon they are drawn towards it. This is the best time they can be introduced to the world of reading and a picture near the word can overcome the constraints of understanding its meaning.

 Reading aloud to children seems to be a powerful and motivating means for development of vocabulary. This will develop oral vocabulary. Added to it they are to be provided with child-friendly definitions. Then it can be further developed with words connected with habitat, compare, contrast etc. and gradually move on to content-related words.

 As they go further they find that words have a number of underlying interconnections accompanied with facts and concepts, which the child can draw out and comprehend. Teachers need effective preparation and often lack of it leads to insignificant progress in vocabulary. The development of vocabulary teaching network becomes essential here. It is believed that word development is natural and spontaneous and classroom teaching of 40-45 minutes are sufficient.

 In practical view this is not sufficient. Children need planned, sequenced and systematic vocabulary learning.Repeated reading gives another opportunity to ferret out the relationship between the words and the text. Each verbatim brings

in additional meaning to the word and gradually they end up in reading between the lines and a cognitive stand of understanding the context is seen. As they progress, the use of metaphorical and figurative language attracts them. This results in intentional, problem solving and ultimately the thinking process being resolved.

 There is an old children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” We know that is completely untrue and that words could hurt. Words, change everything! Words have a dramatic effect on what

we know, how we interact with people and the decisions we ultimately make. Words can influence us, inspire us or just as easily bring us to tears.

 The very same sentence and the same word order might result in quite a different idea behind your words, by only shifting the stress from one word to another. Just try out these:

 1. He isn’t going to school tomorrow. (someone else is)

 2. He isn’t going to school tomorrow. (intending, but changed his mind)

 3. He isn’t going to school tomorrow. (going somewhere else)

 “HOW did you DO this?” vs. “How did YOU do THIS?”

 The meaning and value of words have become largely dependent on real-time

demand, and therefore, the perceived value is determined solely by the epicentre of time and need. In other words, it’s determined when a moment in time crosses paths with a particular individual’s needs and the two interact. In the new economy, words also have an economic value.

 However, it must be emphasised that having a good vocabulary involves more than just being able to use fancy words when you speak. Vocabulary is crucial

because it is directly related to language. It sums you up when you speak.

 “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” –Mark Twain