Date:23/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/23/stories/2008092357940200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Etymology helps in committing words to memory

S. Aishwarya

— Photo: R. Ashok

Learning: Students of class VI working on an activity, as the resource person Radha Rajkumar helps out during a NIEsession at Sri Vageesha Vidhyashram in Tiruchi.

TIRUCHI: If right words are elusive and make you rake your brains to pin it down, learning a bit of etymology might help. Knowing about the origin, formation and types of words will help one polish up the English-speaking skills.

To help students increase their range of vocabulary and put in use the right words, the Hindu NIE’s six-module series in ‘Vocabulary’ introduces basic concepts of English to class VI students.

In a recent session held at Sri Vageesha Vidyashram, Radha Rajkumar recapitulated the key points taught in previous modules. The students, as a first part of their activity, picked up 10 compound words, verbs and adjectives from the day’s newspaper.

After a brief discussion on the types of words, questions on the usage of words were posed to the students. They then drafted essays and poems using newly learnt words. “Learning new words will help you bring in a variety and avoid monotony in your writing. It adds colour to your writing and helps you score more in every subject,” she told the students.

Students, she said, must make a conscious effort to include fresh words in their conversations. While dictionaries can help one learn the meaning of the words, thesaurus would widen their vocabulary scale by introducing them to different words with similar meanings. The root words like graphs, dextrous and name have branched out into a wide variety of meanings by combining with other words. Knowing about the formation of words will help one commit them to memory.

“When students get to learn about using thesaurus at an early stage, they can build vocabulary at a faster pace. The theme would help them give attention to those words that do not feature frequently in their writing or exchanges,” said Radhika Vijay, the coordinator of NIE.