INTRODUCTION TO VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES

VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES.

Vocabulary plays a crucial role in boosting your score in the any English proficiency exam, especially for the
Reading test. There are various strategies that you can utilize to improve your voacbulary such as learning new
words through word families, word associations, or synonyms and antonyms.
VOCABULARY STRATEGY 1. Word families
A word family is a group of words with a common base to which prefixes and suffixes are added to form related
words.
Task 1: Find the word families of the following terms.
• Education (n)
• Exploration (n)
• Medical (adj)
• Technology (n)
• Crime (n)
• Punishment (n)
• Family (n)
VOCABULARY STRATEGY 2. Word associations
✓ When you learn a new word, try to think of as many related words as possible.
✓ One helpful way to remember new words is to put them into meaningful groups or categories such as positive
or negative, or people, places, and things
E.g., graduation:
places: restaurant – school; people: students – teachers – parents; objects: certificate, flowers – academic
dress – graduation gown; actions: congratulate – party, etc.
Task 2: What other words do you think are associated with the following words?
Use the starter word to create word associations of your own. Begin by saying the word to a partner. Your
partner should reply with a word that is related. Continue until you have at least a six-word association.
E.g., Food: delicious, pizza, tasty, ingredients, recipe, cook, bake, microwave, ...
• Education – books, …
• Exploration – Mars, …
• Medical – doctors, …
• Business and work – company, …
• Technology – mobile phone, …
• Crime and punishment – police, …
• Family matters – father, …
Task 3. Put these words into one of the categories below. Can you add other words?
court racket player ice rink champion ball
competitor opponent puck sticks stadium skates
coach gloves sled course team ring manager
 Sports places Sports equipment Sports people

VOCABULARY STRATEGY 3. Synonyms – Antonyms

When you know a new word, it also means that you know their synonyms as well as antonyms.
E.g., buy (v) – purchase (v) (synonym) >< sell (antonym)
beautiful (adj) – gorgeous (adj) (synonym) >< ugly (adj) (antonym).
Task 4: Complete the chart using the antonyms in the box.
Long-running deep simple unrealistic disgusting mature

1. juvenile ………………… 2. intricate ………………… 3. superficial …………………

4. true-to-life ………………… 5. short-lived ………………… 6. appealing …………………
Task 5: Find at least three synonyms and antonyms of the following words.
• famous (adj): ...........................................................................................................................................................
• cause (v): ................................................................................................................................................................
Task 6. Recoginizing synonyms.
Match each of the following statements(1-6) with an option in the list (A-I) with the same meaning
Options:
A. ...nonetheless, this theory has been dismissed by environmentalists.
B. ...modified to increase its energy efficiency.
C. ...and this observation was completely unexpected.
D. ...both species use the same strategies for survival.
E. ...the general populace had a diverse array of perspectives...
F. ...made claims that have subsequently been disproven.
Statements:
1. The report from 2020 provided an astonishing finding.
2. A recent publication in the Environmental Journal had several incorrect claims.
3. Environmentalists have disputed the model proposed by Dr. Robert Lee.
4. Bears in Alaska and Canada utilize similar hunting techniques.
5. The new solar panel system was redesigned to enhance its energy output.
6. Public opinion on climate change policies varied greatly according to the survey.

VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY 4: GUESSING WORD MEANING USING WORD TYPES, PREFIXES &
SUFFIXES, AND ROOTS.
1. Common suffixies
Suffixes help to determine word types and form new words.
Task 7.
Guess the type of word and the meaning.

Task 8.
Write one word with similar meaning to each given phrase using the key word. There are two examples
Task 9.
Determine the word type and meaning of each word in bold

2. Common prefixes
Prefixes help to change the meaning of a word.
Prefix (tiền tố) Meaning Examples
anti-, contra-, counter- Against - chống lại Antibiotic, counter-effects, In contrast
Auto Self – tự This phone has an autocharger
Bi/di/du Two - 2 Bicycle
Circ, circum Around - vòng tròn Circus
Co-, com-, con-, col- Together – cùng, chung Co-worker, co-operate
de Away, down – xa, sụt giảm Degrade
ex Former – trước đây ex-wife
ex-, e- go out from – ngoài, thoát ra exit
 extra- Beyond – vượt trên Extraordinary
Homo, sym, syn Same – giống Homophone
hyper-/over-/ super- Extremely – cực, quá Hyperactive, oversensitive, supernatural
n, im, il, ir, un, non, dis negative, not – không incapable, impossible, dissatisfied
nter- Between – giữa, lẫn nhau interaction
ntro- Inward – hướng vào trong introvert
macro-/mega- Large – lớn macroeconomics
micro- tiny, small – nhỏ microscope
mis- Wrong – sai, nhầm misuse
mono-, uni One – đơn monolingual
multi-/poly- Many – nhiều, tổng hợp Multinational, polyclinic
post- After – sau Postwar
pre-, ante- Before – trước Previous
Pro For, in favour of – ủng hộ >< anti Pro-America
Pseudo False – giả Pseudonym
re- Again – lại reply, rearrange
semi- Half – nửa semiannual
sub-/under Under – dưới Submarine, subtitle
Tele Far - xa Telephone
rans Across – xuyên, nối Transcontinental
ri- Three – 3 tricycle
Ultra Beyond, excessive – quá, cực, siêu ultrasound

Task 10.
Fill in the suitable prefixes, base on the underlined words
Example: To_In_dent a line of print is to move it in from the left margin.
1. The distance around a circle is called the _________________ference.
2. A person who has authority over other employees is a _______________visor.
3. Computers enable employees to ______________commute to work even though they are far from their
company’s office.
4. Quality that is _____________standard is below what it should be.
5. A faxed message is ____________mitted through telephone lines or wirelessly through space.
6. If a newspaper _____________tracts an inaccurate article, it takes it back.
7. An ____________mission is a break between sections of play or musical performance.
8. Because the doctor ________diagnosed the illness, he prescribed the wrong medicine.
9. A ____________phone helps to increase the volume of the sound.
10. ____________decessors are those who held a position before the current ones.
21. The former director is the _____________director.
22. People who are __________sensitive to cold weather often feel very unpleasant in winter.
23. The _____________season play-offs are held after the regular season ends.
24. To _________peat something is to say it again.
25. __________mature babies are born before they are fully developed.
26. Please ___________bine these ingredients. Be sure to mix them together well.
27. Because the envelope was _____________addressed, it was delivered to the wrong house.
28. The ___________anchors presents the evening news together.
29. Mary buys every __________aging cream in hope that they will work against wrinkles.
30. ___________ceptives work against the likelihood of pregnancy

3. Roots
A root is the part of a word that has the main meaning and that its other forms are based on, or a word that
other words are formed from.
Root (Gốc từ) Meaning Examples
Ani/ anu Year - năm The festival is held annually.
aqua Water – nước An aquatic animals
astro Star – vì sao He studies astronomy
Aud Hear - nghe Those singers have passed the audition
bio Life – sự sống biology
cap, cep, ceive Take – giữ, nhận Capture the thief, accept an invitation
chron Time – thời gian Chronological order
Bicycle - the weather is very bad. A cyclone is
Cylc, cylco Circle, wheel - vòng tròn, bánh xe
coming
cred Believe – tin credible
demo People – người dân democracy
dict Say – nói He dictated a letter to his secretary
Equi Equal – bằng, tương ứng An equitable distribution of resources
fact, fect Make – tạo ra manufacture
Fer, port Carry – truyền, mang Porter, transfer
frac, frag Break – vỡ There are some fragments on the floor
geo Earth – trái đất geography, geology
Graph Write, draw - viết, vẽ Photograph, graphic
Hydro Water – nước Hydro-electric power
Leg/ jud Law – luật This action is illegal
mal Bad, wrong – xấu, tệ, sai trái The doctor was accused of malpractice
manu, mani Hand – chân tay Manufacture, Manual work
mid-night, medium, the town is famous for its
Med/mid Middle - ở giữa
medieval architecture
Mis/ mit Send - cử đi, gửi đi Mission
Mort/ mor Death – chết Mortality from lung cancer is increasing
neuro Nerve – thần kinh neurology
Nym, ono, onym Name, word – tên, từ Synonym, 5 films were nominated.
Phobia Terror – sự sợ hãi Monophobia
Pul/puls/ tract Drive - kéo pull
Scope, vis See – nhìn, kính telescope
scrib, script Write – viết describe
Spec/ spect Look – xem The match attracted a huge number of spectators
Terr Land, earth – đất Terrace, territory
Ven, veni, vent Come - đến The advent of a new technology
vert, vers Turn – chuyển, đổi, hướng tới Hot water is converted to electricity
Task 11.
Guess the correct answer

1. Credibility means 9. Astrology is

a. the ability to be trusted a. the study of stars that claims to tell the
b. a waste of money future
c. a waste of time b. the study of plants and trees
c. one who travels in outer space
2. If you study biology, you study
10. An anniversary occurs
a. life
b. clouds a. once a year
c. death b. twice a year
c. once every two years
3. If you are a pedestrian, you are
11. If a creature is mortal it means
a. walking
b. riding in a car a. it follows rules
c. riding a bicycle b. it will wake up
c. it will die
4. Geology is the study of
12. This word has no equivalent in Vietnamese
a. life
b. the earth a. It has no meaning
c. the moon b. It has no word of the same meaning
c. It has no value
5. To export is to
13. A biographer would
a. carry out goods to other places
b. carry in goods from other places a. tell a short story
c. be able to be carried b. write a story of a person’s life
c. sell books
6. Ground movement could cause fracture to the pipe
14. They ventured into the water means
a. It could cause a break
b. It could cause a fire a. They looked at the water
c. It could cause a movement b. They took the water
c. They went into the water
7. A democracy is
15. Something that is terrestrial lives
a. rule by the people
b. rule by a king a. in the sea
c. rule by God b. on land
c. in the space
8. Legal means
16. If you study neurology, you study
a. lawful
b. terrible a. the nerves
c. unlawful b. the bones
c. the dreams
17. A manicurist provides care for your 19. someone with spider-phobia ____ spiders
a. leg a. likes
b. hand b. is afraid of
c. hair c. studies
18. A aquanaut works 20. Homophone are words having
a. in the sea a. same meaning
b. in the laboratory b. same spelling
c. in a company c. same pronunciation
Task 12.
Match the words with their correct meaning based on roots
1. Synonymous A. Connected with the Earth
2. Synchronistic B. Having the same meaning
3. Pseudo-event C. A written record of events in the order in which they happened
4. malfunction D. Something written down/ handwriting
5. monosyllabic E. A false event
6. manuscript F. Failure to function normally
7. legislature G. Using both sound and pictures
8. Terrestrial H. Having one syllable
9. Chronicle I. a group of people having the power to make and change laws
10. Audio-visual J. Occurring at the same time
VOCABULARY LEARNING 5. LEARNING COMPLICATED PHRASES AND UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN CONTENT
WORDS
The main content of a reading text is mostly illustrated with noun phrases.
The main content of a noun phrase starts with its main noun.
→ Specifying the main nouns is the most important to understand a reading text.
The main noun often stands at the end of the noun phrase, before prepositions or relative pronouns
if any.
Task 13. Decide the main contents of the phrases below by specifying their main nouns
1. color coded system
2. different types of bacteria
3. many theories about the beginning of drama
4. calcite-containing dust particles
5. nitric acid in polluted air from factories
6. Other studies of dust sample from the Sahara and the Saudi Arabian coast
Task 14. Form more complicated phrases from the following phrase.

• The bank of the river → The river bank

• The length of the wave →
• The industry of refined oil →
• A textbook about the analysis of vector →
Guessing unknown words
How to guess meaning
Whenever you read extended texts in English, you will come across words which you do not know. Even native
speakers will not know all the words when they are reading. Your instinct is probably to look up the unfamiliar
words in a dictionary. If you do this for each word, however, it will take you a great deal of time, and you may
never reach the end of the text. You therefore need to develop strategies for dealing with unknown words.

• how to deal with unknown words;

• using context to guess meaning;
• using prefixes, suffixes, and words roots.
How to deal with unknown words
There are two questions to ask yourself whenever you meet an unfamiliar word. The first question is: 'Do I need
to know the meaning of the word?' If not, you can keep reading and ignore the word. In order to answer this
question, you need to make sure you have a clear purpose in your reading. The second question you need to
ask is: 'Is an approximate meaning enough?' If not, you need to look the word up in a dictionary.
If the answer to both questions above is 'yes', it means you can guess what the word means then keep reading.
Use the following to help you guess an approximate meaning:

• examine the immediate context of the word (i.e. the sentence in which it appears, and words which
come before and after); pay particular attention to linking words;
• examine the wider context of the word (i.e. other sentences in the paragraph);
• look at the structure of the word (i.e. prefix, suffix, root).
The approach to unfamiliar words is summarised in the diagram below.
Using context
When you guess the meaning of a word from context, you need to consider first the immediate context, i.e. the
other words in the sentence. If this is not enough, you need to use the wider context, i.e. sentences which come
before and after the one which contains the word you are guessing.
a. Immediate context
Consider the following sentence:
Although the company's income from sales was higher than expected, its high costs in the form of salaries and
other overheads put it in a disadvantageous position.
Imagine the word you want to guess in this sentence is 'disadvantageous' (it doesn't matter if you already know
this word - this is just an example). The immediate context of the word tells you the following:

• it is probably an adjective, because it comes before a noun ('position')

• it is probably negative, because it relates to 'high costs', which are not usually good for a company
• it is probably negative, because the sentence begins with 'although', a contrast marker, so the idea in
the second clause contrasts with the first clause, which is positive ('high income' is good for a company)
A good guess for the word at this point would be 'bad'. This is probably close enough for you to understand the
main idea, and you would be able to keep reading.
b. Wider context
Now consider the following paragraph:
Although the company's income from sales was higher than expected, its high costs in the form of salaries and
other overheads put it in a disadvantageous position. This was one of the main reasons why the company folded.
This put all two hundred of its employees out of work.

Imagine the word you want to guess this time is 'folded' (this is a common word, but it has a special meaning in
this sentence). The immediate context of the word does not tell you much: it is clearly a verb, but it is difficult
to determine more than this using only the sentence it occurs in. To guess the meaning, you need to use the
wider context, i.e. the sentences which come before and after. Using these, you can tell the following:

• it is probably negative, because it is the result of the company's 'disadvantageous (bad) position'
• it is something which can happen to companies
• it resulted in all of the company's employees being 'out of work'
From this, you can guess that the word means something like 'stopped' or 'stopped doing business' (because no
one works there any more). In fact, 'to fold' in this context means '(of a company etc.) to close because it is not
successful'.
c. Using prefix, suffix, root
Again consider the following sentence:
Although the company's income from sales was higher than expected, its high costs in the form of salaries and
other overheads put it in a disadvantageous position.
Imagine (again) that the word you want to guess in this sentence is 'disadvantageous'. This word can be broken
down into three components: dis-, which is the prefix; advantage, which is the root; and -ous, which is the suffix.
You can get the following information by studying the word in this way:

• it is probably an adjective, because it ends in -ous, which is a common suffix for adjectives
• it is probably negative, because it begins with a negative prefix dis-
• its meaning is probably opposite to the root of the word, advantage
As before, a good guess for the word at this point would be 'bad'. Again, this would be close enough to allow
you to understand the main idea and keep reading.