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Vocabulary

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Intrinsic Characteristic

Because building vocabulary expands dendrites of the brain thus making students noticeably more intelligent, we have made vocabulary an intrinsic characteristic of every component of our Totally Literate Program. Vocabulary acquisition is most beneficial to youngsters who have supple minds that are able to process an amazing amount of input at blazing speeds. Therefore there are many exercises, drills, and lessons just for the very young.

 

With older students, the primary intent of vocabulary building is not so much in furthering intellectual development as it is functionality. That is learning new words, and using them properly in writing as well as in speech. Hence, practically everything on the Totally Literate website that's not expressly for youngsters is for mature students.

 

Because pronunciation is part and parcel of vocabulary, on the Totally Literate website there are several tools, in addition to those for native English speakers, that foreign students can use to learn to pronounce English words properly. Moreover, foreign speakers as well as native English speakers can use many of these same tools to develop vocabulary in scores of foreign languages.

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Namely —

  • Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes, although enjoyable to all age levels, are designed particularly for young children, even new‑born babies. Hearing these cradlesongs helps develop an ear for language and begins to build an early vocabulary — a foundation for literary appreciation that continues throughout life.

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  • Printing and Cursive Exercises are designed for pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners who have just begun to develop the manual dexterity to form letters. As children develop these skills, they will hear certain words read aloud and see descriptive pictures of them. Thus, their speaking vocabulary will begin to grow even before they recognize the words they're writing​​​

 

  • ​​​​Families covers every monosyllabic word in the dictionary. Students can click on any word and hear it pronounced. Families is designed primarily to help students say the words correctly. Parents and teachers should use discretion if choosing to access definitions, since doing so takes the user to the open Web.

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  • Derivatives, following the same structure as Families, presents bi‑ and polysyllabic words with audible pronunciations. Students can click on any word and hear it spoken. Derivatives is designed primarily to help students say these longer words correctly. Parents and teachers should use discretion with definitions because, as with Families, viewing them opens unabridged dictionaries. When a class is supervised, however, definitions, synonyms, and example sentences can be read aloud, and students’ vocabulary grows prolifically.​

 

  • Play Onwards is a workbook for rank beginners who have no reading ability yet. It contains thousands of short sentences and hundreds of fill‑in‑the‑blank exercises. Students listen to each sentence spoken by a text‑to‑speech voice, then write or print the missing word, which appears in invisible ink. The number of blanks matches the number of letters in the word, and past‑tense forms are included. Play Onwards develops early reading ability, spelling skills, and a strong speaking vocabulary long before formal reading begins.

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  • Work on Words is a multiple‑choice workbook designed for students who have gained a bare modicum of reading ability. Like Play Onwards, it contains 360 exercises and includes illustrations on nearly every page. Each exercise presents a small group of related words and brief definitions, and students choose the correct word for each definition. Because WOW provides no contextual clues, it is slightly more challenging than Play Onwards. All words can be clicked and heard aloud, so students do not need full reading ability to use the workbook. No answer sheet is supplied, since teachers can discreetly look up any word by pressing it after it is spoken.

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  • Classic Stories, Fables, and Adobe PDFs—Students can click on any word and instantly see and hear its definition in an unabridged dictionary. Once on the dictionary site, synonyms, antonyms, and example sentences can be read aloud with the student’s mouse. This direct access to definitions and spoken examples helps build vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence while reading literature. Parents and teachers should use discretion, since clicking a word opens the dictionary on the Web.

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  • Anti‑illiteracy War Games develop vocabulary while simultaneously building all other literacy skills—writing and spelling. Because the games vary widely in difficulty, students can choose to play only those games that match their ability and skip those that are too simple or too difficult. Besides being fun to play and fun to use, the games help students think quickly and choose words precisely.

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  • The Red Well‑Read Reader and Multilinguals are the only two documents that can enhance vocabulary in languages other than English. The Red Well‑Read Reader can be converted into over two hundred languages, and Multilinguals into thirteen. When a word is clicked, a definition in the chosen language will be heard. That is, if Google Translate has made that entry audible, otherwise only the text will be provided. Although Google usually provides only limited choices, users will be directed to other sources native to the language.

 

Vocabulary tools support multilingual families, tutors, adults, and native English speakers. Because vocabulary growth increases the cranial (or cerebral) roadmap of synaptic connections, these documents contribute to actual cognitive development. (For more information on translating, see Flag and Non‑Flag Languages in the footer.)

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Vocabulary Resources

  • Explore words and meanings:

Dictionary.com—click here.
Oxford Dictionaries and Encyclopedias—click here. 

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⭐ For information on smartphone use, see Multilinguals on Smartphones.

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