As human beings, we take words for granted, and because your child is so engrossed with technology, it can tell them in a second the definition of a word with a click of a button.
But what happened to the days of researching a word by picking up a dictionary and going through the definition, or picking up a thesaurus and finding similar words (synonyms) to build up your child's vocabulary?
But there is still a way where they can find out where words originate from, and still use good methods to help memorise words.
This would require some deeper research then just one click of a button, where your child might see the word, but it suddenly goes away.
But your child will start to appreciate a word when they know where it comes from and its history (etymology).
What does Etymology mean?
Etymology means the history behind a word and where does it originally come from. “Etymology” derives from the Greek word etumos, meaning “true.” Etumologia was the study of words’ “true meanings.”
A short history of the origins and development of English
The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and English are derived.
Therefore, we use thousands of words every day that are borrowed and used all around the world!!
So, the history of the English Language is broken down into three parts:
Old English (450-1100 AD)
Middle English (1100-1500)
Early Modern English (1500-1800)
They will start to understand how the English language was put together and the relation between certain words.
Here are a few easy examples:
Word… What it means Example
Auto- By itself Autopilot
Geo- Earth/nature Geography
Therm- Heat Thermostat
Ex- Out Ex-boyfriend
Inter-, Between Interracial
Bio- Life Biography
Super- Above Supernatural
Rex King Tyraneusaurous Rex
Top Methods On How To Memorise Words Quicker
I have put together some useful strategies to help your child remember the word and other word associations.
This can also be linked to your child's learning style.
If you would like to find out more, you can get your child to complete a learning style test which is in my last blog post: https://www.chamatuition.com/post/what-type-of-learner-is-your-child
Method 1 - Word Association and Mnemonic Devices
(Great for verbal/linguistic learners)
Step 1 - Have the words you need to memorise printed out in front of you.
It doesn't matter what source of the words is — a textbook, a vocabulary list from your child's school, or a list of words from the internet — as long as your child has them in front of them so it is easy for them to memorise them.
You may even want to write down the words yourself to help even more with their memory skills.
For example, if you're trying to memorise a list of vocabulary words in a textbook, you could write out the words by hand on a sheet of paper.
Step 2 - Break the words up into smaller groups.
Get your child to divide the words into smaller, more manageable groups. Breaking the words up will make it so you can more easily create word association and mnemonic devices to memorise your words. It will also give your child the choice to memorise them in order
Make sure you allow your child to use their best judgment when and if you'll be breaking your list up and moving words around. For example - Threatened they can break down the syllables Thr-eat-ened which is great for dyslexic learners too.
Step 3 - Underline the first letter of every word in the groups.
Get your child to use the first letter of every word to create memory devices that will make it easier to memorise the words. They can do it in two ways: either creating a sentence or an acronym.
The first letter of every word will create an acronym. For example, let's use the same word 'Threatened'
T he man was very angry with the gentlemen.
H e charged towards the gentlemen and shouted.
R age was all over his face as he shouted loudly at him.
E
A
T
E
N
E
D
This only will work if you get your child to write sentences that are associated with this word. This exercise is great because it can help your child to not only remember the word but to memorise the definition of the word also.
This exercise works best with word lists of 10 or less.
Method 2 - Visualising Words -
(Great for visual learners)
Step 1 - Have the list of words you need to memorize printed out in front of you.
Your child can get these words either on the internet or from school.
Your child can also write the words out by hand on a piece of paper, which will help you memorise them even more.
Step 2 - Get your child read the word 3 times, Cover the word and memorize the word, then write the word down 3 times.
This will help your child to remember the sequence of the word and usually when practicing memorising a particular skill repeating the practice will help your child to visually remember the word mentally.
Step 3 - Draw a picture for each word.
Drawing a picture that describes each word will help your child remember it better. Make sure they try to maintain the original meaning of each word as best as you can.
Nouns might be easiest, as they will just have to draw the person, place, or thing.
Adjectives will be somewhat easy. Words like “big” and “beautiful” would be easy to draw.
Verbs might be more difficult. For a word like “associate” try to draw its meaning (the connection between things) For example - two arrows pointing at each other with similar objects.
Step 4 - Create a word association web/map.
Word association webs will help your child to remember words by associating them with other words. This is a great visual way of memorising words quickly and will complement other visual associations to other words.
To get started, you need to get your child to:
Write the word you want to remember in the center of a sheet of paper.
Draw lines outward from the center connecting the center word to other words that you associate with it. For example, if the word is “winter” draw a line outward connecting it to “snow” and another line on the other side connecting it to “freezing” and another line on the side connecting it to “ice.” Repeat this process outward until you’re confident you will remember it.
This should not take more than 3-5 minutes per word.
Step 5 - Create a picture story.
Creating a picture story is similar to creating a word or sentence story, but instead of writing it out, your child can draw a story. This method works great for very visual and artistic learners who might be overwhelmed with writing out vocabulary words.
To get started, get your child to:
Take their list of words and quickly draw a picture for each word.
Try to maintain the original meaning of the word, if they can.
Organize the pictures so they make a story they can remember.
Step 6 - Double-check and look over visual aids
Now your child has got all their visual aids around them including the visual web/map and make sure it is clear and it makes sense, so they can read and review it during their downtime and prior to activities when they need to use it.
Using Sound And Music
(Great for Auditory Learners)
Step 1 - Place the list of words you need to learn right in front of you.
Handwriting the list of words on a sheet of paper is a great way to kick off the memorisation process
Step 2 - Arrange the words in story or sentence form.
After your child has got a list, get them to arrange the words in a way so that they can create a couple of sentences or a story with the words.
Get them to do the following sequences with their words:
Rhyming words.
Pairing words cleverly.
This works best if they don’t have to know the words in a certain order.
The main idea is to keep the meaning of each word.
Step 3 - Find a memorable tune to accompany your child's words.
Finding a memorable tune to accompany your child's arranged words will help them to remember them more easily. Think about popular songs where they remember the tune:
For example:
Their current favorite pop songs.
Traditional nursery rhymes.
Step 4 - Say or sing the words and their meaning to a tune.
After they have arranged their words, get them to say the words to themselves and out loud. Afterward, sing or rap the words. This way, they’ve taken their word list, associated with a tune, and now have their own song to memorise!
They can sing it to themselves when they’re taking a test or trying to remember their word list.
Step 5 - Sing, repeat, or play the song or tune.
As your child goes about their daily chores or commute to and from school, sing or repeat the song or tune over and over again. If they've recorded the song or tune (singing/saying the words over and over), play it back while they're resting, or even sleeping. If they do record it, put the tune, rap or song on loop.
Step 6 - Continue this until your child is comfortable.
Encourage your child to keep doing this until it feels as if the words and their meanings have stuck in their memory. Music is a great aid to memory, which is why it's so easy to remember pop songs.
As a result, this should be a very pleasant and potentially enjoyable way of getting their work done.
So to conclude:
The etymology of words is very important as it will help your child to remember where do words historically come from and their associations with one another.
So the best methods to use when memorising words and understanding their association is:
Method 1 - Word Association and Mnemonic devices
Method 2 - Visualising Words
Method 3 - Using Sound and Music
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