3.1 To expand vocabulary

English first additional language

Grade 8

Language as a tool

Module 12

To expand vocabulary

Using words for various purposes can be great fun and quite challenging. Now let us take a closer look at the Wonderful World of Words. We shall be looking at the use of dictionaries and how to use the most effective word in a specific situation.

Activity 1:

To expand vocabulary

To show some understanding of how reference books work

[lo 6.9, 3.8]

The Wonderful World of Words

This activity may be done with a partner.

You must, however, give your own answers after all discussion has been completed.

• Have you used a THESAURUS before? .
• What information does a Thesaurus give you?

A Thesaurus =

The following extract comes from the NEW COLLINS THESAURUS

Cool adj . 1 chilled, chilling, chilly, coldish, nippy, refreshing 2 calm, collected, composed, deliberate, dispassionate, imperturbable, level-headed, placid, quiet, relaxed, self-controlled, self-possessed, serene, together (s l.) , unemotional, unexcited, unruffled 3 aloof, apathetic, distant, frigid, incurious, indifferent, lukewarm, offhand, reserved, stand-offish, uncommunicative, unconcerned, unenthusiastic, unfriendly, uninterested, unresponsive, unwelcoming 4 audacious, bold, brazen, cheeky, impertinent, impudent, presumptuous, shameless 5 Inf. c osmopolitan, elegant, sophisticated, urbane v. 6 chill, cool off, freeze, lose heat, refrigerate 7 abate, allay, assuage, calm (down), dampen, lessen, moderate, quiet, temper – n. 8 s l. calmness, composure, control, poise, self-control, self-discipline, self-possession, temper

Replace the word cool in the following sentences with a word which has a similar meaning taken from the extract. (Remember you will first have to look at its meaning in the sentence.)

1. He was very cool towards me when I met him at the soccer match and this upset me. (no. 3)

2. The fireman was very cool when he rushed in to rescue the toddler from the burning room (2).

3. The evenings become cool as winter approaches. (no.1)

1. She was quite cool when she went into the disco without her ID – she was underage. (no. 4)

5. I am going to cool this milk so that it does not become rancid. (no. 6)

6. He is quite a cool guy and everyone in the class wants to be seen with him. (no. 2)

Let us improve our work by replacing the underlined words in the following sentences with a more descriptive word. You may write down more than one answer!!!

• It was a nice curry.
• Gram’s garden had a nice smell.
• The flea market has some nice things for sale.
• She put lots of different spices into her curry.
• It was a friendly street with lots of little shops.
• Mr Smith had lots of magazines on his bookshelf at school.

There are many different characters in the story Mila’s Magic . Each one has a particular way of doing certain things, e.g. walking. There are different words to describe the different ways of walking . Here are a list of some of them.

In pairs, decide what the ACTION would be and WHY a person would walk like this. Some of you can demonstrate these walking motions to the rest of the class.

• Now write a sentence next to each word in the list.
• Demonstrate with these sentences the exact meaning of each word.Waddle; March; Hobble; Shuffle; Slouch; Stride; Limp; Saunter; Strut; Toddle