#19 Tips for Learning New Vocabulary

In today's episode, we invite Meaghan, our in-house CELPIP expert, to share her tips for learning new vocabulary! Meaghan was a former Writing Rater for the CELPIP Test and now works as a Content Developer/Online Instructor. She delivers many of our free monthly webinars. Tune in as Meaghan shares some helpful tips on preparing for the CELPIP Test!

Show Notes
 
Here are some vocabulary-building resources:  

Vocabulary Skills (Workbook available via Chapters) 

Using Vocabulary on the CELPIP Test (Video)   

CBC.ca (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – a great place to become familiar with Canadian culture and build your language skills!) 

Free CELPIP Practice Tests

https://secure.paragontesting.ca/InstructionalProducts/FreeOnlineSampleTest/FOST
 
Youtube CELPIP Channel 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsSYTLCLK0K2kq6hFSX476A
 

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Transcript

Episode: #19 Tips for Learning New Vocabulary

CJ [00:00:00] Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Official CELPIP Podcast, where we aim to help you, our test takers get the scores you need and supporting newcomers building a life in Canada. My name is CJ and along with my co-host Chris, we talked to a variety of guests from test takers, language teachers and test readers to employment counselors and immigration consultants, just to name a few. We also bring our in-house staff on the show to get their perspective to their the people in the company that work behind the scenes to make the CELPIP Test available to you. Before we get started on today's episode, I'd like to remind all of our listeners that if you are enjoying this podcast and you don't want to miss any episodes, be sure to subscribe on whatever podcast platform you may be using. And if you're using in the Apple Podcast app, please let us know how we're doing by leaving us a rating. So how are you doing today, Chris? 

Chris [00:00:56] Greetings, CJ. My sincere gratitude for your heartfelt felicitations on the subject of one's current physical and mental status. What would have to conclude that all shows remarkable positivity, especially considering the atrocious temperament of Vancouver's characteristically gloomy propensity for precocious precipitation. 

CJ [00:01:22] I'm sorry. What? 

Chris [00:01:25] Oh, please do not apologize on my behalf for just your very presence is enough to drag a mind out of its deepest doldrums and out to the bright sun of a warm summer's day. 

CJ [00:01:37] Thank you? 

Chris [00:01:38] You are most welcome, my good colleague. And might I say if it were not for the 

CJ [00:01:44] I'm sorry, Chris Chris, I can't get anymore. Why are you speaking like that? 

Chris [00:01:50] Oh, I thought we were going to give some advice on how to learn new vocabulary this week. 

CJ [00:01:55] Yeah, we are. But that's overdoing it a little, don't you think? 

Chris [00:01:59] Oh, I was just trying to show our listeners as many new words as possible. 

CJ [00:02:03] OK, well, that was a nice idea. But what are the two golden rules about learning vocabulary 

Chris [00:02:10] that it has to be relevant and it has to be learned in context? 

CJ [00:02:17] Very good. And I can tell you listeners that the kind of English Chris who is using is a little old fashioned now. So don't try and pick that up yourself. You sounded a little like you were in a British novel from the 19th century or something. 

Chris [00:02:34] Yeah, I suppose so. But it's kind of a shame we don't really talk like that anymore. But sometimes when you're a language learner trying to learn, all our vocabulary can feel just as daunting. So this week we have a very special guest who's going to suggest some really useful tips that our listeners can use to slowly build up their own vocabulary base. 

CJ [00:02:54] We sure do. Joining us from the team this week is Meghan, who I'm sure many of our listeners know from her marvelous CELPIP webinars. Meaghan, thanks so much for joining us today. 

Meaghan [00:03:08] Hello, it's good to be back. 

CJ [00:03:11] Yes. Thanks so much for joining us and giving us some vocabulary advice. So as everyone is preparing for this CELPIP Test, let's start with the raiders. What are they looking for when it comes to vocabulary? We're just going to jump right in. 

Meaghan [00:03:27] Sure. So I was actually a CELPIP writing rater for about five years. But the good news is that the raters consider the same factors for both writing and also speaking. And those are word choice, suitable use of language, precision and accuracy, and range of words and phrases. So what will impress them is well-chosen vocabulary that is specific to the topic and is used correctly and expresses precise meaning. 

Chris [00:04:02] So it sounds like learning a variety of synonyms and antonyms is a great place to start. 

Meaghan [00:04:10] Yeah, that is a good way to go about it, so raiders are ultimately just trying to assess how flexible you can be with language and whether you express ideas using a variety of different words in different combinations rather than repeating the same few words and phrases. 

Chris [00:04:29] It's certainly a tricky thing to expand your expressions beyond the usual basics. But is it also important to learn different levels of formality? What level should the listeners formality be? 

Meaghan [00:04:41] Yeah, that's a good point. So the level of formality that you use and you'll also hear the word register, which is our way of talking about level of formality that will depend on the question that you are responding to and for speaking, you're going to be doing eight different tasks. In some of those, you'll be directed to talk to a friend or family member, somebody that you know. And so using some more casual language might be appropriate there. And then there's going to be other tasks where the context may be more professional, like a conversation with a coworker or a customer. And in those cases, you'll want to adjust your register. 

CJ [00:05:24] OK, so there has to be some adjustment based on the question. Now, how can the test takers know what kind of formality they should be using? 

Meaghan [00:05:33] My best advice on this is firstly to read the question or the prompt really carefully. You'll always have enough information there to judge how formal you should be. And it's also useful to think about just how you use language in your own day to day life because this is something you already do. Changing your register according to a situation is something that is not an English specific skill. Everybody who speaks every language does this, so how you talk to your employer at work is completely different to how you speak to your friends in a pub and English works in that exact same way. 

CJ [00:06:13] Right? Because it would be kind of funny to, like, order a drink very formally at a pub. 

Chris [00:06:21] It sure would. I might try that after work. 

CJ [00:06:24] Yeah, I can get the sense of your feeling like that today, so I might just join you and see how that goes. So Meaghan is the kind of the same thing in the writing sections. 

Meaghan [00:06:36] Yeah. So just like in speaking for the two writing tasks, your level of formality is again going to depend on the question. Task one is writing an email, and you should choose your vocabulary based on who you're writing to and why. And that changes from question to question. Task two is answering a survey question, and there you'll likely want to be fairly formal because of that context you're writing to somebody who you may not know. It may be anonymous, so it's usually a little bit higher. You do want to keep in mind that no CELPIP question is going to ask you for an extreme level of informality. So you should always keep your language respectful and in your writing specifically, you should stay away from informal kind of text. Languages like the word gonna or wanna. The expression 'you guys' and all kinds of online abbreviations like L.O.L or BRB or those kinds of things. 

CJ [00:07:40] Right. That can probably be difficult for learners to remember if they're using text spellings like that with other English learners, for sure. 

Meaghan [00:07:48] And it I would say it's becoming a little more common to see in writing samples. So one way to just get around that is to find a few minutes before your time runs out for writing, to proofread your work and consider your level of formality as you read through your response, it's very easy to adjust to a little bit higher level here and there. 

Chris [00:08:09] So should test takers use as much academic vocabulary as possible during the test to impress the raiders? Or is it better to use common words and phrases since CELPIP is a test of everyday English? 

Meaghan [00:08:21] We get this question quite a bit in webinars, and it's it's hard to answer because I think different people mean different things when they say academic vocabulary. I think often what they seem to mean is those words that are extremely formal as long as possible and also uncommon or unusual or even outdated words that they can kind of use to, like, show off a little bit. 

CJ [00:08:49] OK. So basically, like how Chris started the show? 

Chris [00:08:52] Hey, that was my best English. Come on.

Meaghan [00:08:55] Yeah, exactly. And as you could hear, the effect is not authentic at all. Sorry, Chris. What's important to remember is that even though there are academic word lists. Academic vocabulary courses. There's not actually a special set of words in English that are only used in universities. What we call academic vocabulary is just formal language and more specialized language words, whose purpose is to express specific meaning within a particular field like physics or biology. Generally, we don't use that kind of language as much in everyday life because most of our daily communication doesn't have an academic purpose. 

CJ [00:09:43] OK, so that's a really good way to describe academic language. Well, that's a really good way to describe academic language. It's that mix of formality and distinct terminology that so many test takers find hard. 

Meaghan [00:09:58] Yeah, absolutely. And it's worth saying also that academic language isn't superior to common or everyday language. Common vocabulary is what most of us use most of the time. That includes native speakers, and I would say phrasal verbs are a great example of this. There are lots of test takers who seem to think that phrasal verbs are like extremely formal slang, or that they're somehow less advanced than non phrasal verbs. But if you think about phrasal verbs like get through, get around, get into, get up, these combinations are hard to keep straight because they can be fairly random, and the meaning of the phrasal verb as a whole is often quite different from the meaning of each individual word. So very, very unsurprisingly, English learners often make mistakes with them. When I was reading a response where a test taker used phrasal verbs correctly, to me, that was a sign of a strong vocabulary and good fluency. I was not at all thinking like, too bad this writer didn't use the word circumvent or endure at all. I wasn't thinking that way. So going out of your way to use as many big words as you can in every CELPIP response, no matter what the context is, will not be an effective strategy. So instead, you should think about how you would really communicate in the situation. 

CJ [00:11:27] Fair enough. So asking yourself, how would you naturally speak in a situation is a really great strategy. 

Meaghan [00:11:34] Yeah, and that's a good thing to consider during your prep time for a response. Like what's going on? Who are you talking to? How can you express yourself in the most natural and meaningful way in that context? Really, that's your goal in CELPIP in everyday life. We want to communicate messages that have an appropriate tone and express precise meaning so that the reader or the listener will feel comfortable and fully understand us. And as a test taker, you also want to earn the highest score you're capable of getting. And that means you want to demonstrate the full extent of your English communication skills on all of the speaking and writing tasks. 

Chris [00:12:16] Could you expand a bit on the notion of expressing precise meaning? I think it's important that we remain test takers of the importance of using precise word choices that clearly express their ideas. 

Meaghan [00:12:28] Yeah. If you're being vague or repetitive with your word choices, you probably aren't expressing or explaining your points very effectively. You want to be careful about overusing words like nice or good. We all use words like these sometimes, and that's normal. But they don't have a very precise meaning when you're describing a scene or a situation. It'll benefit your score if you try to go deeper than something being good or fun or awesome. The more a listener or reader can imagine the scene, the more descriptive and precise it probably is. If you're describing a day when the weather was nice, for example, in what way was it nice? Maybe it was slightly chilly out, but very calm, ideal for a bike ride. Maybe there was a refreshing breeze by the water, or just a few puffy clouds, or the sky was a dazzling blue. 

Chris [00:13:25] Right, use words that help create a very clear picture of what you're trying to express. I guess, especially when describing an image. 

Meaghan [00:13:32] Yeah, but at the same time, you want to make sure the words you use are appropriate for the situation. You don't want to use great big words just to show that you know them like a veritable dearth of cumulonimbus clouds traversed the firmament that would make no sense to most people, right? The language should sound natural. In real life, if you were using long, uncommon words in every sentence, people would be confused by your tone. First of all, and possibly also by the content, especially if you're not using those. Words accurately and the raiders are going to feel the same way if you use that kind of strategy on the test. 

Chris [00:14:15] It's always useful to remember that the raters are real English speakers, too. 

Meaghan [00:14:20] Yeah, Paragon doesn't employ robots. Raters are not counting syllables or assigning you a CELPIP level based on the number of unusual words you use. They really are considering the clarity and the appropriateness of your response as a whole. 

CJ [00:14:37] So then, should the test takers try to not repeat the same words or phrases at all in the speaking or writing response? 

Meaghan [00:14:45] This is another question we get in webinars, and I think it's because we mention that too much repetition will impact your score. I think maybe test takers take that a bit too. Literally, when we say to limit repetition, we mean you should use a broad range of different words and phrases and avoid repeating yourself unnecessarily. We are definitely not saying that you're going to lose points if you use any word more than once. 

Chris [00:15:14] And that's especially true for very specific nouns, such as names of people or things that may come up in your response and can't be replaced by a synonym. 

Meaghan [00:15:24] Yeah. And of course, there are words like articles, pronouns, prepositions that you're obviously going to use many times in any response. And even repeating a less common word once isn't going to ruin your score. Nobody is sitting there counting how many times you say a particular word, but they will notice if you continually express the same ideas using the same words and phrases. So instead of thought, you should try to use a variety of words. 

CJ [00:15:53] Again, these are really fantastic tips. Thank you so much. So for our test takers. Where can they find some resources that can help them build their vocabulary? 

Meaghan [00:16:05] Well, I mean, I would start with just the most common stuff. Anything that you can listen to or read or watch in English, of course, is a good source of vocabulary. And it's even better if the speakers have Canadian accents or American. It's it's, I would say, close enough, although some Americans might disagree. Of course, there are many ESL books that focus specifically on vocabulary, and one is CELPIP Vocabulary Skills-our own book and you can find the second edition of that at Chapters right now. 

CJ [00:16:38] Oh, Meaghan, I see what you did there. Excellent plug. Good work. 

Meaghan [00:16:41] Thank you. 

Chris [00:16:42] Are there any kind of vocabulary books that our listeners should probably avoid when preparing for the test? 

Meaghan [00:16:48] I wouldn't go as far as avoid. But since CELPIP tests everyday English, they probably will want to focus less on things like business interactions, especially if they're very specialized or like job specific. Also, academic textbooks. You may want to focus more on sources that deal with a variety of situations from everyday life. Some a little more formal. Some a little more casual. So you could look at articles from magazines or online news reports or news articles, particularly from a Canadian source like the CBC. Short informational videos on YouTube, like cooking or how to videos are a great source of description. Sometimes if you're if you're practicing for some of those speaking tasks, podcast episodes, clips from sitcoms or even full episodes, basically whatever you personally find interesting is most likely going to keep your attention and help you to learn new words. 

Chris [00:17:50] Great advice. What about longer things like complex movies or lectures? Are they useful? 

Meaghan [00:17:56] Yeah, they can be, especially if they have captions or transcripts so that the listener can read along and even repeat a few lines. Trying to copy pronunciation and intonation is a helpful way to not only learn vocabulary but to practice their speaking skills. Something to be aware of is that automatically generated captions can be usually are full of language mistakes and also grammar errors. So if you're watching something and the captions seem to make absolutely no sense, they're probably auto generated and you should just ignore them. 

CJ [00:18:34] OK, well, as usual, those are all fantastic tips. I'm sure our listeners are going to find that incredibly useful. So thank you. So we're almost out of time. Do you have any final tips for learning new vocabulary? 

Meaghan [00:18:47] I have a plethora. How about a quick list? 

CJ [00:18:53] OK, yes, I love it. Go for it. 

Meaghan [00:18:55] OK, so number one, keep a vocabulary journal. Write down new words that you learn. Write down the definition and then keep it with you. Take it where you--wherever you go. Pub, Cafe, meeting up with friends, and try using it in conversation. 

CJ [00:19:12] Got it. Vocab Journal. Number two?

Meaghan [00:19:15] Since repetition is key to learning new words, you should practice with them as much as you can. So that means using them in your communication, your correspondence with other language learners or English speakers, and also use them in your own writing and speaking practice as much as you can. 

CJ [00:19:34] Okay, great. 

Meaghan [00:19:35] Number three is avoid trying to learn every single word from a long piece of writing or video or whatever. Choose a few that are used frequently or that you are especially interested in finding out about. 

CJ [00:19:50] OK, I'm with you. Do you have a number four? 

Meaghan [00:19:52] Do I? When you learn a new word, learn its pronunciation and try to learn if it's commonly used in any specific phrases or call occasions, ESL Learner Dictionary definitions will often give you some common phrases that that word appears in, and I actually find Google Autofill or any browser, I guess, to be very useful for this if you go to a search engine and type a word. You will often see a list of words commonly used alongside it just in the list of of options. And some of those are likely to be useful phrases and complications that are used with that word. 

CJ [00:20:32] Amazing, and I'm getting the sense that you could go on all day, but we have just enough time for one more. 

Meaghan [00:20:38] OK, so number five, if you encounter a new vocabulary word and you cannot guess what it means from the context, it's often possible that you can still get some important clues about it. Like is the word positive or negative in its meaning? What part of speech is it a noun or a verb or an adjective or whatever? On the test, this can be enough information to help you eliminate answers or even arrive at the correct choice, even if you don't know the exact meaning of that word. 

CJ [00:21:10] OK. That was awesome. How are you feeling? 

Meaghan [00:21:14] I'm feeling good. 

CJ [00:21:15] Yeah. You could have done that all day. 

Meaghan [00:21:16] For sure. 

Chris [00:21:18] What a fantastic list. 

CJ [00:21:20] Yeah. Thank you so much for that incredible set of advice for our listeners. So useful for everyone. So, yeah, thanks so much, Chris. What's on next week's? 

Chris [00:21:32] Next week we're going to hear from Brandi, who's quite well known to our listeners as one of our webinar presenters and frequent guests on the podcast. She's going to provide some tips on performing at once based on the writing part of the test. 

CJ [00:21:45] OK, sounds like another fantastic podcast for the test takers. Well, Megan, thanks again. As always, it's great to have you here. 

Meaghan [00:21:53] Thank you. Had a great time, as always, and I hope that that is beneficial to our learners. 

CJ [00:21:59] I wouldn't dream to speak on their behalf, but I have a pretty good feeling that it might be really useful. So thank you and thank you to everyone for listening. 

Chris [00:22:08] Indeed, we would never be so presumptuous as to assume a following but know we have your engagement is certainly the very definition of fulfillment. 

CJ [00:22:18] Chris, come on. 

Chris [00:22:19] Sorry. Couldn't resist. Bye everyone. See you next week. 

CJ [00:22:23] Bye, everybody.