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Building Vocabulary for Reading and Speaking

Vijay Ramjattan

How this guide can help you

This guide is designed to help you build your vocabulary for academic reading and speaking purposes. It provides strategies and information to help you understand complex vocabulary used in academic texts.  It also provides common phrases to use when engaging in different types of speaking, such as course-based discussions and academic presentations.

Reading

Noticing Noun Phrases to Better Understand Sentences in Academic Literature

  • Introduces the noun phrase as a tool for understanding complex sentences in academic texts

Predicting the Meaning of Unknown Words

  • Provides strategies to predict the general meaning of unknown vocabulary

Analyzing Words with Multiple Meanings

  • Outlines general strategies to better understand the precise meaning of certain vocabulary terms

Speaking

Vocabulary for Discussions

  • Outlines common phrases to use for speaking and active listening in discussions

Vocabulary for Presentations

  • Lists common phrases that can be used to clearly organize a presentation and maintain audience engagement

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