Building English Vocabulary for Graduate School: There are also many challenges to graduate studies, especially in a second language. The range of English vocabulary you will read—and use—can be specially challenging.
The English vocabulary in graduate level reading and writing is rich and diverse. Even innate speakers occasionally find themselves coming crossways unfamiliar words in their graduate studies. In some cases, students of English as a Second Language (ELS) can use interpretation comprehension policies to get around unaware words by using context clues and other reading strategies(Building English Vocabulary for Graduate School). However, often, you need to build language deliberately and forcefully as you prepare for graduate study in English. Else, you might find that the meaning of your allocated readings is hidden behind a thick wall of unaware words. Below are a few habits you can build up your graduate vocabulary and be positive in your Master’s or Doctoral degree program.
Use word lists
I do not always recommend that my students simply memorize word lists. In addition, in fact, the idea of “rote memorization” is often frowned upon in language education. However, when it comes to graduate-level analysis and writing, studying lists of words is an important, necessary action for many ESL students.
It is probably a good idea to start with the Academic World List. This is a list of the most shared words found in popular university study areas. It has been designed more for undergraduate students than graduate students have. This makes it the best thing to look at first. If you do not yet have all of those simple words down, you want to study those before you move on to other term lists.
Once you are comfortable with the Academic Word List, you can move on to longer, more ambitious lists of academic vocabulary. Barron’s 1100 Words You need to know book and flashcard have helped many of the international graduate students that I have worked with. Looking up various word lists for the GRE is a good idea too; GRE words are very common in actual graduate school readings.
Study vocabulary in context
Memorization is valued, but memorization alone is not ever enough. To truly master graduate-level vocabulary, you need to encounter it in context. Websites like The Atlantic, Art and Letters Daily, and The New York Times have a lot of complex, graduate-style writing. However, you can find writing that is full of graduate-level diction in many different publications and websites. Political opinion bits on news websites typically have much more advanced vocabulary, likened to ordinary news stories. In addition, reviews of pictures, television, and books use surprisingly composite, varied words.
Interpretation of these kinds of materials can help you see arguments from your word lists in context. However, reading repetition can also help you learn new words. As you read, retain a “word journal”—list the new words you encounter, write down their definitions, and write the words in your own unique sentences. Add these arguments to the lists and flashcard stacks you have already studied.