Official Review: Vocab-35 by R. Kent Smith
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Scerakor
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Official Review: Vocab-35 by R. Kent Smith
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Vocab-35" by R. Kent Smith.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Vocab-35 by R. Kent Smith is a non-fiction book that is aimed at improving the reader’s vocabulary. It is split up into thirty-five sections of ten vocabulary words each and, through a variety of different exercises in each section, allows the reader to familiarise themselves with the words in a variety of different ways. As an added bonus, at the end of each section, the reader is introduced to an English idiom and how the idiom applies to every-day situations/language.
When I first started Vocab-35, I thought that some of the words being introduced fell into the categories of either too simple (already should be known by most native speakers) or too obscure (not often used in every-day conversation). As I advanced, however, I became more and more impressed by the variety of vocabulary being introduced during this book. By the end of the book I was convinced that it really did provide a wide enough swath of vocabulary words to end up being useful for both native and non-native English speakers alike. I enjoyed the fact that throughout each of the thirty-five separate sections, there were multiple ways of approaching words to be learned. First, you can review the words; second, you can check your existing knowledge/understanding of the vocabulary by glancing at the subsequent sections; and finally, if required, you can methodically go through each of the different activities which both exercise and test the understanding of the words in that chapter. What I liked the most about this book was not only the variety of vocabulary words presented, but also the fact that each fifth chapter there was a summary set of exercises which tested you on the past fifty words you have learned.
Due to the difficult nature of the English language, reading some of the definitions, sentences, and examples used in the book, made me question its precision. It wasn’t that the examples aren’t correct, but rather ineffective. For example, when verifying one’s understanding of the word “camaraderie”, the verification question (and the correct answer) was “Camaraderie is similar in meaning to (a) comradeship. This, in my mind, contributes absolutely nothing to improving my understanding of the word. I found the introduction / explanations at the beginning of the book to be lacking in substance. I think it would benefit from a better structure and perhaps explanation of the activities to be undergone throughout the book. A suggestion of a timeline when approaching this book may be beneficial as well; for example, what is the ideal time period to attempt to learn ten (fifty, or even three-hundred and fifty) words. I cannot decide if I like or dislike the third section of each word list; if a reader is methodically approaching all exercises in a given chapter, some of the questions are useless. In a multiple choice question where only one of the answers in the list are actually from that chapter’s word list, the answer is evident. For example, in the 28th word list, a question asks “A person or institution that charges exorbitant rates for financial loans is guilty of:” The potential answers are blackmail, laundering money, fraudulently auditing, and usury. Only the last option, usury, was one of the words within that chapter. The only reason I can see where these questions are not useless, is if someone is simply testing their vocabulary knowledge by only looking at the questions without studying the words before-hand.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars since I personally feel that the massive list of vocabulary words presented (and the method by which it is presented to the reader) have immense merits. I am a big believer in furthering one’s language abilities and one’s education in general. Despite some of the editorial and process based comments in my previous paragraph, I believe that this book is well on its way to being a contender in the world of vocabulary improvement books.
I think that this book has appeal for both native and non-native English speakers alike. Anyone, regardless of their language backgrounds, will be able to better their vocabulary and general understanding of the English language if they go through all (or even some of) the activities in this book. I consider myself to have an above average English vocabulary and going through this book still allowed me to learn (or at least clarify some misconceptions) something from each list of words that I read. This book is least likely to appeal to those who do not have the willpower to maintain a routine of vocabulary improvement. If you are likely to get bored with a repetitive process where the only thing that changes is the ten words you are learning, over and over again, this book will not be for you.
******
Vocab-35
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3 out of 4 stars
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Vocab-35 by R. Kent Smith is a non-fiction book that is aimed at improving the reader’s vocabulary. It is split up into thirty-five sections of ten vocabulary words each and, through a variety of different exercises in each section, allows the reader to familiarise themselves with the words in a variety of different ways. As an added bonus, at the end of each section, the reader is introduced to an English idiom and how the idiom applies to every-day situations/language.
When I first started Vocab-35, I thought that some of the words being introduced fell into the categories of either too simple (already should be known by most native speakers) or too obscure (not often used in every-day conversation). As I advanced, however, I became more and more impressed by the variety of vocabulary being introduced during this book. By the end of the book I was convinced that it really did provide a wide enough swath of vocabulary words to end up being useful for both native and non-native English speakers alike. I enjoyed the fact that throughout each of the thirty-five separate sections, there were multiple ways of approaching words to be learned. First, you can review the words; second, you can check your existing knowledge/understanding of the vocabulary by glancing at the subsequent sections; and finally, if required, you can methodically go through each of the different activities which both exercise and test the understanding of the words in that chapter. What I liked the most about this book was not only the variety of vocabulary words presented, but also the fact that each fifth chapter there was a summary set of exercises which tested you on the past fifty words you have learned.
Due to the difficult nature of the English language, reading some of the definitions, sentences, and examples used in the book, made me question its precision. It wasn’t that the examples aren’t correct, but rather ineffective. For example, when verifying one’s understanding of the word “camaraderie”, the verification question (and the correct answer) was “Camaraderie is similar in meaning to (a) comradeship. This, in my mind, contributes absolutely nothing to improving my understanding of the word. I found the introduction / explanations at the beginning of the book to be lacking in substance. I think it would benefit from a better structure and perhaps explanation of the activities to be undergone throughout the book. A suggestion of a timeline when approaching this book may be beneficial as well; for example, what is the ideal time period to attempt to learn ten (fifty, or even three-hundred and fifty) words. I cannot decide if I like or dislike the third section of each word list; if a reader is methodically approaching all exercises in a given chapter, some of the questions are useless. In a multiple choice question where only one of the answers in the list are actually from that chapter’s word list, the answer is evident. For example, in the 28th word list, a question asks “A person or institution that charges exorbitant rates for financial loans is guilty of:” The potential answers are blackmail, laundering money, fraudulently auditing, and usury. Only the last option, usury, was one of the words within that chapter. The only reason I can see where these questions are not useless, is if someone is simply testing their vocabulary knowledge by only looking at the questions without studying the words before-hand.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars since I personally feel that the massive list of vocabulary words presented (and the method by which it is presented to the reader) have immense merits. I am a big believer in furthering one’s language abilities and one’s education in general. Despite some of the editorial and process based comments in my previous paragraph, I believe that this book is well on its way to being a contender in the world of vocabulary improvement books.
I think that this book has appeal for both native and non-native English speakers alike. Anyone, regardless of their language backgrounds, will be able to better their vocabulary and general understanding of the English language if they go through all (or even some of) the activities in this book. I consider myself to have an above average English vocabulary and going through this book still allowed me to learn (or at least clarify some misconceptions) something from each list of words that I read. This book is least likely to appeal to those who do not have the willpower to maintain a routine of vocabulary improvement. If you are likely to get bored with a repetitive process where the only thing that changes is the ten words you are learning, over and over again, this book will not be for you.
******
Vocab-35
View: on Bookshelves
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