by Richard L. Weaver II
One of the common stories that occurs on college campuses is about students who go home during their first major campus holiday. Often, this is Christmas. One of their first goals is to hook up with family members and high school friends who did not have the opportunity to go to college. The complaint most often heard from students returning to college after the break is the perceived distance they experienced between themselves and both family members and friends. Friends would say, “Hey, you know you don’t have to ‘put on airs’ with us!,” or “Just talk like the rest of us. You don’t have to be a show off.”
It happens surreptitiously; it increases slowly over time; most students don’t even know it is occurring. Their vocabulary is increasing daily, and new words creep into their everyday conversations as comfortable and natural ways to express their ideas. But, when they talk with family members and friends who have known them for many years, they don’t alter the way they have learned to talk at college. With the new words indelibly embedded, it is difficult to do, and so, to friends and family members, they sound as if they are trying to be sophisticated, erudite, and learned. That is precisely the influence college has whether it happens because of lectures, readings, or the interaction with others.
As a professor, I had to convince students that this was not a negative occurrence — an unfavorable byproduct of a college education. This was not easy because students were feeling shunned or rejected. One of the primary — although sometimes subliminal — goals of everyone is to fit in and be welcomed. Many college students would rather become self-conscious and make the necessary vocabulary alterations than experience any level of ostracism by others — especially by friends and family members.
Even if I were able to convince students of all the values of having a better vocabulary, the playing field isn’t level when you weigh that against potential rejection by others who are close to them. I would tell them it would help improve their image by adding color to their personality, dynamism to their character, and self-confidence and poise to their presence. In addition, a better vocabulary will energize their thinking power. Directly connected with the speech-communication discipline, I would tell them that a powerful vocabulary will enable them to become fluent conversationalists, maximize their ability to persuade and influence others, transform their negotiating skills, increase their powers of expression, and make it possible for them to articulate their most complex thoughts and ideas. With respect to their future, a better vocabulary will pay dividends in both business and social advancement, impress other professionals, clients, and customers, increase their earning power, and enhance their social status.
Research studies confirm the results with respect to students’ futures. One 20-year study of college graduates revealed, without a single exception, that those who had scored highest on the vocabulary test given in college, were in the top income group, while those who had scored the lowest were in the bottom income group. Dr. Johnson O’Connor, chief scientist of the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, found a direct correlation between vocabulary and rank on the corporate ladder. In the study a vocabulary test was given to executive and supervisory personnel in 39 large manufacturing companies. The test results were conclusive: “Presidents and vice presidents average 236 out of a possible 272 points; managers averaged 168; superintendents, 140; foremen, 114; floor bosses, 86. In virtually every case, vocabulary correlated with executive level and income."
A Human Engineering Laboratory Study — a research group founded by Johnson O’Connor — tested the vocabularies of thousands of people in various careers and age groups. The study found that the people drawing the highest salaries scored highest on the vocabulary test. They scored with a consistency that bordered on predictability. Indeed, a superior vocabulary was the one common characteristic of successful people.
Margaret E. Broadley — an authority on Johnson O’Connor’s work and the author of several books on human aptitudes — in her book Your Natural Gifts, shows that as far back as the 1930s, the Human Engineering Laboratory discovered “a close relationship between a large, precise knowledge of English words and achievement in life.”
But what about the opposite? What happens to those with a small vocabulary? “A low vocabulary,” writes Broadley, “is a serious handicap. Ambitious and energetic persons can push ahead in their jobs just so far, but then they reach a plateau caused by low vocabulary. They never advance. And while youthful zest and high aptitudes can enable us to forge ahead despite low vocabulary, when we become mature the world expects us to know something and we are judged on knowledge rather than our possibilities. The world doesn’t see our aptitudes, but it pays for knowledge because that can be seen.”
Broadley reports the negative effects of having a weak vocabulary: “Studies show that at middle-age the low-vocabulary persons are stuck in routine jobs. Furthermore, when big companies have their shakedowns and mergers, too often the low-vocabulary persons find themselves out on the street. Too often they place the blame on prejudice, inside politics, and personal antagonism when the truth can be traced to low vocabulary.”
As noted previously, the wider your vocabulary, the easier it is to capture and express your ideas. You can expand your vocabulary by reading, observing, and listening, and also through experience. Buy a book, read it, and look up every word you don’t understand. Then use those words in conversations. Take the Reader’s Digest “It Pays to Enrich Your Word Power” tests, and when you learn new words, use them in conversations. Practice. When you catch yourself describing something as “nice” or “good,” rephrase the description. Broadley claims that only about 3,500 words separate the high vocabulary person from the low, yet these 3,500 words can mean the difference,” she concludes, “between success and failure.”
Expanding your vocabulary is a matter of wanting to do so. The more vocabulary you have, the easier it will be to both write and speak. And the writers or speakers who can articular their ideas clearly will be looked to for leadership and will find leadership positions comfortable. The real power of language will be yours if you work to expand your vocabulary.
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There is a great website called VerbalSuccess.com, where Greg Ragland’s first of seven lessons discusses four benefits of increasing your vocabulary. He discusses: 1) Read Faster and Comprehend More Information, 2) Increase your intelligence and your IQ, 3) Earn better grades in school, and 4) Achieve greater success and earn more money in your career.
At wikiHow.com, under the heading, “How to Enrich Your English Language Vocabulary,” there are twelve specific steps for expanding your vocabulary in addition to tips on how to go about it. If you are truly interested in expanding your vocabulary, this is a great place to begin.
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Copyright April, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Hidden benefits of college
by Richard L. Weaver II
Financial rewards, increased knowledge, and social contacts may be some of the obvious benefits of getting a college education, but there are numerous benefits that are not so obvious and which may, indeed, be overlooked when students and parents make their decisions about either going to college or not. For many, it is these benefits that make the cost, time commitment, and energy worthwhile. I call these the hidden benefits of a college education.
Often, students who enter college do so with a specific idea about what they want to study, and what they want to be when their education is complete. There is nothing wrong with this kind of focus, and, for many, it offers precisely the direction they need to make the most of their college education. When I said, above, “there is nothing wrong with this kind of focus,” perhaps I should add, “if you maintain an open mind and flexibility.”
There is so much more to college life than classes, subject disciplines, and majors. I will label this “so much more”: exposure. Many students think they know exactly what courses provide, instructors dispense, and experiences deliver and, yet, it is the hidden benefits that often surprise — even astonish. “I had no idea,” is a common statement made by those who have entered the ivy walls with an open mind and flexibility.
The “exposure” comes from other classes — outside of one’s major — often, the required courses themselves. The “exposure” comes from the different instructors and how they choose to present their material, explore various approaches, and challenge their students. The “exposure” comes, too, from how students interpret, assimilate, and absorb the information. It is this unique juxtaposition of subject matter, presentation, and interpretation that cannot be predicted and, yet, can yield such incredible results.
When the focus of college is on awareness and the introduction of new ideas and new insights, one cannot escape being fascinated — even captivated . That’s where the open mind and flexibility come in. Instructors do not ask that students accept — unless it is on a temporary (for class purposes) basis — but they do want them to listen, concentrate, and consider. It is not about indoctrination, although some people may see it that way — as much as it is about weighing and considering. It is the development of good thinking, reasoning, and decision-making skills. And to develop these in the best manner means giving students something worthwhile, different, and challenging to think about. It means helping them break out from their limited and personal, often traditional, stereotypical, commonplace, and rigid kinds of thinking and reacting. It means getting them out of the boxes they may not even know they are in and getting them to investigate new boxes they didn’t even know existed. This promotes tolerance and open-mindedness.
Another hidden benefit of a college education is communication, whether it be written, spoken, or nonverbal. College offers opportunities to record reactions, write papers, and prepare reports. At times, some of these “opportunities” seem to be busy work on the way to getting a degree. And yet, confirmed in many studies that have been completed, accurate, effective communication is one of the greatest weaknesses in the workplace. Every opportunity to record one’s thoughts and reactions in writing should be grasped as another chance to formulate thoughts, shape ideas, and structure impressions. To have trained, knowledgeable, authorities assisting students to better express themselves should be accepted as a rare and unique gift designed to make them more effective.
Oral communication is not totally different from written. Even though many students feel they are already talented speakers — after all, they have been talking since they were born — few are as effective as they think. Speech communication courses compel students to examine the basics of effective communication: skillful listening, adept use of words, useful methods for supporting opinions, adroit patterns for organizing thoughts, as well as powerful ways for expressing them.
There are hidden, underlying benefits of speech-communication courses as well. First, think about the breadth and depth of ideas exposed to because of the speeches of others. Second, think about the critiques, evaluations, and assessments. Imagine the opportunities students have not just for comparing their efforts with others, but for projecting (internally, of course) specific methods for self-improvement because of the work they see others present. There are an overwhelming array of possibilities for making great strides in their personal ability to grow, change, and develop.
There are nonverbal communication benefits of a college education as well. These can occur on a personal basis with friends, relationship partners, and other students as they interact on a daily and continuing basis. And it isn’t just their talking to others, but also it is the reactions they receive to what they project. They have unrestrained opportunities to test the way they communicate, make changes, and develop their repertoire of reactions and responses.
In the communication classroom, focus on nonverbal communication is a natural part of the evaluations and critiques students receive. For the shy, performance opportunities often serve to bring them out of their shells. For the more natural, it gives them a chance to perfect, hone, and polish their abilities — concentrated practice with critiques that offer suggestions for improvement and development.
Another important hidden benefit of a college education is growth in self-esteem. You could say, “But, that happens naturally outside the ivy walls,” and you are correct; however, when you are regularly challenged with new ideas, when you are often forced to think and solve problems, when your communication abilities are pressured to grow rapidly, and when you are surrounded by a compelling, nurturing, and encouraging environment precisely constructed to improve your self-esteem, you cannot escape development and maturity.
There are many other hidden benefits, of course, and the acquisition of words is certainly one of them. With increased vocabulary, it is easier to put your thoughts into words, to articulate your ideas and, even more important, to express precisely what you intend. When you hear about the benefits of college — increased financial rewards, knowledge, and social contacts — you seldom hear about the hidden benefits of exposure, communication, self-esteem, and vocabulary, but these may even be more important to your success, future life, and happiness.
“Multiplying college benefits for everybody,” is an essay written by Jay Matthews, a Washington Post Staff Writer. Matthews adds an important ingredient to those I’ve discussed in the essay and that is the effect a college education may have on other family members as well as the value of open-enrollment policies. Matthews writes an outstanding essay with important information.
Kathleen Porter has written an essay entitled “The Value of a college degree,” in which she presents the economic value first, and then discusses many of the other benefits. Porter supports her essay with 10 reputable references. This is another worthwhile essay.
Contact Richard L. Weaver II
Financial rewards, increased knowledge, and social contacts may be some of the obvious benefits of getting a college education, but there are numerous benefits that are not so obvious and which may, indeed, be overlooked when students and parents make their decisions about either going to college or not. For many, it is these benefits that make the cost, time commitment, and energy worthwhile. I call these the hidden benefits of a college education.Often, students who enter college do so with a specific idea about what they want to study, and what they want to be when their education is complete. There is nothing wrong with this kind of focus, and, for many, it offers precisely the direction they need to make the most of their college education. When I said, above, “there is nothing wrong with this kind of focus,” perhaps I should add, “if you maintain an open mind and flexibility.”
There is so much more to college life than classes, subject disciplines, and majors. I will label this “so much more”: exposure. Many students think they know exactly what courses provide, instructors dispense, and experiences deliver and, yet, it is the hidden benefits that often surprise — even astonish. “I had no idea,” is a common statement made by those who have entered the ivy walls with an open mind and flexibility.
The “exposure” comes from other classes — outside of one’s major — often, the required courses themselves. The “exposure” comes from the different instructors and how they choose to present their material, explore various approaches, and challenge their students. The “exposure” comes, too, from how students interpret, assimilate, and absorb the information. It is this unique juxtaposition of subject matter, presentation, and interpretation that cannot be predicted and, yet, can yield such incredible results.
When the focus of college is on awareness and the introduction of new ideas and new insights, one cannot escape being fascinated — even captivated . That’s where the open mind and flexibility come in. Instructors do not ask that students accept — unless it is on a temporary (for class purposes) basis — but they do want them to listen, concentrate, and consider. It is not about indoctrination, although some people may see it that way — as much as it is about weighing and considering. It is the development of good thinking, reasoning, and decision-making skills. And to develop these in the best manner means giving students something worthwhile, different, and challenging to think about. It means helping them break out from their limited and personal, often traditional, stereotypical, commonplace, and rigid kinds of thinking and reacting. It means getting them out of the boxes they may not even know they are in and getting them to investigate new boxes they didn’t even know existed. This promotes tolerance and open-mindedness.
Another hidden benefit of a college education is communication, whether it be written, spoken, or nonverbal. College offers opportunities to record reactions, write papers, and prepare reports. At times, some of these “opportunities” seem to be busy work on the way to getting a degree. And yet, confirmed in many studies that have been completed, accurate, effective communication is one of the greatest weaknesses in the workplace. Every opportunity to record one’s thoughts and reactions in writing should be grasped as another chance to formulate thoughts, shape ideas, and structure impressions. To have trained, knowledgeable, authorities assisting students to better express themselves should be accepted as a rare and unique gift designed to make them more effective.
Oral communication is not totally different from written. Even though many students feel they are already talented speakers — after all, they have been talking since they were born — few are as effective as they think. Speech communication courses compel students to examine the basics of effective communication: skillful listening, adept use of words, useful methods for supporting opinions, adroit patterns for organizing thoughts, as well as powerful ways for expressing them.
There are hidden, underlying benefits of speech-communication courses as well. First, think about the breadth and depth of ideas exposed to because of the speeches of others. Second, think about the critiques, evaluations, and assessments. Imagine the opportunities students have not just for comparing their efforts with others, but for projecting (internally, of course) specific methods for self-improvement because of the work they see others present. There are an overwhelming array of possibilities for making great strides in their personal ability to grow, change, and develop.
There are nonverbal communication benefits of a college education as well. These can occur on a personal basis with friends, relationship partners, and other students as they interact on a daily and continuing basis. And it isn’t just their talking to others, but also it is the reactions they receive to what they project. They have unrestrained opportunities to test the way they communicate, make changes, and develop their repertoire of reactions and responses.
In the communication classroom, focus on nonverbal communication is a natural part of the evaluations and critiques students receive. For the shy, performance opportunities often serve to bring them out of their shells. For the more natural, it gives them a chance to perfect, hone, and polish their abilities — concentrated practice with critiques that offer suggestions for improvement and development.
Another important hidden benefit of a college education is growth in self-esteem. You could say, “But, that happens naturally outside the ivy walls,” and you are correct; however, when you are regularly challenged with new ideas, when you are often forced to think and solve problems, when your communication abilities are pressured to grow rapidly, and when you are surrounded by a compelling, nurturing, and encouraging environment precisely constructed to improve your self-esteem, you cannot escape development and maturity.
There are many other hidden benefits, of course, and the acquisition of words is certainly one of them. With increased vocabulary, it is easier to put your thoughts into words, to articulate your ideas and, even more important, to express precisely what you intend. When you hear about the benefits of college — increased financial rewards, knowledge, and social contacts — you seldom hear about the hidden benefits of exposure, communication, self-esteem, and vocabulary, but these may even be more important to your success, future life, and happiness.
“Multiplying college benefits for everybody,” is an essay written by Jay Matthews, a Washington Post Staff Writer. Matthews adds an important ingredient to those I’ve discussed in the essay and that is the effect a college education may have on other family members as well as the value of open-enrollment policies. Matthews writes an outstanding essay with important information.
Kathleen Porter has written an essay entitled “The Value of a college degree,” in which she presents the economic value first, and then discusses many of the other benefits. Porter supports her essay with 10 reputable references. This is another worthwhile essay.
Contact Richard L. Weaver II
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
And Then Some News
You Rules!: All you need for Self Improvement is scheduled for release November 1st. The proof arrived and there are a few minor changes and it's on the way to becoming fantastic! Stay tuned...You Rules! answers the questions:
- How do you establish the characteristics for success?
- What are the essentials for a healthy lifestyle?
- What methods can you use to get where you want to go?
- How can you best exercise your creativity?
- What can you do to maintain your program of self-improvement?
- How do you look to a positive future?
Thursday’s essay, “Hidden benefits of college,” is another essay on education. I seem to be preoccupied with this topic, but having been involved in college life for most of my own, it makes some sense.
Share your And Then Some Story about benefits of a college education. For how many years have you been involved in college life? How successful are you or were you? Can you tell us how college has affected your life? When it comes to the hidden benefits of college, what would be YOUR message? Can you share your tips, stories, or suggestions regarding college? We would love to hear your story. Do you have a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or someone you just know from a distance who is or has been involved in college? Can you tell his or her story? Feel free to use a pseudonym for the person’ real name.
Click here to share your And Then Some story
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview
Hidden benefits of college
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
Financial rewards, increased knowledge, and social contacts may be some of the obvious benefits of getting a college education, but there are numerous benefits that are not so obvious and which may, indeed, be overlooked when students and parents make their decisions about either going to college or not. For many, it is these benefits that make the cost, time commitment, and energy worthwhile. I call these the hidden benefits of a college education.
And Then Some Works - see you THURSDAY!!
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