Why it is so difficult to do well in English
It seems almost a given that students would argue that “It is so hard to do well in English!” for the Singapore O Levels. As a result, they may ask, “How do we improve English grades?”
Well… yes and no. It is a subject that truly stretches students in many ways: their ability to create meaning and make sense of words and sentences, their critical thinking abilities to craft the most appropriate answers, and their knowledge of words. This would be fine if that were it, but different contexts demand different ways to make use of the language. For instance, in Comprehension alone, students must discern the meaning of images in Visual Texts, make sense of metaphors and literary language in Narrative Texts and internalise more sophisticated, analytical writing in Argumentative Texts. Each of these uses similar skills, but the skills are applied differently in each context. Thus, it stands to reason that doing well for English exams; especially for the O Levels Singapore; is indeed challenging.
At the same time, while there is no single magic bullet to plug one’s learning gaps in English, at the core of a necessarily multi-pronged solution is so simple that it is almost elegant. In this article, I intend only to hone in on one aspect of the subject that is absolutely critical to students doing well: Vocabulary. However, the prevailing perception of vocabulary by students is that good vocabulary means having extensive knowledge of many words. In short, to them it means being able to list out synonyms to various words, be it simple emotional words like “happy” or even heavier words more commonly used in discursive writing like “important”. While the knowledge of synonyms is indeed significant, it unfortunately detracts from the real issue at hand. If students take on this perspective of what vocabulary entails, they inadvertently devolve into only the memorisation of words without truly understanding and learning the contexts in which the words are being used.
The one crucial ingredient to improve English grades
Thus, in relation to this one crucial ingredient to improve English grades, vocabulary should be seen as having – first and foremost – the knowledge of the root meaning of words. As mentioned, there are many different components in the English Language exams that demand the usage of words in different contexts. For instance, consider the usage of the word “ecstatic” in these two sentences:
- Jane was ecstatic at hearing the news.
- Cults often provide seemingly authentic ecstatic epiphanies to attract followers.
In the first sentence, we can surmise that the usage of the word “ecstatic” relates to the emotion of excitement. In the second sentence, while it may include a feeling of excitement, the usage of the word relates to an elevated, out-of-body, transcendent experience, similar to an emotional high that may be compelled through a range of things like religious experiences and the such. While bearing very striking similarities, the word carries vastly different nuances when placed in different contexts, but we can still tease out the root meaning of the word to be “an intense and overwhelming emotional experience”.
That, in my humble opinion, is vocabulary: understanding the root meaning of words so that one possesses the knowledge to apply said meanings in various contexts and situations as needed.
Improving vocabulary in this way requires a lot of contextualisation of words. This means exposing oneself to many different types of texts and new words. In other words, students need to read widely and read many different media: commentary articles, newspapers, novels, academic writings, short stories, journalist editorials, etc. There is no shortcut and it has to be cultivated constantly as a habit, something which requires discipline and commitment. Not only does reading expose us to myriad new words, it also necessarily brings with it the contexts within which the words are used. Other ancillary benefits include the tones of different media, exposure to arrays of complex sentence structures, and strong, personal voices from a multitude of writers from various backgrounds.
What to do to cultivate vocabulary
That being said, from a practical perspective, reading aimlessly is also not ideal, especially if it is meant to help improve one’s English grades. It has to be targeted and it has to be done through active reading. In short, it requires a fair amount of self-directed learning. It is challenging, but what is worth doing is usually never easy.
These are just some basic tips on reading and vocabulary. Looking for help in deepening your grasp of the English Language? The Discourse Education offers English Language group tuition services for the Upper Secondary level; our lessons help students understand the various words in different contexts in order to improve their English grades. Contact us for more information today!
Featured image by Christin Hume on Unsplash