Building a Better Vocabulary

What does the word bombast have to do with cushion stuffing? What is the difference between specious and spurious? Would you want someone to call you a snollygoster?

The hallmark of a powerful vocabulary is not simply knowing many words; rather, it’s knowing the exact word to use in a specific context or situation. A great vocabulary can enhance your speaking, writing, and even thinking skills. This course will boost your vocabulary, whether you want to enhance your personal lexicon, write or speak more articulately in professional settings, or advance your knowledge of the English language. For anyone who has ever grasped for the perfect word at a particular moment, this course provides a research-based and enjoyable method for improving your vocabulary.

Building a Better Vocabulary,taught by Professor Kevin Flanigan of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, offers an intriguing look at the nuts and bolts of English, teaches you the etymology (history) and morphology (structure) of words, and delves into the cognitive science behind committing new words to long-term memory.

Course Lecture Titles:

1 Five Principles for Learning Vocabulary
2 The Spelling-Meaning Connection
3 Words for Lying, Swindling, and Conniving
4 Words That Express Annoyance and Disgust
5 Fighting Words and Peaceful Words
6 Going beyond Dictionary Meanings
7 Wicked Words
8 Words for Beginnings and Endings
9 Words Expressing Fear, Love, and Hatred
10 Words for the Everyday and the Elite
11 Words from Gods and Heroes
12 Humble Words and Prideful Words
13 High-Frequency Greek and Latin Roots
14 Words Relating to Belief and Trust
15 Words for the Way We Talk
16 Words for Praise, Criticism, and Nonsense
17 Eponyms from Literature and History
18 Thinking, Teaching, and Learning Words
19 Words for the Diligent and the Lazy
20 Words That Break and Words That Join
21 Some High-Utility Greek and Latin Affixes
22 Cranky Words and Cool Words
23 Words for Courage and Cowardice
24 Reviewing Vocabulary through Literature
25 Words for Killing and Cutting
26 A Vocabulary Grab Bag
27 Words for Words
28 Specialty Words for Language
29 Nasty Words and Nice Words
30 Words for the Really Big and the Very Small
31 Spelling as a Vocabulary Tool
32 A Medley of New Words
33 Building Vocabulary through Games
34 Words English Borrowed and Never Returned
35 More Foreign Loan Words
36 Forgotten Words and Neologisms