Mastering Vocabulary 3 What if I forget the word?

posters with synonyms and antonyms
Image Credit
Judy Baxter via Flickr

This lesson will help you learn how to build richer vocabulary, through the use of synonyms and antonyms, descriptions and rephrasing.

Introduction

Native speakers can often replace or rephrase a word without thinking. For example, in your language, how many ways are there to describe types of snow? In English, there are at least 40 different ways to describe different types of snow! 

For the full list, look at All The Different Types Of Snow Explained.
 

Warm Up
  1. Look at the following word: MONDAY
  • Describe the word to your teacher, without using the following words: Sunday · Tuesday · days · two · eve
  1. Look at the following word: HIRE
  • Describe the word to your teacher, without using the following words: employee · boss · manager · recruit · work

This is just the game Taboo, but TEF style! If your student seems to enjoy it, you can play online together using https://www.playtaboo.com/playpage/

 

Language

What do you do when you forget a word? Let's say the word is complex. Here are some ways to handle the situation.

  1. Use synonyms or antonyms.
    • ​​​​​​Synonyms are words that mean the same thing (e.g., complex —complicated, difficult)
    • Antonyms are opposite words (e.g., complex—not simple, not easy )
    • E.g.: That's a very complex question
      • (Synonym) That's a very complicated question.
      • (Antonym) That's not an easy question.
         
  2. Describe the word.
    • Instead of the word itself, what's another way to put it? 
    • E.g.: I can't answer that question because there are so many factors to consider.
       
  3. Find another way to say what you want to say.
    • Imagine you're answering a question about animal rights and the beef industry.
    • E.g.: Instead of saying:
      • This is a complex situation that requires a multifaceted solution, taking all stakeholders into account: ranchers, consumers, and the livestock themselves.
    •  you can say:
      • This is a difficult situation. We have to find an all-around solution that meets everyone's needs, including the ranchers, consumers and the cattle, too.

1. Use the words in the image at the top of the lesson to practice synonyms and antonyms

You can suggest using a thesaurus, like Thesaurus.com, to find other ways to say a word.

2 & 3 are self-explanatory.

Practice

Try to come up with other ways to say the following words:

  • recruitment
  • strategy
  • feedback
  • implement