I bought a good dictionary I must have told you earlier about it.
It provides me a clear definition and sentences as well then I can easy to digest words. My simple question is that I must use this dictionary whenever I see complicated words and look them up and use them. This is one idea.
Or Can I also read words from any page of the dictionary. because learning words from a good dictionary is equal to reading of a book. If I have free time, Will i go for reading a dictionary. To do so, what will be the advantage for me? Is my word power gonna increase to some extends?
Mohammed -
Learning new words from a dictionary would never help you under any circumstances. If this is what your mission is , then its a long way to go where in the course of time , you would feel daunted since you would never find an oppurtunity to use these newly learnt words which holds your valuable time attached to it . I have made up my mind very clearly. I could never expect to get the idea units as how been done by a native English speaker and hence its better to go with what i have now. Speaking proper and fluent English occurding to me , is not all about learning new words or using fancy phrases . When we rise up to the position of speaking with out any breaks and pauses , then i feel , i have achieved my goal. But on certain situations , i could do so , but rest all i "stutter". I am embarrassed searching for a word and even sound like a dumb . Oh! , what am i supposed to do ?. Well , reading books. Yes , i have spend nearly 2 full months , reading novels by modern authors (though i am not interested at all) and found that , i have achieved nothing out of it. I could even remember my dad getting hard on me , for reading "stories" rather than something useful . So , what's all about improvement of English ?. Beleive me , i have got a big collection of words , which i have spend time to search patiently on a dictionary and jot it down. Nonetheless , i have never used any of these words (may be very feeble) , in my life time , nor could remember them. Though i am not advicing , you would come to know yourself as time trots by. I think we need to develop a new strategy to improve one's English . Perhaps, i strongly feel , this is a long term process and would take nearly years for one to achieve this.
Mohammed--
Yes, I would say reading a good dictionary is a great idea. If you are motivated to do it, go ahead! In some ways reading a dictionary is better than reading a book. For example, a dictionary gives you many example sentences for a single word, whereas in a book there is usually only one sentence with a given word.
Focus on the example sentences, and remember to read the phonetic transcription.
Kartic--
First of all, please do not put spaces before your commas and periods.
As for your problem, I have a question: How many pages have you read in two months?
Tom-
I have read nearly 4 novels in two months. On an average each novel would have somewhere around 350-400 pages and hence this adds up to somewhere close to 1500 pages. I try to finish 50 pages a day, obviously i break for some days and then get on. I barely refer a dictionary while i encounter a new word. For i feel that this would erect a speed hump in my progress. What do u reckon?. Is this the wrong approach?.
(Thankx for correcting me for the commas and periods)
Tom -
The problem with me is, i really dont use any of the words that i have learnt newly . Though when i am sitting all alone and hypothetically speak as if someone is listening to me, i put those new words into action and my language really sounds to be good. But the moment someone pops up for a conversation, i dont or not even have the mind of using the new words or phrases. Only the same old words occurs to me and i realise this only when i sit idle after the conversation. Say for instance, i wanna use a word "exasperate" which i have learnt before, i keep this word in mind and then utter something just for the sake of using this word. I understand that this is not at all the right approach, as words need to reach us and not the other way. Am i only confronting this ?.
