Customer Reviews

Instant Vocabulary

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a very handy and inexpensive way to work on vocabulary expansion using a systematic approach to recognition of word origins. The book works foward from simple prefixes "re-" to more complicated prefixed and suffixes (and "mid-fixes"), such as "-gen-" or "-cogni-". One can follow the book foward in order, or simply use it as a reference by picking up given prefixes or suffixes as an adjunct to foreign vocabulary work. I introduced one of my children to words starting with "mal-", "bene-" and "parl-" while teaching him beginning French, for example. A nice companion to Strunk and White's, Elements of Style.

This book groups English vocabulary words in accordance with their roots. Memorizing the Latin and Greek roots worked wonders for me in my high school years. To this day I reap the benefits. Recommended!

This little book is one of the best teaching aids I've ever come across and one of the best investments I've ever made in terms of lesson planning, not to mention my own knowledge. It groups the word affixes by meaning and derivation. I'm on my second copy. I used the first one until it literally fell apart in my hands.

I'm only sorry it's not available in hard cover.

I purchase several copies of this book every year when I have students that finish their 3-yr. dyslexia program with me; it is my parting gift as well as my encouragement to be a lifelong learner. I've had former students tell me that, in high school & college, they realized the value of this particular resource. It is organized by "keys", each key covering 2 pgs. & listing the word part (suffix, prefix, word stem, etc.), it's meaning, a lot of example words that contain that word part, & an exercise to practice it's usage. It seems simplistic, but you'd have to see it to really understand the appeal. The alpha index in the back gives the key number, not the page number. As a way to expand vocabulary, it is top-notch!

Having purchased and used quite an assortment of vocabulary improvement books, I believe the best way to improve one's vocabulary, short of studying Latin and Greek as I did, is to study and learn word roots including prefixes. Learn that "mal" means evil, and you've got a heads up on all the words containing that root. Even if you can't determine a specific meaning, you'll know that the word probably has a negative connotation, a great help for an SAT taker.

For years I used Instant Vocabulary with my Gifted and Talented middle school classes. In fact, I accumulated about ten copies so that students could borrow them for home study. Hard to believe, I know. About ten years ago I misplaced my last copy of Instant Vocabulary and have been searching for a suitable replacement ever since and have found nothing that matches the depth and usefulness of this book. Recently by serendipitous happenstance I found my missing copy, buried among my many books.

Instant Vocabulary is wonderful for developing an extensive vocabulary;SAT candidates will find it especially useful. One nitpick is the inclusion of too many suffixes which aren't that helpful in determining the meaning of a new word. For example the suffix -ity tells me the new word is most likely a noun, but not much else.
Looking to improve your vocabulary? Buy this book. Another little nitpick is that the roots aren't listed alphabetically and that roots, suffixes, and prefixes aren't in separate groupings.

What I do like is that each root is accompanied by up to 20 examples of words derived from the root, followed by useful reinforcement exercises.

Serous about improving your vocabulary? Buy this book.

This is a great book to expand vocabulaty; it is used by many teachers. My only criticism is that there is no alphabetical index so, if you want to find the prefix "pre-",for example, you need to look page by page to find it. But, it is definitely worth it once you find the page.

I teach third graders and I used this book to help increase their vocabulary. We came up with some great games with finding root words and trying to figure out the words meaning. It's a great filler activity or to teach one to the students every day or one a week. good investment.

In Instant Vocabulary, Ida Ehrlich presents a systematic method for developing a stonger vocabulary through the utilization of word-roots. While I found the structure of this book sound and accessible, the content and words that were covered within each section were either rather common or irrelevant. I would not recommend this book to someone who is attempting to strengthen their vocabulary for the GRE simply because most of the words on the GRE do not derive from the conventional roots presented in this book. However, it is affordable enough for anyone who feels they may benefit from such an approach to try it for themselves.

Don't laugh! It's the best book for the bathroom! If you read one page a day, you'll effortlessly improve your vocabulary and spelling.

The concept is very simple -- if you can learn about 250 word "building blocks" you can expand your vocabulary by thousands of words. I am a graduate education student and this strategy is very mainstream and proven.

Not a good book at all, very soory I ordered it ( not the fault of amazon's but the publisher's)