Reflection 3

Studying for the vocabulary required for this class has had quite an impact on me. Each week I learn several words I would never be familiar with had it not been for this class. I've always though learning new words was fun. I really like expanding my lexicon because not only does it make me sound more intelligent and erudite, but because it's just nice to understand people most of the time. Most words I am not already familiar with don't usually pop up a lot, but when they do, I notice them right away and find use of them. I do not approach vocabulary in a different way, but rather I pay attention more on how I process it. For instance, usually I just read the word and memorize the general meaning of the word. I try to use it in a sentence, and then once I've got it, I move on to the next word. It used to be almost like an innate process for me. If it hadn't been for this class I never would've noticed what exactly my process was for learning new words. I've always thought I was just memorizing the words instead of learning them. I've realized that there is a significan difference between those two concepts. Because of my process to learn, I have embedded those new unfamiliar words into my brain and can now use them with little difficulty. I occasionally use some of the words I have learned from this class. I'm used to using what's already in my vocabulary because I'm not confident in using some of the unfamiliar words, but sometimes I try and succeed in using them correctly. After the test, I find myself remembering most of them. I forget a few only because I know that I will not see them or use them that often. I should go over the words multiple times to learn them, because when they do show up somewhere, I should be able to know what they mean.