Building a Better Vocabulary

By: Kevin Flanigan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kevin Flanigan

What is the difference between specious and spurious? What does the word bombast have to do with cushion stuffing? Would you want to be called 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 offers an intriguing look at the nuts and bolts of English, teaches you the etymology and morphology - or the history and structure - of words, and delves into the cognitive science behind committing new words to long-term memory. By the end of the 36 enjoyable lectures, you will have a practical framework for continuing to build your vocabulary by discovering new words and fully mastering the nuances of familiar ones.

If you are an avid reader, you may have previously encountered some of the words in this course. But even the most voracious reader will be surprised and delighted by these eye-opening lectures, which delve into the building blocks of the English language and reveal intriguing new nuances to words you thought you knew well. These lectures will kindle a passion for the process by which words are created and for the beauty of the words you read, speak, and hear every day.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2015 The Great Courses (P)2015 The Teaching Company, LLC

Expected more.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Entertaining, and informative. This book is not a complete wast of time, I would highly recommend having an unabridged dictionary or web enabled device handy to look up the spelling of each word introduced.

What other book might you compare Building a Better Vocabulary to and why?

I read Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis many years ago, and was hoping for a resource structured more like it.

How could the performance have been better?

I hope I'm not coming off as being too Procrustean, but Mr. Flanigan has failed to give the most vital element in learning English, SPELLING! Which I find surprising, because he even exclaims how important Spelling is to comprehend the English language. Without a dictionary or Google, this resource is barely more than a string of entertaining stories. Again, there is a lot of great information to be gleaned here, just not a complete work.

Compelling Word Nerd!

Professor Flanigan made this program delightful to listen to. Wether you are a word nerd or not, this is a great program.

Worth a listen...or two...or three...

Would you consider the audio edition of Building a Better Vocabulary to be better than the print version?

Well delivered with lots of anecdotal stories. I have listened to this book numerous times and will do so numerous more. I am a poor speller and my vocabulary is below average. However, I feel of all of the vocabulary courses I have on audio, this is heads and tails above the others. Professor Flanigan's explanation of word origins and why we spell them the way we do has opened a door for me and made a light bulb begin illuminating in my head.

Great insights and GRE studying

This was my first exposure to extracurricular "furthering English" instruction and I would highly recommend. It helped me increase my verbal GRE score.

IRRITATING

I got through one hour of this class. I hate exaggeration from a learned professor:
"My father read Harry Potter to us as a child."
Later he mentions his almost 2 decades of teaching?? When did he become a professor? Ate 15?

Why the Irritating?
This guy sounds like his voice hasn't reached maturity, making him hard to listen to. Sorry...

Embrace your inner 'Word Nerd'

Dr. Flanigan is cool. His delivery is fun to follow and he makes you want to be a word Nerd too.

Prof. Flanigan Rocks

I loved his intimate, passionate presentation that emphasizes personal connections, tools for vocabulary acquisition and student success.

It's so good! my new favorite course.

It's the most fun way to learn new words. His style and voice are so good! I am a language teacher and every technique he uses is known to be effective in teaching new words; he performs these techniques better than anyone I've ever seen. it's truly inspirational. If you want to learn new words...or learn some effective teaching strategies then this is a great course for you. Also you will get some etymology, and some funny stories too. oh and the PDF is a solid and useful accompanying document.

delightful

the context used for understanding the words was interesting and sometimes funny. at the beginning I was bored and didn't pay much attention but by lesson 2 , I was excited to learn new words. I will listen again.

Great Course

This is an amazing course. Of all the courses I've taken I have enjoyed this one the most. I particularly liked the parts about Latin and Greek roots. The professor is incredibly interesting and expressive. You can really tell he loves what he does. And I learned so much He has inspired me to continue learning and delving more deeply into English. Thanks.