Hi all,
Those using tutor, please can you tell me a bit about the word lists your tutor uses? I met a mum yesterday who said her tutor gave her DD 2000 (TWO THOUSAND!!) words. I made a list from the words DD identified from books, papers and bond books. We have just over 500. We are DIYing and with just a couple of months left now, please can anyone help me find more?

Even if you had a list of 2000 words, I don’t think your DD would be able to learn all of them properly. Your approach is probably better, your DD is learning not just the word but more about the context etc and is more likely to remember them.

That said, this thread might help.
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=38525

It is not about lists of words. It is about understanding them and using them in conversations and writing.

I know the students that came first and second at HBS last year and the student who got the highest score in the DAO CEM this year, 137 and they certainly did not have lists. They learned to apply the words rather than revise them on a list.

Forget lists, start using the words and then she really will have learnt them. I meet students all the time who have been given lists to learn, a new one every week at some tutor centres and it really has not improved their vocabulary which is the goal. DG

My DD went to a tutor for her 11+ preparations but she was not given any word list. The tutor (and us) encouraged her to read a variety of books. If she came across a word that she didn't know the meaning of, she would find the meaning from the dictionary, write a couple of sentences using that word to make sure that she understood the meaning; We encouraged her to also think of possible synonyms/antonyms for the word.

If you are really after a word list, there are some books available in the shops (I have seen my friend's DC use them). There was also a collection of words on this forum
Regards

I thought there was a word list on this site somewhere(other than the thread above), can't find it now though..
DS is encouraged to find 10 words per week that he either can't spell well or doesn't know the meaning of.. them he write a couple of sentences to show context and also looks for syn/ant, etc.

That's what I recommend to pupils I tutor. The most successful are the ones who read a lot and also from a variety of genres.

Regarding the word lists - our tutor does give word lists and they are great. A huge time saver for my dc. We still google the words from the list if we are unsure how to use the word or to understand it more properly. But being given word lists means a world of difference for us, since before we felt directionless, we didn't know which words to prioritise. I know reading is better, we encourage her to do that, but it is not improving her vocabulary with the speed needed. With the word lists, she first learns the words on the list and then, when she reads, she comes across a lot of the words she learnt and it actually helps her understand better what she is reading. I noticed many times she skips words while reading thinking she knows them - but in fact she doesn't - she either guesses the meaning of the word from context (and sometimes her guess is wrong) or manages to understand the text without the word and if asked about the word out of context she cannot answer correctly. My dc also dislikes looking up words while reading - says it spoils her enjoyment and interrupts her reading process. so for us word lists worked brilliantly. We got over 1000 words so far and they keep coming.

Our tutor gave word lists but also passages to read that put them into context as well as exercises with them like synonym & antonyms & crosswords. Maybe 10-15 per week.

For us word lists also worked but we identified them from various tests or short comprehension texts, so DS saw them in the sentence. I also noticed that my DC became more confident reader and I guess he more likely to look for the meaning of a new word in a test or short comprehension than while reading a book.