ANTONYMS - Does it Help to Know, Study and Practice Them?

by Paula Erwin
(Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany)

Thanks for reminding to practice, practice, practice – so I remember the saying "use it or lose it". :-)

I'm not sure whether it's good to learn synonyms, and maybe antonyms as well.

Does it give more connections of ideas or is it a risk to mix up.

What's the very best method of learning?

Ola's answer:

Hi Paula,

That's a good question.

I must tell you that most of the time I don't concentrate on synonyms/antonyms when working on vocabulary.

That is not to say it is a bad method – I just haven't done it so much that way.

The best way I know to build vocabulary is to go gradually about it:

• Start with a good base of simple, basic words (preferably with lots of pictures!).


• Practice them in abundance using different activities, short stories and writing tasks. It is important to make sure that the stories are simple enough for the student(s), and that they don't guess words out of context, rather actually understand them.


• Move to the next level and start the cycle anew with new, more advanced words.