Definitions

After reading chapter two, I learned my new things. Chapter two helped me get the clearer ideas about using words and phrases more effectively. I personally like definitions. English is not my mother language, so there are tons of word or vocabulary that I would love to learn. My best friend for learning is English is the dictionary. That is why I think definition is something that really help students. Sometimes, we do not know how to describe the meaning of a word to our peers, but we do know what it means. Then we can use the dictionary to check for the word's definition. However, the dictionary could help with the direct meaning of the vocabulary also known as denotation. The vocabulary could also have its hidden meaning which is connotation. In communicating, people will not always get what our meaning of the words we use in the conversations. So, I learned how to avoid this. It is very simple. We just need to make sure that our sentences are clear and not vague or ambiguous. In other words, if we are not sure whether the person we are talking to will get our "self-created" words or phrases, then just use simpler words or phrases.  Definition could be a big help in communication or discussion.

For example: I read my brother's notebook, and I saw a line " I look up to the sky, and I sea a bird."
I corrected him, and he said "they sound the same." So I explained to him that "sea" and "see" are  homophones. He asked "what are homophones?". I answered, "homophones sound the same, but they have different meanings. I pulled up the dictionary and showed him the definition of "sea" and "see". Finally, he got the idea and changed his homework's mistake.

Definitions could also come in handy when we are in a discussion which involve many scientific terms. The terms that people are not familiar with. If we could explain them, then people would be impressed since they know we research and we know what we are talking about.