Better Speaking Podcast 🗨️🗣️ How to widen your vocabulary

The issue that my parents had with me and my choice of profession was that they thought it  

was beneath me. They thought that I should have had a higher calling, that I should have gone  

into politics, and they were just purely simply disappointed in me.

Somali-born fashion model Iman  

talking there about the reaction of her parents to her chosen career. In today's Better Speaking  

we hear more from Iman, and as usual, teacher and trainer Richard Hallows will be with me  

to explain what makes her such an effective user of English as an international language.

Iman was born in the east African country of Somalia. While she was a student, her  

distinctive good looks were noticed by an American photographer, who asked her if he could take her  

picture. At first she said no, but eventually she agreed, and when she arrived in the United States  

in the 1970s she was an immediate success in the world of fashion modeling. In this interview, we  

hear her talk about her family's reaction to her becoming a model, particularly as Somalia  

is a Muslim country and many of its people are very traditional. Did her chosen career not lead  

to problems with her family, for example? Was she, as a Muslim woman, not supposed to be very modest  

and wear a scarf or veil to cover her face?

For one thing, let me make it very clear: Somalia is a,  

is a Muslim country, a hundred percent Muslim country, but we also have a, er, we have a very strong cultural  

identity. Somali women don't wear veils uh we have our own traditional clothes we cover our head but  

definitely it's not a veil, so we've never worn veils. I've never worn veil, l my mother has not worn  

veil, so that was not the issue. The issue that my parents had with me and my choice of profession  

was that they thought it was beneath me. They thought that I should have had a higher calling,

that I should have gone into politics and they were just purely simply disappointed in me.  

So it was just the choice of profession that I chose that they were not happy with.

Iman explained that  

even though Somalia is a Muslim country, it has its own distinctive culture and traditions.   

While Somali women wear a scarf to cover their heads, they don't wear anything which covers the face. 

They don't wear veils, so it wasn't the things she wore as a model that made her parents unhappy.   

It was the fact that they thought modeling was not a good enough job for their daughter: it was beneath  

her. They wanted her to have a professional job; in fact, they wanted her to become a politician. 

The issue that my parents had with me and my choice of profession was that they thought it  

was beneath me. They thought that I should have I had a higher calling, that I should  

have gone into politics and they were just purely simply disappointed in me.

But despite her parents'

disappointment in her choice of career, Iman went on to become a very successful and famous fashion  

model, first in the United States and then all around the world. So coming from a traditional  

African Muslim country, what does Iman herself think of the modeling business?

It's a very provoking business. It's all sexual business in terms of how the girls are photographed: they're  

supposed to be wonton and sexy and voluptuous and all that, and it was not something that went hand  

in hand with my upbringing as a Muslim girl, so there was that conflict and I think my, that  

conflict stays with me on a daily basis and this choice of profession that I have chosen.

Iman says that modeling, particularly when being photographed, is all about the model making herself  

and her body look sexually attractive. She still feels a conflict between her upbringing as a  

Muslim girl and this aspect of her career.

It's a very provoking business. It's all sexual business in terms of how the girls are photographed: they're  

supposed to be wonton and sexy and voluptuous and  

all that, and it was not something that went hand in hand with my upbringing as a Muslim girl, so  

there was that conflict and I think my,   that conflict stays with me on a daily basis,

and this choice of profession that I have chosen.

And with me again in the  

studio is teacher and teacher trainer Richard Hallows.

Hello Richard.

Hello Callum.

Richard, Iman has been a very successful International model, but is she a successful user of international English?

I think she's extremely successful. I think what makes her particularly, uh, good, is she's got a very  

wide range of vocabulary.

And why is having a wide range of vocabulary, you know, good?

Well, she uses it,

it makes her very interesting to listen to.

Can you give me an example?

Yeah, she's, uh, she's describing models, or what's necessary in a model, and she uses words: 'wanton', 'sexy', and 'voluptuous'. 

Very expressive, that language.

Extremely descriptive.

Yeah, very nice.

It's a very provoking business. It's all sexual business in terms of how

the girls are photographed: they're supposed to be wonton and sexy and voluptuous and all that.  

So having a wide vocabulary is, is good to

make yourself more descriptive and interesting as a speaker. Um, how can students develop this?

I mean, I think it's a problem.

Students are always, always coming to me saying, you know, I need more words, I need more  

vocabulary, and it is a problem, but I think it's a case of organizing yourself and having a strategy  

which helps you learn more words more quickly.

And, uh, what are some examples of a way that students can learn?

Okay, well, if we go back to Iman and  we think about these words that hang together, this  

'wanton', 'sexy', and 'voluptuous', I think it's, it's, um, a very good way to learn vocabulary in subject areas.

There's a psychological theory that, in your brain, you have lots of little boxes; in each box, you have  

vocabulary connected to one, to one subject, and so it, it makes sense to learn your vocabulary,  

to organize your vocabulary in your notebook, and learn it in subject areas.

So, for example?

Well say, say you want to learn vocabulary, um, around, I don't know, say a school, maybe you want to build what we  

call a mind map in your notebooks.

A mind map?

A mind map: it's also called a spidergram.

Basically, you've got the words and you link them together in a logical order, any order logical for you.

um, so maybe you have, um, 'subject', the word 'subject', and then connected to that you could have 'biology',  

'chemistry', 'maths', 'physics', whatever, and then next to that you could have words, maybe like, I don't know,

'love', 'hate', maybe, 'I hate physics', or, I don't know, you can organize it how you want, but to  

make those connections in your brain to help you remember.

So it's more helpful for students  

to organize these words by subject rather than maybe just alphabetically in a notebook?

I mean, alphabetically, it's quite, it's a different system to then you've got a mini dictionary  

that you can refer to it, so it's another way, but I do like this idea of organizing things by subject. 

Okay, let's move on to a different area. What other things could you pick up on from Iman's English? 

Okay, well something else that she does which is I think very effective, is she repeats words, and she  

repeats structures sometimes, but particularly if we listen to her talking about Somali women  

wearing veils, she repeats the word 'veil' quite a lot.

Somali women don't wear veils. We have our  

own traditional clothes. We cover our head, but definitely it's not a veil, so we've never worn  

veils, I've never worn veil my mother has not worn veil, so that was not the issue.

Now if you were to talk like this in an everyday conversation, it might sound quite strange, but maybe if you,

if you're making some kind of presentation, something like that in business or, I don't know,  

at school, it's quite an effective communication strategy.

And it's something that politicians do quite a lot, isn't it?

They do. They will say, 'my government's going to', 'my government's going to',

and they repeat the same structure again and again and again. 

So it's almost like a, a kind of speech-maker kind of rhetoric.

It is, it is.

But, but generally not a useful thing for day-to-day conversation.

I think it probably sounds a little bit strange in an everyday chat kind of situation.  

What is strange about it in a chat conversation? How can you avoid that?

Well, you should try to not repeat the same  

word really, and by having this, you know, increased range of vocabulary, it's good to change the words.

Okay, any other points that we can pick up on?

Well, just generally, I think it's quite interesting that  

Imam is obviously married to an English man and so she is, obviously, you know, and she lives in America  

having lots of exposure to English, so I think it makes this point again, that our listeners should  

try to get as much exposure to English as possible.   

And through, through what means if they're not living in an English-speaking country?

Listening to the BBC World Service is quite a good idea, or  

um, you know, obviously TV etcetera, Maybe try and get some kind of pen friend so you have some kind  

of interactive dialogue going on there, or even some internet chat, something like that might be  

quite accessible for our listeners.

So Richard, I wonder, uh, if you could give us those few pieces  

of advice there in summary?

Okay, well first of all, increase your vocabulary range, and do this  

by subject area, organizing words connected with some subject and make the connections, you know, in  

your mind, organize it in your notebook. Secondly, if you're making some kind of presentation, repeat the  

word or repeat the structure, very effective, and finally, try to get as much exposure to  

English, either through the radio, TV, internet, as you can.

For today, Richard, thank you very much.

Your spoken English will be more effective and sound more interesting if you can use a  

wider range of vocabulary. Think about how you write down and record new words and phrases.

Don't just write them down in alphabetical order. It's easier to remember new words if  

they can also be written down with other words: words which relate to the same topic or subject.

Increase your vocabulary range, and do this by subject area, organizing words connected with  

some subject and make the connections, you know, in your mind. Organize it in your notebook. 

If you're making a speech or giving  a presentation, you can emphasize an  

important point or an argument by repeating certain key words or phrases.

If you're making some kind of presentation, repeat the word, or repeat the structure

You'll be a better more fluent speaker of English if you can expose yourself to as much of the language as possible.

Take every opportunity to listen to  English and communicate with people who use  

the language well. Listen to the radio or watch TV or DVDs. Find a pen friend in an English-speaking  

country, join a discussion group online or interact with English speakers around the world by email. 

And finally, try to get as much exposure to English, either through the radio, TV, or internet, as you can.