5 Inbox Tricks to
Boost Your Terminology

By Gloria M. Rivera
[770 words, 5 minutes read time.]

Move from Country A to Country B

Imagine this. You are a native Spanish speaker from Peru and move to the US in 2005. Then, you focus on improving your English because your goal is sounding almost native. To do that, I read books and newspapers, watched TV shows and movies, listened to music, and spent time with native speakers—all in English. In short, I lived as much as I could in my B language. While this sounded great, something that I did not anticipate happened. 

*Creaky, creaky* I am getting rusty

As the popular proverb says “use it or lose it”.  This is what happens when you live in the country of your B language, focus all your energy on your B language, and take your A language for granted.

For example, retrieving certain words that I did not use that often would take a bit longer than usual, and Anglicisms and calques seemed less suspicious than before.

Uh oh. Now what?

Then, I started thinking that if I wanted to nip this problem in the bud, I needed a solution that was reliable, fast, and easy. Then, I found out that I check my inbox every day, therefore, if I received a new word per day, I would learn or review 365 words per year! 

Below, you will find several websites I am subscribed to with a short explanation of what each one provides. Feel free to research, subscribe, and let me know how it goes.

Happy learning!

Gloria

Word of the Day1.a.  Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day:

  • You will receive in your inbox the main meaning and an example of the Word of the Day.
  • There is a link included that takes you to the Word of the Day site. Here you will find the word pronunciation (click and listen to it!), a fun fact about the word, synonyms, examples of usage with context, word history, and more.
  • My favorite part is that if includes a short podcast about the word that you can listen instead of reading all of the above! So, if you are an auditory learner, this will make you happy.
  • If you scroll down, you will find the 6 previous WOD and  a link that takes you to ALL the words up to one year back.

You can register here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day#

Just scroll down the page and look for this box to the left. 
Look for this box where you can input your email and subscribe to the Word of the Day!

Merriam-Webster Words of the Week

Word of the Day Recap1.b.  Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Week:

  • These words are some of the most searched in the Merriam-Webster dictionary based on what is trending in the news. These words span from politics, sports, and social media.
  •  It includes a link to a the Words of the Week site where you will find their meaning, context, and origins. 
  • Also, if you worry that you missed all the fun Words of the Day, no problem! This email also includes a Word of the Day Recap with links to these words and all the info described above.
  • There is no need to register if you are already registered for the Word of the Day.

cardiac arrest

Dictionary.com register2.  Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day: 

  • This email arrives once a week.
  • It includes a link to Dictionary.com where you will find the  pronunciation in phonetic alphabet, audio pronunciation, meaning, and examples, 
  • You can register here:  https://www.dictionary.com

Collins Dictionary Newsletter3.  Collins Dictionary Newsletter: 

    • This email will arrive once a week.
    • It includes blog articles, a round-up of the weeks’ Words of the Day, plus Words of the Week in English, Spanish, and French!
    • It also includes a link to their language learners blog.
    • You can register here: https://blog.collinsdictionary.com

WordDaily4.  WordDaily:

    • As its name hints, you receive a daily word in your inbox.
    • The email includes the word’s pronunciation (in audio!), example sentences, word origin, and a link to a site where you will find more info!
    •  You can register here: https://worddaily.com

5.  Fundeu: 

  • The FundéuRAE is a non-profit organization founded in 2005 in Madrid, Spain. The foundation was created in collaboration with the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española de la Lengua, RAE), an institution that standardizes the use of Spanish, and Agencia EFE’s Department of Urgent Spanish (Departamento de Español Urgente de la Agencia EFE.)
  • They send daily recommendations about several subjects, for example, plurals, word choice, or capitalization.
  • They create writing guides about current events, for example, the Olympics, Climate Change, the Ukraine War, etc.
  • You can register here: Suscribirse a recomendaciones.

Resources:

Accessed on October 11, 2024.

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