Improve Your Vocabulary by Feeding the Hungry
January 2, 2008
As bloggers, we should be constantly trying to improve the quality of our writing so that our grammar, spelling, and overall English are better. But to have truly great and impressive articles that stand out, we have to have a fantastic vocabulary as well. Without knowing a vast amount of words, our posts will turn out being quite bland.
But improving your vocabulary doesn’t have to be a boring task. In fact, it has been made into a game - and one that actually helps feed the hungry - for free. I’ve been using FreeRice.com for a couple of weeks now, and this isn’t a sponsored post. I would really like to get the word out about this site, because it’s great for everybody.
FreeRice is a nonprofit organization, a site that donates 20 grains of rice for every vocabulary word you define correctly. This is made possible by their sponsors, who pay for the rice when their ads show on the page.
Once you guess three words correctly, you move up a level. If you get a word wrong, you go down a level. There are 50 levels in all, but most people do not pass level 48. FreeRice has a system that quickly learns what kind of words you know and which ones you don’t; it stays right on the outer fringe of your vocabulary, so you’ll always be learning new words.
FreeRice is not only extremely fun to play, but you’re learning new words at the same time. I use it on a daily basis, and I’ve already found that throughout the day words pop into my mind that I didn’t know before - I’ve actually learned quite a bit. And the very best thing of all is, while having fun and learning, you’re actually helping to feed the hungry. FreeRice is a site I’m going to be using for a long time.
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Comments
19 Responses to “Improve Your Vocabulary by Feeding the Hungry”
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Tay,
That game is very addictive and fun. I have been playing it for a while. Boy I certainly need to improve my vocabulary.
-Fred
I actually don’t think you have to increase your vocabulary to write better blog posts. Grammber, yes but vocabulary, no. I mean I know a lot of words but I don’t use any of them in my blog posts because the average blog visitor knows nothing above elementary English…
Nice site, though. I’m sure it’ll help me to better my normal writing…
Personally, I think a lot of things go into becoming a better writer. Certainly grammar and vocab are small parts of the puzzle. What helped me in the days (at least as it pertains to blogging) is ProBlogger.
And very nice site in re: Free Rice. I thought I wouldn’t be able to donate anything, but I managed to get quite a few right. Great website highlight. (#):)
@Fred,
It sure is! And I’ve never improved my vocabulary faster, especially while having so much fun and doing something for such a good cause.
@Ruchir,
Actually, vocabulary does play a big role, in my opinion. If a writer uses boring, bland words, who’s going to want to read it? Even simple words - “delighted” instead of “happy”, for example - makes a huge difference. I think in this niche the readers do have better vocabularies than in other niches though. Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
@Bush Mackel,
I agree with you 100%, there’s not just one thing that’ll make a person a totally better writer - a lot of things come into play. And it’s important to work to improve every now and then (which FreeRice definitely helps me do). Thanks, Bush!
Hey, thanks for sharing that info. It’s indeed a fun and good way to be learning and at the same time helping people out. I have bookmarked the site. :)
Thanks for the support with FreeRice, Aurelius Tjin! When I find something that’s so beneficial for everyone like FR is, I just can’t help sharing it with you all! Thanks for dropping by, I appreciate it. :)
Thanks for letting me know this wonderful site. I am starting to play with it now. I also realized that my vocabulary is very limited and this will be the chance for me to learn more.
My aim is to increase the Totals by Months page every month. Contribute my share and hopefully more rice can be given to the people in hunger.
Wayne Liew, you’re welcome and thanks for using FreeRice! I’ve actually set it to remember how much I’ve donated, instead of clearing it when I close the page. This way I can constantly see how much I’ve donated over time, as well as keeping my current vocabulary level. :)
I love the idea of the freerice site, there should be more like it. I think it’s fun though, the level aspect is a good challenge.
STG, thanks! I agree with you - I think there should be a lot more sites like this. FreeRice has already experienced great success. There are some other sites like it, where viewing advertising allows you to donate to charity, but all you do is click a button like “donate here” - there’s no game aspect to it. FreeRice is the best yet. Thanks for stopping by. :)
I am still a high school student, as my blog says. I am taking Honor’s English, a more difficult class and am having quite a bit more fun dealing with Free Rice than analogies.
Making something that important - helping others while having fun is great concept
The game is fun but lot to learn. I like it and request others to use it to improve their writting skills.
Thanks everyone! Yes, FreeRice IS fun, and helping someone in the process is such a great bonus. :D
Nice game not just educational and enjoyable but also helpful to those who are hungry.. thanks for sharing really nice
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Shannon, I agree. This game is good for everyone - the people who run it, those who sponsor it, those who play it, and especially the hungry people that are getting fed by it. Thanks for stopping by and for checking out the game!
Great Site! Enjoy the fun and learned quite fast. Thanks for sharing this, its really useful, every blogger needs to visit the site, its educational then interesting.
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@Biodun,
I agree with you completely. Some days I just go to Free Rice and sit for an hour and play, and not only do I go away having fed the hungry, I always leave that day knowing at least a couple words that I didn’t know before. :)
Sounds like a great idea…play a game and help feed the hungry.
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