In Context

When I was teaching in the English department both in high school and at the college level, I stressed vocabularly study. I love words. However, I learned when I first started teaching that more important than the definition of the word was the ability to use the word correctly, which is called "the word in context." When I tested, I gave the students a sentence with one blank in it requiring that they choose which word would best fulfill the meaning of the sentence. If a student could choose the correct word, regardless of whether or not they knew the formal defintion, then they had a new, usable vocabulary word. I am not averse to knowing the definitions. Recently, my pastor referred to the definition of "faith" which is found in Hebrews 11:1. "Faith" is defined as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What an awesome definition, a measurement for that which can't be measured. The same wonder I find in the definition of drama: the willing suspension of disbelief. Somehow these two definitions define for me the power of language and our challenge to acquire as extensive a vocabulary as possible. The limits of our language are the limits of our world.