Note: If you are really serious about improving your vocabulary, we highly recommend you check out the popular Ultimate Vocabulary Builder

IS ULTIMATE VOCABULARY 2009 WORTH THE HYPE?

If you are like one of us and have invested considerable time and efforts in improving your vocabulary, you have probably heard of the Ultimate Vocabulary 2009 software. While most of us have stuck to the basic ‘memorize word lists’ formula and been skeptic of vocabulary software, we have heard that a lot of people have benefited from certain vocabulary programs. So we decided to try one out and see if such programs actually have something worthy to offer. A quick search revealed eReflect’s Ultimate Vocabulary 2009 as most often cited as the best vocabulary software so we decided to test it and see if it really was as beneficial as its users make it out to be.

‘Word Discover’

Trying to retain a word forever when you have only read its meanings (and perhaps a single example of its usage) is HARD. So one of the things we liked right off the bat in the Ultimate Vocabulary software was its ‘Word Discover’ feature. We have to admit it was impressive how the program gave over 50 usage examples for all the words in its repository as well as their history, encyclopedia information and even associated images (It was really nice to see the word ‘cosmopolitan’ followed by multiple meanings and a nice picture of a city’s skyline).

Multiple Interactive Exercises

Memorizing word lists has to be the most basic and boring method for learning new words. So we always appreciate new and intuitive ways to vocabulary learning. Ultimate Vocabulary 2009 did not disappoint in this regard as well. Living up to its reputation as the best vocabulary software, the program includes a number of fun and effective vocabulary learning exercises such as ‘customizable flash cards’, ‘Synonym memory’ and ‘Word Recall’.

‘Word Messenger’

A nifty utility included in the software is its Word Messenger which is a notification tabs alert that reminds you of your word list and displays new words periodically.

Progress Tracking

If you want to monitor your performance as you use the software, you can do so using the in-built stats presented as the ‘Learning Curve’. This should be useful for the people who like to know exactly how much they have improved.

Audio Pronunciations

Ultimate Vocabulary 2009 comes with over 20,000 audio pronunciations for the words in its database. It’s always advantageous to hear a word being pronounced (because even if you know a word it’s embarrassing if you don’t know how to correctly say it).

Overall, we have to say that Ultimate Vocabulary 2009 is a very intelligent piece of software that seems built for vocabulary learning success. The only downside to it seems to be that you have to purchase it. But really- if you are serious about improving your vocabulary, spending a little money on the best vocabulary software doesn’t seem like a bad investment. So give it a go.

Rating: 4/5