One important aspect of any study program is setting goals, and achieving them. If you have a specific schedule that you follow in your vocabulary study sessions, and target dates with goals you’ve set (either for a specific purpose, such as the SAT test, or a certain number of words learned), you’ll find it’s easier to manage your study plan, track your improvement, and celebrate your goals. You can do this tracking by using a software program like Ultimate Vocabulary, or a simple spreadsheet. You can also use a calendar; in this case, we recommend buying or making a calendar that you use only for vocabulary study, so that your milestones and to-do lists don’t get lost amid the dentist appointments and lunch dates.

People have been tracking the progress of things through time since time began. Many of the early tools for tracking time involved the moon, the sun, and the stars, because these were (and are) both always moving and always in the same paths. It’s possible to set up markers to measure the position of the sun, for example, at the midpoints of the year, known as the solstices. The word solstice has an easily-recognized root word: the Latin sol, meaning “sun.” The other half of the word comes from the Latin verb sistere, meaning “to stand, to stop.” At the summer solstice, the sun appears to rise in the same place for a few days before “moving” back towards the south as the days get shorter.

The Latin verb sistere is the root of another English word, the verb assist. In this case, the word adds the prefix a(d)-, meaning “with.” When you assist someone, you “stand with” them, helping them in a specific task. If you’re having problems keeping to your vocabulary study schedule, you can ask someone to assist you, either by helping you with difficult words, or giving you quiz-format questions in your study sessions, or by being a study partner. Sometimes it’s easier to stick to a schedule when you have someone who’s expecting you to be there to do the work. Study partners can also encourage each other as well as helping each other, and when you’ve reached your goals, you’ll have someone to celebrate with.

Set your goals, track your progress, and let an improved English vocabulary help you to succeed at work and school!