Painless Vocabulary (Barron's Painless)

I purchased this book because a friend of mine lent me her book for a while. I found it a great tool in and out of the classroom and recommend it to any middle school or high school student.

I needed a vocabulary book for my high-school level children that would teach as well as keep them entertained, and this book definitely delivered. It gives words that are not common in the teenager's everyday conversations, yet explains and defines in ways they can easily understand. The words are broken down into sets of five, so the reader is not overwhelmed by learning new words. It's great for the parent who homeschools their children or anyone wanting to broaden their vocabulary. Trust me -- it's absolutely PAINLESS!

Well, I think the Painless books are not bad but I wouldn't say they are fantastic or anything. I do honestly believe that if you study these books and apply yourself they certainly have the potential to improve your skills in whatever area be it vocab, grammar or writing.

I teach ESL (English as a Second Language) to adults and use this book with my students. It provides the (pre-college or ESL)reader with an advanced level of words that high school students need for SAT or college, and adults need for business and college writing. The vocabulary is presented in essay form first to see its usage in real life, then the words are presented in detail in groups of five so it's not overwhelming. My students liked this book so much they actually recommended it to their friends.

Dealing with Painless series of BARRON'S, I came to learn more efficient ways to lighten my loads of my mind. Although Painless Vocabulary involves a lot of big words, I'm sure every exercise enhances your technique to build up your vocabulary and practice reading the contexts. You will be able to solve every brain ticker if you read the explanation of words BEFORE using your dictionary. And of course, Eng.-Jpn. dictionary and vice versa don't help. Both of them don't explain core meanings of each word, if you ask me. On top of that, it IS a waste of time and energy! After all, this book is going to help you reinforce your flexibility to tackle your new words!