You don't nessecarily have to learn latin roots, but paying attention to them can help.
Try to connect all of the words you know. Here is an example:
Con: in spanish means "with"
incision: a place were something was cut
in: commonly added at the beginning of words, though I couldn't tell you the precise meaning of it.
ion: added at the end of words, often indicating a point or something similar
cisi/cise: to cut/ the abstraction of cutting
Concise: breaking it up, with cutting. Concise statements are straight to the point and accurate. I hope you can see how this makes something concise "cutting".
Another, easier example:
Hypothetical: Theoretical, of the type theo (proposed)
Parenthetical: Modifier that is of the type "paren"
Paren: An abstraction, sort of a separator from the rest, but in an above sort of way.
Parenthesis: A container of a separate statement or idea
Parent: the above and separate. You can easily see the connection between parents and parenthesis
Hypothesis: Proposed solution or summary of the situation
Thesis: The idea, or a statement. We can infer that it also is associated with solution or summary.
Thetical: we can infer means of the type.
Hypo: In this situation carries a meaning similar to "In a fantasy/proposed universe"
We can then recombine the roots and see more meaning to the words.
We can see that, by reforming the word Hypothesis, we get "A fantasy/proposed universe type of statement, idea, or solution.", but you should not just think of it like that, think of each root as an abstraction, and as a living thing that interacts differently with the other abstractions. Each time you see a new word, extract the abstractions from it and compare them to the ones you already know. Don't worry too much about being able to describe the roots logically or in words. For many, that will be nearly impossible and completely unnecessary. Focus on the "feeling" of the word. Before long, you will not need to memorize most words, you will simply understand them, and that understanding is far more powerful than dictionary knowledge. It will allow you to use words in new, creative ways, making it more fun to read and write.
Because of this, I never had to study for vocabulary tests in high school, I would just read over the list 5 mins before the test and make the connection and everything was good to go. Also, it helps a lot when reading books from older time periods or that use complex language. Hope this helps!
Edited by brainslug, 17 March 2012 - 04:42 AM.