Improve your word knowledge

There are many languages which are spoken all over the world. To have good communication skills, a person must have good command over the language. People want to have good command over the language, but they never know which is the best way to accomplish their requirement. People often get confused about how to learn or best ways to learn vocabulary words fast and effectively.

Best Techniques for Learning Vocabulary:

Vocabulary acts as a strong basis for any language. You cannot be good at any language if you lack proper vocabulary. If you want to learn any language fluently then you need to get a strong grip on vocabulary. Moreover, it is the one ingredient that beautifies the language in the right way.

Now, it is not so tough as it sounds, but learning vocabulary can be considered as an advanced topic in language learning. Be it any language, target it and learn it as much as possible by following the steps mentioned below.

1. Practice WLCR (Write, Look, Cover, Repeat)
2. Try to learn as many new words as possible
3. Understand where to use which word
4. Find better and new sources that can help you learn
5. Try flashcards
6. Make use of internet
7. Work in a Context
8. Bridge down links between data helps you memorize well
9. Practice repetition so as not to forget
10. Use sticky notes
11. Study Linguistics

The following mentioned tips explain to you how to learn vocabulary quickly, fast and in an easy way.

1. Talk to yourself whenever possible:

People who want to learn a new language, do not know the new words and they don’t have any idea as to how to fill the gaps in between. Whenever a person wants to learn a new language, then he should continuously talk to himself about various things like what he likes or what he wants to be…and so on.

By doing this, he will be able to understand the areas where he is lacking and he can make the necessary corrections.

2. Write down all the points which you want to remember:

One of the best ways to memorize things is to make a list of all the things that a person wants to remember. Always keep a book and whenever there are words which need to be remembered, then list them and make use of them whenever required.

By maintaining the list the person can have his own pocket dictionary and he can carry it wherever he wants to.

3. Read as much as possible:

If a person gets into the habit of reading, then a person is exposed to new words. Always make it a habit to underline the new words and refer to them in the context section and try to understand their meaning. By doing this, you will remember the words and will be able to make its correct usage.

4. Try to improve the context skills:

People always make use of context section whenever they are introduced to a new word. While a person reads or writes, always pay attention to the usage of the words. This will allow a person to know the correct usage of the word and will remember it for lifelong. There are various online sites that give detailed classes as to how to improve upon the context skills.

5. Practice is the key:

The best way to learn any language is to practice it. A person can practice it by writing it on a daily basis. For this, a person can write the word at least 10 times daily and also make sentences with its meaning. This will help not only to learn words, but also the meaning as well.

By maintaining the dictionary, a person can write 5 to 10 words to learn on a daily basis and refer to it whenever needed.

6. Try to make connections with the words:

Whenever a person listens to a word, he should try to connect it to a word of similar meaning or words which help you to remember them.

For example: If a person wants to remember the word gigantic, then he should connect it with Godzilla or any other rhyming word. This will create a picture in the mind of a person and he will be able to remember the meaning as well.

7. Make use of mnemonics:

People often don’t know about mnemonics. It is the device which is used to make people learn about the new good vocabulary words. This device helps to create a story in the mind of its reader so whenever he listens to it, he can connect it with that word and know its meaning.

There are different ways under this technique and a person can choose from a variety of ways, as every person has his own best way to learn vocabulary.

8. Keep searching the new words:

Always make it a habit to look out for new best vocabulary words every now and then. These days there are a variety of online dictionaries that are available. These programs provide a chance to the reader to go through a variety of words and introduce them with new words every time they search for them.

9. Play and have fun with the words:

Make it a habit to play with words through various board games like Scrabble, crossword puzzles and many other for your vocabulary improvement. These days to play these games a person doesn’t need partners as a person can play with the computer as a partner.

Also make it a habit to solve the crossword puzzle that are published in the newspaper for daily practice.

10. Make use of the vocabulary word lists:

Make use of the vocabulary word lists for the serious knowledge of the new words. These days there are many books available in the market for the knowledge of the words that are used in the competitive examinations. Also, various online sites are available where they provide knowledge about these words.

11. Take your own vocabulary tests:

One of the best ways to learn vocabulary is take your own tests. By taking your own tests, a person can easily evaluate the areas where he needs to work harder. Taking your own test will highlight your weaknesses and the corrective measures can be taken. These days online vocabulary tests are also available, so take these online vocabulary tests and find the areas of correction.

12. Play online vocabulary games:

Today the technology has advanced to a great level. There are so many online vocabulary games available that makes learning a complete fun. These games make learning not only entertaining but much easier. Another important feature of these games is that they make learning much easier as well as the kids at a very young age can start learning through these games.

13. Communicate more with people:

Practical experience of any knowledge is the best way to determine the level at which a person stands. Through communication with more and more people a person can get the actual learning process to start. When we communicate with more people we get a better understanding of the language and we get to know the correct usage of the language.

14. Imagine things in relation to the words:

Try to imagine things whenever you listen to new words. This will automatically become your habit once you start practicing this thing. Like it is done in school where teachers make the students remember things by telling them a story and creating a picture in their minds. This habit of a person will help him to create a picture in the mind of its listeners.

15. Try to remember in small portions:

Never try to remember too many things at one go because this will create confusion and make it difficult to remember. Language is a way to express things and not a tool where you just have to apply a formula.

Always try to connect the words with certain adjectives as they will add more meaning to the word and make it easier to remember.

16. Make use of pictures:

Whenever a person listens to a new word, draw a picture that will make a person remember it for a long time. For example, when a person is talking to another person in a new language and is unable to remember some words, then with the help of those pictures he can remember those words and can converse easily.

Just like in small classes where teachers use pictures to make students remember alphabets and they recall them by remembering those pictures.

17. Try to remember words with opposite meanings:

Whenever we hear a word we try to know its meaning as well. So, whenever a person listens to a word try to remember its opposite as well because sometimes it is easier to remember the opposite rather than the word itself. By doing this you can remember the word as well as the opposite as well. This helps to learn two words at a time.

18. A person should set realistic goals for himself:

Every individual has his own caliber to do things, although there are some exceptional cases. Generally, on average a person can remember only 10 words that he learns at a time.

So, try to set goals that are realistic rather than goals which are difficult to achieve. Even if a person sets higher goals for himself, then he has to put in extra efforts which may sometimes become an overburden.

19. Try to learn in clusters:

Always try to learn in cluster because it is difficult to remember a single word. Words, when learnt in a cluster, is a easy to remember. Whenever a person tries to remember words in a cluster he creates a picture in his mind and in the times of its usage there flows a chain in his mind. By doing this he can actually remember a large number of words at a time.

20. Learn words by breaking them:

Try to remember words by breaking them. There are certain words that have a suffix or a prefix attached to them. By dividing these words it becomes easier to remember them as they become two words to be remembered. Also, it helps to study the conjugations that are attached in these words.

21. Try to focus on phrases rather than a word:

Try to focus on phrases that are commonly used because it is easier to words which are commonly used in day to day conversation because our minds tend to remember them more easily.

This way the words are easily remembered and when combined in different combinations we get to frame new sentences easily. This is an easy way to remember a new language very easily.

22. Learn through music:

It is difficult to learn words when remembered in a theoretical manner. Music is that one thing which is loved by all, even kids can easily relate to it. Words can be easily remembered when learned in the form of a song.

Whenever a person sings a song he can remember the lyrics of the song as well. Similarly, any language when converted in the form of a song can be easily remembered and when sung the words flow automatically.

23. Take your dictionary to the gym:

It is a well-known fact that whenever we do any form of physical exercise our brain tends to do work at a faster rate than normal.

So, whenever you hit the gym do take your dictionary with you and with the repetition of the exercise repeat the words along. As you know that by repeating the exercise we become perfect in them, same goes with the words also.

24. Give color schemes to the words:

Often it happens that we are very close to remember the word, but it is not possible for us to recollect that word because it is not photostatted on our memory. This problem can be solved by a simple technique of color scheme. Like we can write all the words in negative in red color and words with positive meaning in green color. This way you can easily recollect the words whenever you come across them.

25. Make a list of all the important word’s sequence wise:

An effective tool for remembering the words is making the list of important words in order of the priority of their usage. This way whenever you go through a list of important words the ones that are important are revised earlier.

26. Use FluentU:

Fluentu is an application that converts real-world videos, trailers into personalized learning lessons. There are various levels in this application and the lessons depend on the level selected. Once it is turned to lesson mode the lessons automatically starts.

Conclusion:

Learning any language is a task when done in a boring way, but when done in an interesting way it becomes fun. So, use the above-listed techniques and get that command over the language.

Words are the basic blocks of the language, and one of the key predictors of someone’s education level, profession and social status. And when learning a new language, you must continually improve your vocabulary. Yet most students struggle to increase their vocabulary effectively, as new words go one into one ear and out the other.

It’s not that we have difficulties grasping the vocabulary when we see it. Rather, we struggle to recall when we get the opportunity to use it, or worse yet, forget to use frequently enough only to end up back where we begun.

Below I describe ten proven tactics to overcome this struggle and learn new words faster, recall them more effectively, and remember them forever.

How to improve your vocabulary

1. Make use of spaced repetition algorithms (SRSs)

Although the scientific community is still debating some aspects of learning, there is consensus on how memories form, and solidify in our brains.

The basic concept of spaced repetition is that memories begin to fade shortly after they’re formed, and disappear into oblivion lest we are exposed to the information again.

With each exposure, the ‘forgetting curve’ of the memory becomes longer, and longer until it eventually outlasts your lifetime. This is why reviewing what you’ve learned regularly is so important to effective learning.

The biggest benefit of using a spaced repetition approach to learning, whether you follow the Leitner system with your old paper flashcards, or go for spaced repetition software on your phone or computer (have you tried LinguaLift yet?), is that it prevents you from wasting time on vocabulary that is still fresh in your memory.

The way most students use flashcards is by adding more and more cards to the deck, and then reviewing them all together every day, or every week, or eventually never at all. No surprise, given how unmanageable the pile becomes after a few learning sessions.

SRS goes beyond regular flashcards by predicting the point when the memory is about to fade based on your past performance, and then reminding you at this optimal moment. In theory, if you review regularly every day, you shouldn’t see the word more than 4-5 times before it enters your long term memory!

2. Study vocabulary in context

Research shows that the vast majority of words are learned from context. I can’t emphasize this enough, as learning in context of situations and sentences has huge benefits for all three aspects of vocabulary acquisition: learning, recall and retention.

This means that you should never learn vocabulary from isolated lists of unrelated vocabulary, without seeing them as part of a wider picture.

Think of words as puzzle pieces–when they’re scattered around the table, it’s almost impossible to remember or use them for anything useful. But once you combine even just a couple of the pieces together, a more meaningful context begins to appear, and the end result no longer appears unattainable.

There are many ways of introducing context into your vocabulary learning, the simplest being to learn vocabulary in sentences. This has additional benefits of introducing you to several words at a time, and clarifying their meaning, which may not always be obvious from a simple dictionary translation.

Beyond sentences, you can experiment with learning words with stories, songs or just everyday situations. For example, rather than learning weather related words on their own, look up a weather forecast online, and try to imagine a conversation about weather next week, and how it’ll affect the fishing trip you’ve been looking forward to so much.

Finally, you can also embed the vocabulary right into your surroundings with post-it notes. You’ve probably tried this method with nouns, but there’s no reason to stop there! Simply prepend the label on the fridge with ‘white,’ the clock with ‘wall,’ and the notebook with ‘my.’

3. Make the vocabulary personal, and emotional

You’ve probably heard stories of car crash survivors who can remember every little detail before the accident. We’ve also all experienced how difficult it can be to forget something we’ve been told that touched us to the heart.

Neuroscientists have flashed different words and sentences in front of subjects, scanning their brain activity. Unsurprisingly, the heat maps lit up like a Christmas tree whenever the subjects were exposed to personally relevant and emotionally notable information.

This effect can be put to great effect in vocabulary learning when combined with the previous tip. Rather than settling for a boring sentence like “The photo is on the table,” try something like “The photo of my wife fell off the desk just when I got the call.”

The benefit is three-fold. There’s now a very visual story forming around the vocab, it is emotionally impactful, and assuming you keep a photo of your significant other on your desk, also immediately relatable!

Throw that sentence into your SRS, and I can guarantee that you’ll never forget the words photo, desk, or wife ever again!

Try to think of new vocabulary in context of the people you know, places you’re familiar with or important events in your life. Just make sure not to go overboard with the imagery, lest you get traumatized every time you need to use one of the words!

We incorporate this concept into LinguaLift’s language learning system by having our students use newly acquired  vocabulary to talk about their daily lives. This makes the vocabulary relatable and memorable.

4. Read regularly, and from a variety of sources

Reading exposes you to the same vocabulary at regular intervals, integrated into the context of a longer story, personally relatable once you identify with the main protagonist… all central characteristics of effective vocabulary learning.

This makes reading one of the most effective ways to increase your vocabulary. The stereotype might portray bookworms as boring and asocial, but studies have in fact confirmed repeatedly that regular readers are much more expressive if you give them a chance to speak.

While you read, pay close attention to words you don’t know, but don’t try to look up everything right away or you’ll fail to appreciate the narrative and eventually burn out. Instead, highlight words that appear to be particularly useful or central to the story, then try to figure out their meanings from context before checking the official definition.

Make sure to engage with material on many different subjects, and in different formats. The language will be very different depending on whether you’re reading pulp fiction, a glamour magazine, or the daily newspaper.

If the book you’re reading is also available in audio form, you should also consider listening to each chapter before or after you read it. If the text and the audio match accurately, also make sure to try shadowing, an extremely effective learning method I’ve covered before.

5. Link vocabulary with mnemonics and word associations

Once you get a hang of the language, learning new words gets easier and easier as you can associate new vocabulary with homonyms, roots and other components you know already. But what about given names and locations? How do you remember what are often just random sets of letters?

Last month, I’ve asked this questions to Mattias Ribbing, a three-time Swedish Memory Champion, and Grand Master of Memory.

Matthias travels on speaking gigs around the globe, encountering hundreds of new faces every month, yet he never forgets a name! What’s his secret? Rather than putting pen to paper, or resorting to cheesy smartphone apps that would break the flow of the conversation, Matthias follows a simple, three-step approach every time he comes across a new name:

• Think of an image that clearly represents the name. This can be a common association (Mary > Virgin Mary), sound resemblance (Siegel > Seagull), etc.
• Enlarge the image in your head and combine it with the person you want to associate it with. If your contact’s name is Bree, for example, don’t just think of a small slice of cheese, but imagine Bree balancing an enormous round of stinky in her hands!
• Remind yourself of the image through the day, and a few more times throughout the week, to solidify it in your memory via the spacing effect.

And that’s it! Follow these three simple steps and you’ll never be the one awkwardly thinking of a way to attract someone’s attention without admitting you forgot the name they mentioned just five minutes ago.

Mnemonics are a bit of a controversial topic in the language learning community, but they can be incredibly effective for some people. The key here is to use them as yet another tool, not the be-all, end-all learning method.

Like with example sentences, to make this method really effective, make sure that your mnemonics are both visually and emotionally powerful–hence the benefit of thinking of a funny visual, and enlarging the object in your memory beyond natural proportions.

6. Pool new vocabulary from a frequency list

Before you can use any of the above learning hacks, you’ll need a list of vocabulary to start learning. Ideally, much of that vocabulary should come from encounters in daily life, whether through reading, listening to songs, watching movies, or paying attention to conversations in the elevator. In reality, you’ll likely need to supplement these with more abstract words to target.

A common theme across my suggestions, and earlier blog posts, is that language should be learned in a way that allows you to use it at the earliest opportunity. That is a key value of learning in context, of learning vocabulary that is personally relevant, and generally engaging with words as blocks you can use to construct something bigger, rather than individual pieces of information.

It should then come as no surprise that my preferred source of abstract vocabulary are lists ordered by the frequency at which they are used in day-to-day language. I’ve rarely seen this approach in classroom settings, but found it extremely effective and popular among many successful language self-learners.

In many languages, learning just 1000 basic words will make you understand 90% of the spoken language, and even the first 250 most common words will give you a good sense of the conversation.

If you acquire just 10 new words a day, getting up to speed in a conversation will take less than a month of casual learning. Learning a language is a huge undertaking, and it’s misleading at best when edutech companies promise fluency in a matter of months or even weeks, but mastering a core vocabulary list will make you very comfortable in all day-to-day situations. And from there, it’s just a matter of faking it, till you make it!

7. Have some fun with the words you learn

Word games may not be enough in and of themselves, but they’re a fun and effortless way to increase the recall speed of the vocabulary you know already, as well as to pick up an occasional new word from your peers.

Crosswords and Scrabble are a good place to start if you’re learning Arabic or Indo-European languages. Boggle is also great fun and localized for several languages using the Latin alphabet. Quiddler is a good way to improve your vocabulary, but unfortunately only exist in English.

Languages like Japanese or Chinese are unfortunately not well suited for these types of board games, but looking through the app store on your mobile device should lead you to at least a few options adapted for phonetics and writing systems.

If you don’t want to spend money on board games, or prefer meeting with friends over coffee or hiking, you can try playing a spoken word game instead. Some old time favourites include Word-chain or Shiritori (reply with a word starting with the last letter of the one that preceded), Associations (quickly say the first word that comes to your mind after hearing the preceding word), and Metaphors (think of metaphors for things you see around you).

Bonus: Appreciate the language

You can try every learning method you want, but at the end of the day, you’ll only make rapid progress when you begin to truly appreciate the language… for its expressiveness, its intrinsic beauty, the subtle differences between seemingly identical words and phrases.

Find yourself using the same word again and again? Open the thesaurus and try to integrate a few nuanced alternatives into your language. Notice a pattern? Try looking up the word’s root, prefix, and suffix, and how they’re used in other vocabulary.

Rather than learning words as meaningless syllables, discover their etymology. More than half of English words come from Greek and from Latin, and most advanced Japanese vocabulary comes from Chinese.

Learning about the origins of the words you use can be very effective at solidifying the connections in your brain, and guessing the meanings of the vocabulary you come across in the future. Once you know that ‘ortho’ means straight, you can quickly guess the meaning of complex words like orthodontist (a doctor who straightens teeth) or orthography (the proper way of writing).

Beyond the practical benefits, etymology can also be inspiring, and incredibly fun! Did you know that the word dim sum (點心; small little dumplings from Hong Kong) means to ‘touch the heart’ or ‘dotted heart’? There are countless legends explaining the hidden meaning behind the word.

To Learn how LinguaLift has incorporated these concepts into our Language Learning Program, check out our Home Page.

And while you’re there, be sure to get a free copy of our e-book – Language Learning Secrets.

No one can deny it.

The size of your vocabulary matters.

Having a large vocabulary allows you to understand and communicate in English (almost) like a native.

So in this guide, you will learn 4 proven ways to increase your English vocabulary.

This guide will teach you:

• How to learn words deeply.
• How to increase vocabulary in a short time.
• How to expand your writing and speaking vocabulary.
• How to ensure you don’t forget words you learn.

Of course, if you want to accomplish these things, you need multiple methods.

Here are the 4 best ways to improving English vocabulary:

1. Read and listen to English regularly
2. Use vocabulary apps
3. Imitate native speakers
4. Prefer to use English over your native language

In this article, we’ll examine these strategies in great detail.

This guide is long. If you just want a summary of what to do, click here to jump to the step-by-step action plan.

Now let’s begin.

Method #1: Read and Listen to English Regularly

Reading and listening are the most powerful duo in English learning.

The key is to do it as much as possible. I recommend you do it during mindless activities like commuting to work or waiting at the airport. It’s a great way to turn boring activities into productive time.

You can read or listen to anything you want, but the best place is to start are things you find interesting. (For example, if you’re a fitness fanatic, you may read English books about exercise, diet, and nutrition.)

Or you can start with these two resources:

• Books to read to improve your English
• English listening materials (free download)

The Pros of Reading and Listening

Let’s look at the advantages of this method. (We’ll discuss the limitation later.)

Pro #1: It’s a powerful way to learn word usage

Some students learn English words by simply memorizing their meanings.

There’s a problem with this approach; it doesn’t tell you how to use words correctly in a sentence.

On the other hand, when you read or listen to English, you learn not just the meanings, but also how the words are used in a sentence.

We discussed the problem until 3 PM.

Leaning words in context (with surrounding words) like this is effective.

Suppose that presently you use the word ‘discuss’ incorrectly, so you tend to say, “discuss about (the topic),” instead of “discuss (the topic).”

How do you fix this mistake?

The answer is a lot of reading and listening. If you see and hear native speakers use the word discuss enough times, eventually you’ll get used to the correct usage, and “discuss something” will start to feel right while “discuss about something” will start to feel wrong.

Let’s look at another example.

Which of the two sentences below is correct?

1. I’ll share the secrets to learn English vocabulary fast.
2. I’ll share the secrets to learning English vocabulary fast.

This one confuses a lot of beginners. They tend to think the first one is correct because they believe the preposition ‘to’ cannot be followed by verb+ing.

But for advanced students who have seen and heard the word ‘secret’ in various instances, they know that the second sentence is the correct one.

Pro #2: It improves your English grammar

When you expose yourself to English, your brain is learning English grammar behind the scenes.

When you read a novel or listen to a story, the brain is learning things like:

• When to use certain English tenses.
• How to use prepositions (at, on, in, for, to).

English grammar is complicated and confusing, but the more you take in correct input, the better your grammar.

Pro #3: It improves your English comprehension

This one is obvious.

The more you read and listen, the better you understand written and spoken English.

Do you see why reading and listening are so powerful? They improve multiple aspects of your English at the same time.

The Limitation of Reading and Listening

When it comes to building vocabulary, reading and listening focus on quality, not quantity.

They are good at helping you learn words deeply, but not quickly.

Although they are powerful, it takes a long time to notice an improvement.

This is especially true for learners who already have a large vocabulary. Even if they read and listen a lot, they don’t come across unknown words very often.

This means if you want to learn a lot of new words in a short period of time, you need a faster approach like using vocabulary building apps.

Method #2: Learn English Words using Vocabulary Apps

Do you want to learn a lot of vocabulary in a short time?

Are you preparing for an upcoming English exam in which your vocabulary will be tested?

If so, say hello to vocabulary building apps.

Vocabulary apps are the most convenient way to learn English vocabulary. You can grab your phone and learn some new words almost anytime and anywhere.

Of all the vocab apps I’ve reviewed, the best one is WordUp.

WordUp focuses on helping you learn English vocabulary deeply.

It accomplishes this by giving you a lot of usage examples.

In addition to word definitions, it shows video clips from movies and TV shows, songs, quotes, and news articles (lots of them).

Here are some screenshots:

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By teaching words in context, with plenty of examples, it ensures that you’ll truly understand the words.

The app doesn’t have all the English words in the database (only the most frequently used ones). However, the number of words available is more than enough to keep you busy for a long time. Hopefully, they’ll add more words in the future.

There are many other vocabulary apps, but it’s hard to find one as good as WordUp. Some of the other apps show only one usage example for each word, or they show only one definition for multiple-meaning words.

So I only recommend WordUp for now. But feel free to try the other ones yourself.

Method #3: Imitate Native Speakers

Do you understand English well but are poor at speaking and/or writing?

Do you often have trouble finding the right words to use?

If so, you have a small active vocabulary.

Active vocabulary refers to the words that you’re able to use in speaking and writing, whereas passive vocabulary are words that you know but can’t use.

How do you expand active vocabulary?

Some teachers advise that you make sentences using the words that you want to turn into active vocabulary.

So if the target word is ‘resolve’ (to decide firmly on a course of action), you may write down something like, “After being diagnosed with diabetes, she resolved to stop eating sugar.”

This is a good way to build active vocabulary, right?

But there are two problems:

1. What if you unintentionally use words incorrectly? (You can’t fix mistakes if you don’t know you’re making them.)
2. It’s a bit tricky to use this method to build speaking vocabulary. (You have to get three things right: the word meaning, the correct usage, and the pronunciation.)

So I’d like to offer a different approach, which is imitating (copying) native speakers.

The strength of this practice is that it ensures you’re using words exactly like native speakers do (because you’re copying them).

There are two types of active vocabulary: writing and speaking vocabulary. Let’s discuss how to improve each of them using the Imitation practice.

How to Improve Your Writing Vocabulary

Are you bored with your own writing because you keep using to same words?

If so, you’ll love this writing practice.

The idea is simple: you read the writing of a native speaker, one sentence at a time. And without looking, try to write it down from memory.

This video demonstrates the process step-by-step:

Do you have a favorite English book? Pick a chapter and start copying.

Is there an English website that you read regularly? Pick an article from the site and start practicing!

How to Improve Your Speaking Vocabulary

The process is similar to the writing practice.

Here are the steps:

1. Find a short audio or video clip in English (2 – 10 minutes long). (There are millions of them on YouTube.)
2. Listen to the entire clip.
   1. Make sure that you understand everything.
   2. The clip should contain a lot of words and phrases you’ve never used in conversation.
3. Play the clip again. This time, repeat after the speaker. When the speaker finishes a sentence, pause the clip and repeat the entire sentence.
4. If a sentence contains a word or phrase you’ve never spoken out loud, you should repeat that sentence many times while thinking about the meaning of that sentence.
5. Once you finish imitating the entire clip (or a part of it), try to express the main points or ideas on your own.

The last step (5th one) is crucial. During this step, you will NOT be able to recall the exact words. You will forget a lot things. You will struggle to speak.

And that’s a good thing!

Why? Because research shows that “struggle” enhances learning.

You can experience it yourself. Take a look at the following words; spend the same amount of time on each column.

Column A	Column B
ocean / breeze	bread / b_tter
leaf / tree	music / lyrics
sweet / sour	sh_e / sock
movie / actress	phone / bo_k
gasoline / engine	river / b_at
school / college	pen_cil / paper
fruit / vegetable	be_r / wine
computer / chip	television / rad_o
chair / couch	l_nch / dinner

Now, without looking, open a text editor (or grab a piece of paper) and write down as many of the words as you can.

From which column did you recall more words?

If you’re like most people, you remembered more of the words in column B. In fact, studies show you probably remembered three times as many!

Why is that?

When you saw a word with a blank space, you stopped (very briefly) to figure out what it was. That tiny bit of struggle made you remember.

This phenomenon has been replicated in many studies. When learning is easy, people tend to forget what they learn. But when there’s some difficultly involved, the knowledge sticks with them long term.

So if you really want to increase your speaking vocabulary, don’t just mindlessly repeat after the speaker word for word. It’s too easy.

You must struggle!

Method #4: Prefer to Use English over Your Native Language

Your brain is efficient. It’s constantly sweeping out unused memories to make room for new and frequently-used ones.

So if you don’t recall certain information for a while, you forget it.

If you don’t perform a specific skill for a while, it gets worse.

The same goes for your English vocabulary.

Without constant exposure to the language, you forget the meanings of some words.

If you don’t speak and write in English frequently, it becomes harder to find the right words. (Imitation practice can help with this.)

This is why you should add English to your daily routine so that English vocabulary stays fresh and active in your mind.

The idea is simple. If something can be done in either your native language or in English, choose to do it in English.

For example, if you want to search for information on how to do something, search for it in English.

If you take a lot of notes (reminders, shopping lists), take notes in English.

If you enjoy TV shows of your native country, switch to American or British TV shows.

If you’re addicted to social media, follow English pages and groups related to your interests. (And make a lot of comments in English.)

Change the language of your phone, all the apps, and everything else you can think of to English.

Do you write a diary? Record your thoughts and feelings in English.

These are just random examples. The actual things to do “in English” depend on your routine.

So take a look at the things you do each day. Can some to them be done using the English language?

Don’t think that this is trivial. Don’t underestimate this process.

It may seem to not make much difference in the short term, but the habit of preferring to do things in English will definitely improve your English vocabulary in the years to come.

Summary: Action Plan to Improve Your English Vocabulary

As you’ve learned, there are multiple ways to build vocabulary, each has different strengths and weaknesses.

It can be confusing to figure out when to use each of these methods.

So here’s a practical, step-by-step guideline:

Step 1: read/listen to English during mindless activities

We all have nonproductive activities that take up a lot of our precious time:

• Waiting for an appointment.
• Commuting.
• Lying in bed awake, waiting to feel sleepy.

This is the best time to read or listen to something in English.

The time you spend listening/reading should be at least 5 – 10 minutes long.

It takes time to fully shift your attention to something, so if the period is too short (like 2 – 3 minutes), that’s not enough time to fully concentrate on the material.

If you try to read or listen to something for just a few minutes, it will be hard to pay attention. You may see/hear the words but your mind will be occupied with something else.

Step 2: use vocabulary apps throughout the day

Our days are filled with hundreds of little moments:

• Standing in line.
• Waiting for the elevator.
• While the coffee is brewing.
• Pooping.

These moments are very short (usually less than 5 minutes)…too short to read or listen to something in English. This is when most people browse social media or text messages.

But not you! If you want to increase your vocabulary fast, this is the time to open a vocabulary app and learn a few English words.

Each time you do this, it may not seem like much (maybe you learn only 1 – 2 words). But if you do it throughout the day, the words begin to add up!

Adopt this habit. You’ll be surprised how much English vocabulary you can learn.

Step 3: if you want to build active vocabulary, practice Imitation

As you know, nowadays it’s not enough to just “understand” English. You mush be able to communicate in English too (and do it well).

To achieve this, you need to expand your speaking and/or writing vocabulary.

So I suggest practicing the Imitation technique for at least 15 minutes a day. It’s the best way to train yourself to use new words (in the correct way).

Whether you practice writing or speaking depends on which skill is more important to you at the moment. If both are equally important, you can alternate between the two, so one day you practice speaking, the next day you practice writing, and so on.

Step 4: use English instead of your native language whenever possible

You forget things that you don’t recall or use often, so using English regularly is essential.

Do your best to use more English in your daily routine.

Do you keep track of your appointments in a calendar app? Write down the details in English.

Do you often write down a list of things to buy? Make a list in English.

Sometimes, you may not know the English word for something, that’s okay. You can use the word in your native language instead. (Or better yet, you can search for that English word online. It’s super easy. No big deal.)

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And that is all you need to know about improving your English vocabulary. You can adjust my suggestions as needed to suit your goals.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this article useful.

Vocabulary is often overlooked by those who don’t write. As well as improving your quality of written work, whether that is school and college essays or novels and poems, extending your vocabulary will also improve your confidence with spoken language and day-to-day conversations.

No matter your age or occupation, you should always seek ways to extend your back-catalogue of words.

What is a vocabulary?

Your vocabulary (or wordstock) is a set of words that you are familiar with. A vocabulary may also be specific to a particular field of knowledge. For example, a scientist will have a set of words they use every day that the general public won’t necessarily be familiar with; most adults have a vocabulary range of 20,000 to 35,000 words that they can actively use, read and understand[i].

Vocabulary can be split into three tiers[ii]:

Tier 1: Basic, everyday words most children will understand and use before reaching school age. These are words like ‘girl’, ‘swim’ and ‘cold’.

Tier 2: Words that aren’t used often and are usually only learned when there is a specific need to know them, e.g., if taking a science lesson, a child will learn the word ‘photosynthesis.’

Tier 3: Some words are used more often in written text than conversation but can be applied to many different settings. These are words like ‘auspicious,’ ‘articulate,’ and ‘summarise.’

Although the tiers are useful when it comes to understanding the development of one’s vocabulary and how advanced it is, educators tend to split the language into four groups:

• Listening vocabulary – words you know that help you understand what you hear
• Speaking vocabulary – words you’re able to say within the context of a sentence
• Reading vocabulary – terms you need to know to understand what you read; generally, you need to understand 95% of words in a text to read it effectively
• Writing vocabulary – this includes the words we use within our writing

 

Why your vocabulary is important

Throughout your life, your vocabulary is one of the essential tools in your communication toolbox. Without knowing it, you unconsciously use it for all aspects of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These are the core reasons for its importance[iii]:

1. helps you to communicate your thoughts and ideas in a way that people understand.
2. It improves your reading comprehension or your level of understanding of what you are reading.
3. A broad vocabulary increases your chance of success within your working life.
4. You can better express yourself through writing when you have a substantial vocabulary.

 

How does the vocabulary develop?

Vocabulary generally grows as you age. As a child, the extent of your vocabulary will depend on many factors such as how you are socialised, the people you grow up around, the level of education you receive, and what you read and watch on TV.

Children will begin to form proper words around 12 months into their lives, and from there, they will always be trying and learning new words. Depending on the circumstances in which they grow up, children can learn anything from 750 to a massive 3000 words per year[iv].

By the time a child is 6, they will be able to use 2,600 words in speech and understand 20,000 to 24,000 words. This can grow to about 50,000 words by the time they are 12[v].

How to tell if you have a weak vocabulary

A ‘weak’ vocabulary is where someone doesn’t understand or use as many words as most people within their age group. A delay in vocabulary growth can happen for many reasons, and it’s easier to spot in others than it would be to spot within yourself.

If someone has a weak vocabulary, they may experience the following.

• Feeling confused after reading a book or piece of text – they often do not understand what they’ve just read.
• Misinterpreting messages from friends or important letters.
• Misusing common words or using the wrong word to describe something.
• Frustration when having a conversation because the other person doesn’t quite get the point they’re trying to make.
• A lack of confidence with conversation, letter writing and public speaking.
• Feeling unable to get involved in politics or to express their opinion on a political matter openly. Although they know what they think or feel, they worry people could perceive their inability to get their point across effectively as ‘stupidity’.

 

Improving your vocabulary

Adults will learn one new word a day until they reach middle age, where natural vocabulary growth tends to stop [vi]. However, no matter what age you are, you can improve and grow your vocabulary if you take active steps. We’ve compiled a list of techniques that will help you to strengthen your vocabulary to improve your writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills across the board.

Play word games

This is an easy and fun way to absorb new words. You could play traditional word games like Scrabble, take time to complete the crossword in the daily newspaper, or download a few apps on your phone that you can play when you have a spare 5 minutes. This will get the cogs in your brain turning.

Learn a new word every day

Make it a challenge to learn a new word every day and try to use it at least five times within conversation. Repetition is one of the best ways to add a word to your vocabulary as it helps your brain recall it in the future. There are dozens of resources to help you pick a new word, but here are a couple of our favourites:

• Merriam-Webster – Word of the Day
• Oxford Dictionary – Word of the Day Email Service (This one you have to sign up to, but all links work)
• com – Word of the Day

Alternatively, pick up a dictionary or thesaurus, flip it to a random page and pick your word. The more difficult it is, the better!

Read more

This may seem simple enough, but reading daily can be difficult if you haven’t read regularly since your school days. Reading will help you to not only pick up new words but to understand how they’re used in context.

You don’t have to start off reading long, compilated novels. Take it step by step, start reading magazines, newspapers, and progress to books you think you’ll enjoy (this could be on a topic you like or even a celebrity’s autobiography).

Refer to the dictionary or thesaurus

If you find yourself struggling to understand words often, keep a dictionary on hand. Although it may be easier to Google it, leafing through the pages of a dictionary to find the meaning of a word will help you commit it to your memory.

Do the same if you’ve noticed you use a word or a set of words too often in emails or messages; could you use more exciting language instead?

Take an online course

School may seem like it was a lifetime ago, but if you re-visit English in a learning capacity, it will accelerate your vocabulary growth. There are hundreds of English courses online if you don’t want to go to a college or learning centre, from subject-specific lessons to English GCSE courses.

Use new words in writing

While completing the activities above, start a list of new words you have learned. At the end of the day or week, sit down and write something that includes all of these words. This is another excellent technique that will help your memory recall of the word, and who knows – it might spark a passion for writing.

It’s never too late to grow your vocabulary

Whichever way you decide to get started, make sure you take it a step at a time. In a few months, you’re sure to notice a difference in your confidence with conversation and the variety of words you use daily.

References

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G. & Kucan, L., n.d. BRINGING WORDS TO LIFE. [Online] Available at: https://bep.education/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Bringing-Words-to-Life-Booklet.pdf [Accessed February 2021].

Huld, L., n.d. How Many Words Does the Average Person Know?. [Online] Available at: https://wordcounter.io/blog/how-many-words-does-the-average-person-know/ [Accessed February 2021].

Loraine, S., 2008. Vocabulary Development. [Online] Available at: https://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/149_VocabularyDevelopment.pdf [Accessed 2021].

Merriam-Webster, n.d. vocabulary. [Online] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vocabulary [Accessed February 2021].

R.L.G, 2013. Lexical facts. [Online] Available at: https://www.economist.com/johnson/2013/05/29/lexical-facts [Accessed February 2021].

Seifert, D., 2016. Top 5 Reasons Why Vocabulary Matters. [Online] Available at: https://infercabulary.com/top-5-reasons-why-vocabulary-matters/ [Accessed February 2021].

Sprenger, M., 2013. Teaching the Critical Vocabulary of the Common Core. [Online] Available at: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/113040/chapters/What-Does-the-Research-Say-About-Vocabulary%C2%A2.aspx [Accessed February 2021].

Sources

[i] https://wordcounter.io/blog/how-many-words-does-the-average-person-know/

[ii] https://bep.education/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Bringing-Words-to-Life-Booklet.pdf

[iii] https://infercabulary.com/top-5-reasons-why-vocabulary-matters/

[iv] http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/113040/chapters/What-Does-the-Research-Say-About-Vocabulary%C2%A2.aspx

[v] https://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/149_VocabularyDevelopment.pdf

[vi] https://www.economist.com/johnson/2013/05/29/lexical-facts