IMPROVE ENGLISH VOCABULARY
There are more than 250,000 words in the Oxford English dictionary. These do not included slang or technical words. However, a good English speaker would normally use only 15,000 to 20,000 of these words. If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort everyday over a six to nine month period can go a long way in improving it.
Here are EnglishLeap’s top ten vocabulary improvement tips -
1. Make reading the newspaper a daily ritual. You may be comfortable reading a particular section but make an effort to read different articles from all pages. The editorial page is highly recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thought.
2. It is not surprising that those who read a lot develop a good vocabulary. Make it a habit to read a new book every week. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make a list of words which are new to you and use the dictionary to find out their meanings.
3. Watching English movies and television shows are important for improving English and learning new English words. The best part about watching English videos is that you can learn the correct pronunciation as well.
4. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many new words in a short period of time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on the front side and the meaning on the backside of a square piece of paper. In your free time, it is a convenient tool to learn new words.
5. The internet is an unlimited resource for reading material. Pick up a topic of your choice and search for articles about it. You will find plenty of material to read which you would not only find interesting but would also introduce you to new words. Be sure to use a dictionary to find out their meanings.
6. The best way to ensure that you never forget the new words you learn is to start using them in your day to day conversation. Do not try to force fit them into a conversation but do use them if you think they are appropriate.
7. When we make a note of new words from the newspaper and book, we are able to learn the meaning from the dictionary but still do not know how to pronounce them. This becomes a big deterrent in using these words in a conversation. Most dictionaries have the pronunciation of the words in bracket using the phonetic alphabet. It is important to understand these phonetic symbols to become comfortable with the pronunciation of new words.
8. Learning in a group is always more fun. If you have friends who also want to improve their vocabulary, then you can form a group and share new words with each other. You can meet at regular interval and measure your progress.
9. Root words are words from which words grow by the addition of prefixes and suffixes. For eg. Even the word vocabulary is derived from the Latin root word, voc, which means word or name. Other words like advocacy, vocal and vociferous are also derived from the same root word. Hence, if you can recognize some root words, you will get a fair idea of many derived words. A list of root words is available here.
10. While it is important to read and learn new words, it is equally important to revise what you have learnt. Fix a particular day of the week to revise all the words you have learnt in that week and add them to your daily vocabulary.