How to improve your English vocabulary

How to improve your English vocabulary

The need to improve your English vocabulary

Do you feel you have a lot of ideas in your head but you are unable to express yourself well because you often run out of words while speaking English? Do you feel that you could express yourself better if you could get appropriate words when you begin to speak?  Are you aiming to outshine others and make more impact when you speak by using a wide range of vocabulary? If the answer is yes, be assured that you are not alone. Most learners of the language will agree that having an impressive vocabulary range is important but acquiring it may not be easy. Here we are going to discuss the ways and means by which you can improve your English vocabulary.

The most common mistake learners make

The most common and the worst mistake that learner’s make while attempting to improve their English vocabulary is learning a long list of words and their meanings.  This means that they don’t learn the words within a sentence or a paragraph and that they don’t get to learn how they are supposed to use the words properly. The key to improve your English vocabulary is to learn how to use the words and not just learn the word meanings. You need to learn words within their natural context, in sentences and in paragraphs.

The different ways to improve your English vocabulary

1. Read, read and read some more

Find any book or blog or any kind of content that you are interested in. To begin with, it is very important that you chose some content that you are interested in and are passionate about. Then you won’t quit and learning is much easier when you enjoy it. If you read for an hour, it is highly likely that it will give you about five to ten words depending on your vocabulary range and the content you read. This is a much faster and more effective technique to improve your English vocabulary than memorizing words and word meanings. You will be picking up the word, its meaning and how it is used in a context.

2. Connect a few words as a regular activity

It is easier to memorize words based on a common theme. The theme might be a topic or situation (for example, food or travel or movies. Prepare a short talk or a short paragraph using a set of new words which relate to a particular topic. Alternatively you could write an anecdote from your personal experience using those words. It is a very satisfying way to improve your English vocabulary. You could also imagine or act out a situation where you would need to use them. If you are alone, use a mirror and pretend you are having a conversation with someone using your new vocabulary. Practicing new words in conversation by conversing with both fellow learners and fluent speakers allows you to experiment with your regularly increasing vocabulary. Another good way to practice and improve your English vocabulary is journaling. Write a journal everyday using a few newly learnt words. Therefore the right way to improve your English vocabulary is not simply learning the meaning of the words but spend time to practice using the words in your daily life.

3. Listen to good English

To improve your English vocabulary, you could also listen to good English. Use resources like English news, documentaries, chat shows, series or movies. You could also choose to turn on the captions in English as it can help you visualize the usage of the words in sentences. Listening to English music can also help. You need to listen along for words that you can pick up. Listening is an extremely good way because it helps you understand the pronunciation of the new words as well. This will enable you to improve your speech as well.

4. Choose the words wisely

Although just reading and listening can give you all the words you need to know, one common mistake which learners make is listing and trying to learn new words at random. It doesn’t give the desired results. To improve your English vocabulary, choose wisely. Remember that topics that interest you will be easier to learn. Because you would usually talk or write about topics of your interest, choosing words from your interest area will be useful too. The first step should be to choose topics that relate to your needs at the moment. Think about topics that you would need to talk about in the immediate future and focus your vocabulary enrichment around that topic and other topics of general interest. When you will then be able to use a few good words in actual speech, it will motivate you to keep up the practice.

5. Learn synonyms 

To improve your English vocabulary, learn to look for synonyms. If you want to improve your vocabulary range, you need to push yourself to use new words and not repeat the words in your speech or write up. Use the dictionary and thesaurus from time to time to look for synonyms of words you tend to use frequently in your speech or write up.  

6. Make a vocab diary

Make a vocab diary and note down all your new words. To improve your English vocabulary you must review it from time to time and check how many new words you learnt were used by you in a period of time, say a fortnight. Be happy if you did. If not, start with renewed enthusiasm.     

7. Play word games

Traditional board games like scrabble can also help you activate your passive vocabulary. Everyone has a much larger passive vocabulary range than the actual vocabulary they use. Word games are a great way to activate the passive vocabulary. You could also explore the various online word power games available and choose what interests you.

8. Limit your learning with reasonable goals

To improve your English vocabulary, don’t try to memorize too many words at one go. Limit yourself to learning about ten words in a day to avoid feeling overwhelmed and you will be more successful in remembering the vocabulary.

9. Stay motivated

English language is among the most voluminous of all languages and this means that it is almost next to impossible to learn all words that exist in the language. Human brain’s capacity is limited. But do not loose heart. It is possible to have a good vocabulary range to be able to express yourself in every situation

Building vocabulary is an ever-going process. Learning and using vocabulary, as it is rightly said is a lot like lifting weights. You can only lift what you are capable of and you can only make incremental improvements. These improvements too are possible only with hard work. So stay motivated and keep going to improve your English vocabulary.

10. Develop a passion for word power.

To improve your English vocabulary, you need to be passionate about the language. Building word power can be fun! From the methods listed above choose what suits you and have fun learning!  

LEARN WITH US AT INLINGUA

At Inlingua, English classes are tailor made for separate categories like Beginners, Intermediates and Advanced for learning to be truly effective.

Join Inlingua and practice from Day 1 to use the right words in the right context to communicate effectively. Inlingua lessons incorporate fun activities to reinforce new word meaning through word games, situational role plays and conversation.