How to Improve Your Vocabulary: 10 Ways to Expand Your Vocabulary

How to Expand Your Vocabulary: 10 Essential Tips.

In this article, we are talking about the English language, but everything said here is relevant when learning any language.

In the beginning, was the word. Or was it not? What is the difficulty of all those who study English? It is no secret that people at all stages of learning a foreign language face a lack of necessary words. You have already valiantly memorized the entire English alphabet, and read the simplest sentences, but so far, the abyss of unfamiliar words in each text instils horror and despair.

Or maybe you have the entire school program behind you and honestly mastered the notorious “London is the capital of Great Britain”, but in your favourite English-language songs, you can only distinguish a couple of words, and all the rest merge into an unfamiliar mess? Or maybe you read and hear everything, but in conversation, the necessary expressions are lost, so much so that it seems as if it is better to remain meaningfully silent. If you are familiar with these difficulties or want to develop your speech, these ten ways will help you enrich your English vocabulary..

1. Create and maintain your own dictionaries

Creating your dictionaries is the first and most essential point that is guaranteed to improve your English vocabulary. Memory is designed to better remember information when it is perceived by several senses and immediately reproduced. When we write, we internally pronounce the words and immediately read them. Maintaining a dictionary develops both oral and written speech. When you rewrite a word, your brain automatically makes it familiar and saves it. When you encounter this word, memory is activated, and to translate it, the brain only needs to open the desired cell.

If you cannot translate a word but know that you have entered it into the dictionary, do not be lazy - open it and look for it there. This action signals to your brain that it has remembered the word and did not re-learn it. Do this as many times as it takes to memorize, understanding that your brain is actively involved in the learning process.

To make searching easier, group words alphabetically or, better yet, by topic (food, city, appearance, character, nature).

Online Vocabulary Builder allows you to make all of the above points easier and more comfortable.

2. Use English in everyday life

It's easier than you think. First, install English on social networks. Done - a few dozen words are no longer in your pocket, which you need to reach into, but immediately in your head. Don't worry; you will easily recognise the names of sections and headings by their usual location, and you will not feel the difference in a couple of days.

Furthermore, you can surely download mobile applications with various functions. Translate them, if possible, or download analogues in English. Start with a few simple ones - games, browsers, messengers, then move on to more complex ones - graphic and text editors.
When you start feeling like a sensei in English programs, it's time to take a decisive step - switch your mobile phone to English. Let all applications, including system ones, be translated into English.

This achievement will make you feel accomplished and more confident in your English language skills.

3. Stickers or cards with new words

Decorate your home with cards with words and their translations. You can write down the names of specific things (book, mirror, etc.) or write down words that are difficult to remember. Change the stickers and cards when you feel that you have learned the material.

We also highly recommend using our application's Flashcards mode . Here, you can visually track your progress in memorizing words.

4. Crosswords

Solve crosswords in English on public transport, in a queue, in your free time, or when you can't sleep (at first, it can really put you to sleep). Proven effectiveness. An alternative is "fillwords" - games where you need to find a word in a matrix of letters. And don't forget about the dictionary.

5. Leisure time in English

The best way to achieve your goal is to do it with pleasure. Combine business with pleasure: watch movies in English (with subtitles if possible); read books, stories, articles and news in English; watch plays; read translations of the songs you listen to.

6. Websites and apps for memorizing words

There are many specialized websites on the Internet that will help you increase your English vocabulary. Many services are free; you must complete a simple registration procedure within a few minutes. One of the most popular web applications is Online Vocabulary Builder .

Other services can be downloaded as an application to your phone. With them, it will be difficult to miss another task. The main advantage of this method is that the service itself monitors the regularity of completing tasks and ensures repetition and consolidation of the material. It is important not to be lazy and review the tasks in time.

7. Education in English

You probably have a hobby, a field of interest, or a job that requires self-education and constant acquisition of new information. Moreover, a significant part of it can be obtained on the Internet: watching lectures on the subject of interest, participating in webinars, reading articles and blogs, and watching video content. All this can be done in English. Moreover, this approach will open up many more resources for you than you could use before. You can start small: find one new English-language source and view it at least once a week. And how to record new words - you probably already guessed.

8. Cognate words

One of the most effective methods for memorization. Find as many cognate words as possible for what you just learned and write them down along with the translation. Let each new word bring its word-formation "family" into your head. This approach will increase the number of new words several times. Knowing the principles of word formation in English will allow you to understand the meaning of a new word based on its root and also easily create the necessary adjective or adverb using a suffix or prefix, like from a construction set.

9. Mnemonics and associations

Mnemonics are non-standard memorization techniques that use associative memory. For example, the word "family" can be remembered as "people with the same last name - family", "celebrate" - "brothers sat down to celebrate", etc. You can remember the situation in which you encountered the word and your thoughts at that moment; use gestures and facial expressions when you pronounce a new word; associate the word with a brand or product by which it is familiar to you. The main thing is to find an "anchor" that will connect the word with its translation in your head.

10. Check

Periodically check your English vocabulary using your favourite web app to notice how much you have progressed and evaluate your current situation. After all, motivation and self-confidence are the keys to success in any endeavour!