No matter how fluent we are, most of us struggle with finding good words while speaking. One of the easiest ways to bolster your existing knowledge is to add new vocab. You’ll never run out of vocabulary terms to learn and use because English is one of the most extensive of all languages. A solid vocabulary is beneficial for all types of writing, including poetry, fiction, journalism, and essay writing. Therefore, the time you spend honing your vocabulary is time spent honing your writing abilities.
A good vocabulary improves your speaking or writing skills and boosts your confidence. Also, knowing a myriad of English words, synonyms, phrases, and idioms is not enough. Using them at the right time and right place is equally important. So just learning a few words daily from your dictionary would not do much good. You need to learn the art of using those words and phrases. For that, you need to make some little extra effort. Today we will be talking about those extra steps we need to take to improve our vocabulary. Here are seven tips that will help you.
- Read.
I know this might sound obvious. But this does not reduce its importance. We all have heard, and we all know that reading books, newspapers, etc., can help us to improve our reading skills and improve our vocabulary a lot. But still, we don’t have a habit of reading regularly. Books are of great help as it not only teaches you new words but also how and where to use those words. Just, for example, you learned a few synonyms of a particular word. But it might not fit in every context. Reading books can help you broaden your horizons and improve your judgment of using the right word at the right time.
Just like books, newspapers are also a great medium to improve your vocabulary. Just go and find any good English newspaper and read it for ten minutes. You won’t realize it, but you would have learned five new words in those ten minutes already. No wonder newspaper is an amazing source to improve your vocabulary.
An effective technique to develop your vocabulary is to use a dictionary while reading. However, digitalized thesaurus and dictionaries are now readily available. It is made much simpler by the abundance of dictionaries that are accessible online. These days, dictionaries are not necessary to carry. It aids in instantly determining the definition and genesis of a new word.
- Listening.
This is a basic yet another powerful technique to improve your treasure of vocabulary. The more you listen, the more you learn. Listening is also a skill that not many people have. But it can be developed with practice. You can listen to good talk shows or watch movies that are vocabulary rich. Listening carefully to them will not only improve your vocabulary but also improve your pronunciation will be enhanced over time. So whenever you have time, you can plug in your earphones and listen to some English-rich content.
- Learn the root of the words.
When the foundation is strong, the building will be strong automatically. The same concept applies while learning new words. We all face a common problem. We tend to forget the new words we learn. How to deal with that now? The answer is you can fix it by learning the root of the words. I know it is a bit difficult to go and search for the root word of every new word you come across. But you can do it whenever you find time to do so. Also, technology has made it a piece of cake. You just need to type the word, and you will get the answer. You don’t need to flip the pages of a huge dictionary every time you read something new.
There are many words with a common root and a prefix or suffix that can help you guess what they might signify. For example, when a word contains the root “phobia,” which means “fear,” you can assume that the root refers to that definition. You’ll see this root in words like “claustrophobia” or “hydrophobia.”
- Create word associations
Remember how we used to learn in childhood. Our teacher would always associate a new word with an object or something we might already know. And most of us have not forgotten a lot of age-old things. This is because word association is a powerful technique. You can remember specific words or phrases by using word associations. The term “acrophobia,” for instance, refers to an extreme fear of heights. Now that you know how to memorize this word. Phobia is a word that denotes fear. Think of a crow that is afraid of heights and is flying high. I bet you won’t ever forget what this word means after reading this. You can more easily remember new terms by creating associations. Additionally, these associations can help you recall the word for a long time.
- Writing
Whenever you get time, write. While you write something, try to replace the ordinary words with some new words and phrases. This is a very effective way to improve vocabulary. When you write, you engrave it more deeply in your memory. You will remember that word for a long. This will also encourage you to write more. Also, you can edit some of your previously written articles. You can edit them by replacing frequently used words with their synonyms or using some idioms and phrases. Once you are done writing, always review them and find any possible errors or inconsistencies. This will enhance your writing skills and vocabulary.
For example, you are writing something such as, “Making cookies is very easy for me.” now, this sounds a bit ordinary and childlike. You can replace it with, “Making cookies is a piece of cake for me.” It is fun learning new phrases and words this way. Try it out.
- Conversation
Speaking and listening are essential components of a productive conversation. As a result, having a conversation can be beneficial for both learning and teaching. You can communicate with native speakers as well as other peers. Your vocabulary and fluency can both be greatly improved through conversation.
Developing good listening and speaking skills is crucial for having productive conversations, and doing so can help you expand your vocabulary. Conversation also helps you learn from the person you are having a conversation with. You must have heard that you start speaking like the people you spend most of your time with.
- Play word games
If you want to learn while having fun at the same time, you can play word games. There are a lot of fun games that can help you learn new words effortlessly. You can find online games and can play quizzes too. Also, you can play crossword puzzles with your friends. Keep a record of the various words you picked up from the game, and occasionally review it. Word games are fun not only for kids but adults too. There are plenty of applications available. Install any of those and get going.
The above tips will only help you if you follow them consistently. So make sure you make a routine so that you can improve your vocabulary faster and without much effort.
Other Important Links
Join Ruskin Bond Writng Classes and Become the next great Writer
Join Unlu Author Fellowship and Become the next great Author
Join Unlu Community of Lyricists, Singers, Composers, and Producers
