Hello, friends ! As many of your are already aware of the importance of vocabulary section in various exams, for those, who still haven’t geared up their preparation levels for this particular section are kindly requested to do so.
1. Read Voraciously
It’s undeniable that reading is the most effective way to get new vocabulary. When you read, you see words being used in context — and that’s what makes it much more effective than, for example, merely memorizing word lists.
With context information surrounding each new word, there’s a good chance you can guess its meaning just by understanding the overall text. Finding out the meaning of words in such a way is the natural way of learning language – and reading provides the best opportunity to get exposed to this natural way of learning.
If you’re not able to infer the meaning of new words when reading, it’s probably because there are too many unknown words in the text. In that case, try reading easier materials. The key to good reading is making it a pleasurable activity; so don’t be afraid of coming across unknown words, but make sure the text is appropriate for your reading level.
2. Make Friends with the Dictionary
A dictionary is the first indispensible resource to improve your vocabulary. It’s only by looking up a word in a dictionary that you will learn its precise meaning, spelling, alternate definitions, and find much more useful information about it. A thesaurus is also a valuable resource for learning by finding connections between words, such as their synonyms and antonyms.
Consider adding a good dictionary and thesaurus to your bookshelf. Here are some recommendations:
– Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
– The New Oxford American Dictionary
For online dictionaries, there are many free options with great extra features. Even if you have a good dictionary in print already, you can’t miss having a good online dictionary at your disposal:
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary: one of the good online dictionary.
3. Use It or Lose It
Don’t settle after you learn a new word by reading it or looking it up in the dictionary: these are good starts, but it’s by using the new words that you truly commit them to your long-term memory.
Be creative and try to use your newly learned words in as many ways as possible:
– Write them down;
– Say them aloud;
– Create sentences with them, mentally or in writing;
– Try to use them in a conversation;
– Discuss them with friends.
It’s also important to be aware of your own language style: every time you catch yourself saying common or nonspecific words such as “nice”, try coming up with richer and more precise expressions instead.
4. Learn One New Word a Day
If you learn just one new word every day, you’ll soon notice they add up pretty quickly. I like to think of it as the good way of growing your vocabulary” and what makes this strategy stand out is that it can be used by anyone, no matter how busy one’s schedule is. In the same way grow up your collection of favorite quotes in baby steps by receiving a new famous quote every day, also learn to enjoy growing your vocabulary by committing yourself to learning at least one new word each day.
Merriam-Webster’s Online Word of the Day: This is the website that delivers the most useful words of all. It’s also the most feature-rich: it provides audio explanation, pronunciation and word history. The service is available by e-mail, RSS feed, podcast, and SMS;
Dictionary Word of the Day: Another fine service, not as complete as Merriam-Webster’s or WordSmart, but still worth checking out.
5. Understand the True Meaning of Words
By deeply understanding words, you can make your vocabulary grow exponentially. Instead of just memorizing words, try to really understand them by looking at their etymology, word roots, prefixes and suffixes. At least half of English words are derived from Greek and Latin roots, so there are enormous benefits in being familiar with them.
Just to pick an example, when you understand that the prefix “ortho” means straight or right, you start to find connections between seemingly unrelated words, such as orthodontist (a specialist who straightens teeth) and orthography (the correct, or straight way of writing).
Understanding the logic behind words always pays off in terms of learning and recalling.
6. Maintain a Personal Lexicon
By keeping a personalized list of learned words, you’ll have a handy reference you can use to review these words later. It’s very likely you’ll want to go back and refresh your memory on recent words, so keeping them in your own list is much more efficient than going back to the dictionary every time.Even if you never refer back to your lexicon again, writing words down at least once will greatly enhance your ability to commit them to your permanent memory. Another excellent learning aid is to write an original sentence containing the word — and using your lexicon to do that is a great way of enforcing this habit. You can also add many other details as you see fit, such as the date you first came across the word or maybe a sequential number to help you reach some word quota you define.
There are many ways you can keep your personal word list; each one has its own advantages and disadvantages – so make sure to pick the format that works best for you. You may prefer to keep it as a simple text file in the computer, or in a regular paper notebook; or maybe as flash cards in a shoe box.
7. Follow a Process
To make vocabulary improvement a permanent habit in your everyday life, you should make it as habitual, automatic and tightly integrated in your daily workflow as possible – otherwise you won’t do it when your days get too busy.
8. Leverage Every Resource You Can
The Internet is a gold mine of resources for vocabulary building. There are plenty of vocabulary applications you can try. There are many vocabulary-related books you can explore. There is a wealth of free literature on sites. you can add dictionary with your browser.You can find specialized vocabulary lists.
The point is that you’re only limited by your willingness to learn: let curiosity be your guide and you will never run out of resources to learn from.
9. Diversify
Do something different from your daily routine: hunting, fishing or blogging – any activity that is not a part of your normal life can become a great way to learn new words, as every niche has its own jargon and unique ways of communicating. Read different books, newspapers and magazines than the ones you’re used to. Watch foreign-language movies. Take up new hobbies, hang out with different people.
By doing things out of the ordinary you will not only improve your vocabulary but also make your life much more interesting.
