The Best Way to Improve Your Vocabulary

You can improve your vocabulary in many ways. As you work towards your goal, it's crucial to know your goals in order to choose the best method of learning. Reading can help you improve your vocabulary, but it won't help you much on the vocabulary test next week. There are a number of methods you can use to improve and expand your English vocabulary.

Synonyms and Antonyms

are similar words. An antonym is the opposite of a synonym. Learn at least two synonyms and two antonyms for each word when learning new vocabulary. A good rule of thumb is to learn two synonyms for an adjective and two antonyms for an adverb.

Use a Thesaurus

A thesaurus is a reference book containing synonyms and antonyms. In addition to helping writers find just the right word, a thesaurus can also help English learners expand their vocabulary. Finding a synonym is easier than ever with an online thesaurus.

Vocabulary Trees

A vocabulary tree provides context. After mapping out a few vocabulary trees, you'll find yourself thinking in groups of words. As soon as you see a cup, your mind will immediately think of words like knife, fork, plate, dishes, etc.

Create Vocabulary Themes

Each new vocabulary item should have a definition and an example sentence. Thematic learning focuses on related words. The connections between these words and your chosen theme will help you memorize new vocabulary.

Use Technology to Help You

Watching movies and sitcoms is a great way to learn how native English speakers speak. You can turn DVD use into a vocabulary learning exercise by viewing individual scenes. To do so, view a scene in English only from a movie. Watch the scene in the language you speak. Watch the scene with subtitles in English. Then watch it without subtitles in English. You'll learn a lot of idiomatic language by watching the scene four times and using your own language.

Specific Vocabulary Lists

If you are preparing for work, school, or hobbies, then use specific vocabulary lists instead of studying a long list of unrelated words. Business vocabulary lists are great for learning industry-specific words.

Word Formation Charts

describe the structure of words. For instance, the word satisfaction has four forms:

Noun: satisfaction --> The satisfaction of a job well done is worth the effort.

Verb: satisfy --> Taking this course will satisfy your degree requirements.

Adjective: satisfying / satisfied --> I found the dinner very satisfying.

Adverb: satisfyingly --> His mother smiled satisfyingly as her son won the award.

One of the keys to success for advanced level ESL learners is word formation.. Word formation is a key element of advanced level English exams such as the TOEFL, First Certificate CAE, and Proficiency. In these word formation charts, you'll find the concept noun, personal noun, adjective, and verb forms of key vocabulary, listed alphabetically.

Research Specific Positions

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great place to learn vocabulary for a specific job. On this site, you can find detailed descriptions of specific positions. You can use these pages to learn key terminology. After learning this vocabulary, describe your own position using it.

Visual Dictionaries

Images speak a thousand words. They are also useful for learning precise vocabulary. There are a number of excellent visual dictionaries for English learners on the market. Check out this visual dictionary on jobs.

Learn Collocations

A collocation is a word that often or always goes together. Do your homework is an example of a collocation. Collocations can be learned by studying corpora. A corpus of documents can be used to track the number of times a word is used. Collocation dictionaries can also be used. This is particularly useful for business English.