Learning English is fun, but sometimes it can become quite daunting. Especially when you come across new vocabulary and words which you have not heard before. However, with a few tips and tricks you can quickly go from struggling with new vocabulary to smooth sailing like a native speaker. Here are our main tips on how to improve vocabulary and learn new words with ease:
1. Avoid translation
While at the beginning it might seem much more efficient to have new words or phrases translated into your own native language for better understanding, eventually it becomes more of an obstacle than an aid. That is because languages operate differently, some words do not have direct translations or equivalents, some phrases simply do not exist in other languages. Learning a language through translation will distort the essence of it. Not to mention that once you start speaking it will be extremely hard to stop translating things in your head when having a conversation, thus not achieving the desired fluency. Try using monolingual dictionaries and looking up definitions for words in the same language instead of asking a translator for help. That way you will also acquire additional vocabulary from the definitions of the word you were looking up.
2. Look for the most direct meaning
Most words have more than one meaning. Some of those meanings might be directly related to each other and only vary in formality or context that they are used in, essentially being the same word. However, other words might have completely different meanings and it can throw you off your track. Do not rush yourself by trying to understand and remember all those meanings at once, as it might confuse you later on. Instead focus on understanding the definition of the word which is most suitable for your current needs: the topic that you are exploring or the piece of text that you are reading. Other definitions can be looked up later on when they become context-relevant or you become confident enough in your ability to remember and vary between them successfully.
3. Look for words around it
Learning words out of context is hard. Sure, it is possible, for example when trying to acquire as much information as possible on a certain topic. However, doing that will leave you with a lot of singular knowledge that you might even be able to use properly due to the lack of other necessary parts for sentence building. To avoid that, try looking for words in sentences instead of when they are on their own. For best results find a visually aided text with the word being mentioned in it or find at least a couple of sentences for references.
4. Learn root words (and prefixes)
It might seem hard to learn every new word you encounter but there is a trick to create a system, which would help you efficiently identify different words. Start learning the roots of the words. Roots are bare words that are the core of other words that later can be formed from the root, they are words that have a meaning and can stand on their own, but when modified will form a new word. Learning these words can help you find other words with the same roots and in that way identity meaning ties that will help you determine what the new word means without knowing the exact definition. You can find some of the most common root words here sciencebird.org/root-words-vocabulary. Once you are more comfortable with the roots of the word, try and learn prefixes, which are the modifiers that change the root words. You can find great commonly used prefixes here sciencebird.org/prefixes-vocabulary.
5. Review!
Always come back to what you have recently word. Rarely is one time of looking at a new word or its definition is enough for successful vocabulary acquisition, repetition is your greatest friend in language learning. There are many ways to review, from flashcards to note taking. Head over to sciencebird.org/review-exercises for a simple and efficient review sheet that you can print out and use for best results.