6 Ultimate Tips for Enhancing Vocabulary

There is no doubt that words are important to become a better speaker. We need to know the meaning of many words to be able to communicate effectively. Indeed, we cannot learn all the words available in the dictionary but we must know simple words that might be of use in our day-to-day life.

Here the question arises ‘How can I improve the word knowledge which is enough for my usage?

Don’t worry, It is not so difficult to remember the words. We find remembering words difficult because most of us have not spent much time learning new English words since we were school or college students. Thankfully, you can always pick up where you left off. Below are some tips to help you learn new vocabulary:

Read As Much As Possible

Vocabulary building becomes easier when we encounter words while reading. Seeing words appear in a newspaper or a novel article can be far more helpful than seeing them appear on vocabulary lists of any book. This way, we don’t only get exposure to unfamiliar words but we also see how they’re used. Reading, in the beginning, might be boring, but it is one of the best ways to observe the creativity of using a word in a sentence. This can help you frame better and even more catching sentences.

Take Help from Dictionary

Today, we don’t need to carry that heavy dictionary to look for new words as we face them. Earlier we needed to find the words alphabetically from a large dictionary. However, now online dictionaries are helpful resources if we use them properly. All we need is to type the word in the search panel and we’ll get the word meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and example sentences. These dictionaries can help us choose better words in the context of what we are writing. A full dictionary definition can also educate us about related root words, which is another way to learn vocabulary.

Participate In Games

Scrabble, Word Search, Crossword puzzles, and other word-related games can function as a fun way to expand our English vocabulary. To make it more effective, we can keep notes and a list of the different words we learned while playing the game, and then study that list from time to time. This will help us remain updated with the vocabulary. Participating in these games won’t only improve our word knowledge but also help our brain to be ready for difficult situations.

Try Flashcards Activity

A quick way to build a large and spontaneous base of vocabulary is to study several words via flashcards. Flashcards can be played with your learning partner. Nowadays some smart phone apps make flashcards convenient and easy to organize. Aiming for one new word every day is reasonable. We can always go for more, but it may not be a good idea to try dozens of English words every single day.

Word of the Day

Some websites, applications, and social media groups provide one word a day to help you expand your vocabulary. You can join some online groups or subscribe to such platforms for regular word activities. In such a group, you can learn to use new words in sentences. I would suggest using every word in real-life situations so that it sets in the mind.

Use New Words

Sometimes, people learn new words but they do not use them in sentences. This means that they are not confident enough to use new words in conversation. We may forget the words and phrases if we do not use them. To avoid this, we need to make sure to use all new words in sentences. You can start to use new words in conversation with your friends and colleagues to get feedback. If there is no one to practice with, you can record your audio and listen to find mistakes.

 

Finally, I would say that Learning new English words should be like going to a new house (New books, language learning groups, or other reading opportunities), where you know some people (Known English words), but not all. Meeting new people (New English words) as well as enjoying the company of known people.

It is easy to learn a new word but hard to remember if we don’t use it in a sentence. Please make sure that you use new words in sentences and ask someone to check your sentences for clarity and correctness.

I hope you will follow these tips and learn to use new words in sentences whenever needed.