5 Effective Ways to Build Your English Language Vocabulary

Dear Aspirants,

As you’re aware, the English Language is a very important part of various Banking, MBA and Government exams. These exams demand you to have a strong hold on your English Vocabulary. Though you may have learnt a lot of words during your schooling, it never seems enough, as the English Vocabulary is huge and ever expanding.

Therefore, it is essential, especially as exam aspirants, to build and expand your English Vocabulary, as you never know when that new word you learnt can earn you a brownie point. To help you with the same, we are providing below a list of five effective ways to build your English Vocabulary:

 

1. Read & Write:

It goes without saying, that reading is the most important part of your vocabulary building process. So read! Read newspapers, magazines, online articles, novels, comic books, read anything and everything you can lay your hands on. Reading a variety of text exposes you to a variety of words. The words commonly used in newspapers are significantly different from the words used in novels. Therefore it is important that you read all kinds of text.

Establish a reading habit and stick to it. This will help you expand your vocabulary and at the same time help you gain knowledge.

Another important aspect of your vocabulary building exercise is writing! Writing helps you remember stuff better. It’s a good idea to maintain a journal to write down the words you’re learning, so that you can refer back to those whenever you need to. The words you have written will also provide you positive reinforcement and motivate you to learn more words.

Note: Most people using Instant Messaging services tend to words in shortcuts. You must absolutely avoid this habit; chances are you will forget the actual spellings of these words.

2. Use a pictorial dictionary:

Keep a dictionary handy. Invest in a pictorial dictionary which not only gives the meaning of the word, but also an associated picture and explanation to help you remember the word better.

If you find it an inconvenience to carry a hard bound dictionary with you everywhere, there are hundreds of free dictionary mobile apps to download from which offer the same meaning in a more dynamic way. These apps also have other interesting features like ‘Word of the day’ which automatically send you a new word every day and an option to listen to the pronunciations of words, so you learn how to pronounce them properly.

What’s more? It’s pocket-friendly and easy to carry around.

3. Set a goal:

Set a goal of learning at least five new words a week. Dedicate some time every day to learn a new word and record it in your journal. Start using the word in your writing, speeches and conversation instantly. Practice regularly and be consistent.

Be realistic when you set a goal. Learning a new word requires time, energy and attention. Do not set unrealistic goals like 20 words per day as it will soon tire you out and make you want to give up.

4. Get back to basics:

The English Languages uses many Greek and Latin roots, stems, prefixes and suffixes. Learning the origin or words will help you grasp similar words, words that belong to the same family, and learn faster.

For instance, the meaning of the word ‘Aqua’ is water. If you grasp the meaning of words associated with aqua like:

Aquamarine

Aquatic

Aquaplane

Use the age-old memorization techniques like flash cards to remember the words better. Write down your words on flash cards or post-it notes and stick them around your house or workplace, so you can learn while going about your routine and are always learning and building your vocabulary.

5. Have fun:

Learning doesn’t have to be boring. It’s important that you have fun while learning or it will seem like a dull process.

There are hundreds of free word games online and offline that make learning new words easy and fun. Games like word puzzles, scrabble, boggle, anagrams and word jumble can help a great deal in building your vocabulary and they can be played with your friends.

Use the new words you learn in casual conversations with your family & friends.

Like other things, building your vocabulary takes time, dedication and regular practice. So, invest time in learning, use the new words you learn in your day-to-day conversations, stick to your goal and be consistent.

We wish you all the best.


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