Powerful techniques to boost vocabulary.

Learning powerful techniques to boost vocabulary is crucial to develop your English communication capability. If you are an English learner, there is something you should know, and it is that English is a language with a voluminous vocabulary. Hence, the importance of discovering new ways to increase it and use it properly.

As well as focusing on listening and speaking, learning vocabulary is key, since it helps you to improve all the four abilities. For a  learner it is crucial to increase his or her vocabulary, hence this will allow him or her to understand what a person is saying and also to express himself or herself more clearly. One of the most important factors to keep into account when learning vocabulary is not just looking up the meaning, or memorizing a long list of words, but being able to know how to use it and when to use it. After all, learning vocabulary is only worthwhile if you can actually use it to communicate effectively, which is in the end the main objective. However, learning vocabulary requires practicable and easy-to-follow strategies, which can be implemented by the learner without dying trying.

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Below you will find what I consider some powerful techniques or tips to boost your vocabulary:

Use words in context.

When you use words in context, you can understand the real meaning of it, and the real use of the word; Therefore, when you read, and you don’t know the meaning of the word, look up the meaning according to the context you are dealing with if it is about business, health, education, etc. Once you know the meaning of it, expose yourself to the word as many times as you can to support memorizing it.

Use flashcards.

This strategy consists of using an image of the word or something that represents it, this will help you connect words with pictures. If you are a visual learner, this will work really well for you. Display the flashcard in a visible place and make them colorful and attractive.

Use sticky notes with the word and its definition.

Write the word you find difficult to remember and write its meaning in your mother tongue and the definition of it and place it in a visible place. Therefore, every time you see it,  your brain will store that information even without noticing you will learn the word.

Use synonyms.

This technique is one of my favorites.  Every time you want to know the meaning of a word, it is better to look up its synonym instead of going for the meaning in your native language. This will broaden your vocabulary and will also allow you to know how to express an idea in different ways.

Identify the type of word.

If you learn a new word,  identify what word class is. What I mean by this is to recognize if the word is a noun, an adjective, a verb, or an adverb. This technique will allow you to use the word correctly when building a sentence.

Play games.

Human beings learn better when they have fun. It has been shown that when you enjoy an activity, your memory improves, and creativity increases. That’s why playing games will help you to retain words easily and meaningfully.

Leer: Aprende inglés a través de hobbies

Develop a reading habit.

You might think, “What’s the purpose of reading if I don’t understand?” Well, you do not need to start reading long and difficult things, you can start with short and easy readings. A great example of short readings are stories for kids, poems, fun facts about something or someone, etc. Start from the easiest to the most difficult, and as you boost your vocabulary, you will understand longer and more advanced texts.

You can use any of the strategies mentioned above. They will be effective depending on what type of learner you are, and of course with constancy and discipline.

If you are interested in learning English with this set of powerful techniques, check out all our CAC-EUROCENTRES programs. 

Kelly Duran

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