How to learn vocabulary

How to learn new words in English? How can I memorize all the word lists my teacher gives me? 

Here are a couple of tried and tested techniques that you could try.

1) Always try to contextualize the words you learn. This means find or invent a simple text, story, poem or song where you can include some of the new words. If possible, make this context something mea

ningful to you. You could, for example, write up a short story about yourself during a holiday and include new lexical items related to holidays, such as sunset, fun fair and shore. Or you can try writing short sentences with them (e.g. On the first day of holidays, there was a great fun fair by the shore. We went there with Paul, and we enjoyed a view of the sunset with the kids).

2)  Keep a vocabulary journal. Organize your words in categories (e.g. verbs, nouns, adjectives, useful phrases, etc.).

3) Use spidergrams for lexical sets, such as this very simple one:

  

4) When learning a new word, you try to associate a word in your own language that sounds or looks similar to the word in English. Yet, be careful with false friends (this are words that look or sound similar but have a complete different meaning, for example the Italian terribile and the English terrific). 

5) Remember to underline the stress in the new word and practise saying the words silently and in loud voice several times.

6) Read newspaper,  graded readers or magazine articles and look up in a dictionary a limited number of new words each time.  

 

7) Stick post-its or little pieces of paper to objects in your house so that you know what's the English for the things you own.

8) Revise, revise, revise. Reading your vocabulary lists, your student's book or journal regularly is the best way to ensure you remember the words you are learning. Test yourself regularly by doing exercises or practising the words.

Photo provided under creative license by romancingthedream via flickr