Do you remember when you first learned how to speak English? If you were born in an English-speaking country, you’ll find that question hard to answer. After all, you started to learn English vocabulary as soon as you were old enough to hear the voices of people around you. But did you know that you can use the same techniques of natural learning to keep improving your English skills? It’s true! Even as an adult, you can take advantage of these 7 effective vocabulary-building strategies that use your brain’s natural power to improve your vocabulary every day. Here’s how:
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #1: Listen, look, and learn.
Children are always exploring, asking questions, and watching the world around them. That’s the way they learn – and that’s how you can learn, too. Keep your eyes and ears open for new vocabulary words as you go through your daily routine. By staying alert for new words, you’ll be able to add those words to your vocabulary every day. If you don’t think you’re coming across enough new words each day on your own, try getting some support from vocabulary-building software. Ultimate Vocabulary has a database of over 140,000 words to choose from, so you’ll always find new words to learn. The software also helps you review those new words using another toddler’s trick: repetition.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #2: Repeat new words.
Every parent knows the sound of a young child repeating one new vocabulary word over and over again! It’s often frustrating for the parent, but it’s how the child learns that word and makes it a permanent part of their vocabulary. You can use Ultimate Vocabulary’s built-in Word Messenger to help you repeat each new vocabulary word multiple times per day. By the end of the day, you’ve memorized that word, and you’ll even find yourself using it in conversation.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #3: Use new words.
Once a child knows a word they immediately start using it, and that’s what you need to do as well. Find ways to include the word in appropriate e-mail messages and conversations. If you’re not sure how to use the word correctly in context, look for examples of sentences using the word. Ultimate Vocabulary gives you one-click access to dozens of usage examples for each new word so that you can be confident you’re using it in the right way, at the right time.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #4: Make words your own.
A child has a natural tendency to grab for a new toy and say “Mine!” In the same way, you need to grab on to each new word and make it part of your collection of vocabulary. The best way to do that is to personalize the word by finding ways to fit it into your world. Does the word describe you, or something in your house? Can you link it to another word you already know? Create a mental connection between words by using Ultimate Vocabulary’s Word Explorer feature to find synonyms, antonyms, and other related words. The more links you create, the easier it is to remember a new word.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #5: Have fun with your words.
The word “playful” is often used along with the word “child,” and there’s a good reason for that. Children learn through play, and making learning fun will keep them interested in studying. You can add fun to your vocabulary improvement program by playing word games, doing crossword puzzles, or even making up rhymes and songs about vocabulary words. If you’re using Ultimate Vocabulary you’ll have access to lots of fun games that quiz you on your target word list while you’re playing.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #6: Use what works for you.
One of the reasons that games are a great learning tool is because they use images, sounds, and physical movement to provide instruction and review. If you learn best when you’re associating a word with a picture, then come up with an image for each new vocabulary word. If you learn words more quickly by repeating them out loud instead of writing them down, make sure that’s part of your vocabulary improvement program. Ultimate Vocabulary helps you do both of these by making it easy to add images to your vocabulary words, and by providing audio pronunciation of many words in its 142,000-word database.
Vocabulary Improvement Strategy #7: Stay focused.
When a child goes to school, they’re given vocabulary words to learn, which increases the number of words they learn each day. You’ll find that making lists of words speeds up your own learning process. Start writing down the words you come across, and use them as a list you can review. This is easy to do with a program like Ultimate Vocabulary, which lets you create as many custom lists as you want. There are also hundreds of ready-made lists that help you learn words for general conversation, grade-specific vocabulary testing, or exams like the SAT and GRE.
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