If you’re hoping get a good job in any English-speaking country, your ability to read, write, and speak English at a high level is crucial to your success. In addition, since English has become the default language for many international business transactions, your English skills will help you advance in your career no matter where you live and work. One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary skills is to read as much as you can; one of the best ways to improve your reading skills is to learn as many new vocabulary words as possible.

When researchers study adults and students to measure their reading abilities, they find a direct relationship between the size of a person’s vocabulary and their reading skills. According to a report by the National Reading Panel issued in the year 2000, “The importance of vocabulary knowledge has long been recognized in the development of reading skills. As early as 1924, researchers noted that growth in reading power relies on continuous growth in word knowledge.”¹

Although there are tens of thousands of words currently in use in English, most people have a working vocabulary that is much smaller. In fact, there is a difference between the number of words people use when speaking and the number that they’re able to recognize and understand when reading. Formal written texts (whether books, journals, or documentation) tend to have more specific terminology, and will be written in a more complex style, than daily conversation between friends. However, it’s also true that people who have a larger “speaking vocabulary” will have a substantially larger “reading vocabulary” as well.

Because there are fewer words in general use in spoken language, it’s important to encourage reading in both adults and children. Amazingly, studies have shown that most prime-time television shows use less complex vocabulary overall than the average children’s book. While television can be fun and relaxing, we encourage you to expand your viewing into the educational programs available, or to pick up a book or newspaper instead. The more reading you do, the more you’ll increase your exposure to vocabulary that doesn’t usually make its way into the spoken language.²

We hope that you have a daily routine for vocabulary study, and are able to devote at least 15 minutes each day to studying and learning new words. If you don’t already have a list of words you need or want to learn, you can find interesting and challenging words by signing up for the “Word-A-Day” e-mail newsletters from Wordsmith. Younger students will find Merriam-Webster’s “Daily Buzzword” useful.

¹ Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000)

² Cunningham, A.E. and Stanovich, K.E. What reading does for the mind. American Educator, Summer 8-15 (1998)