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How To Improve Your Vocabulary
How To Improve Your Vocabulary
There are many ways to improve your vocabulary. When working to improve your
vocabulary it's important to know your goals in order to best choose the way in which
you want to learn. Reading can be a great way to improve your vocabulary. However,
it won't be much help on a vocabulary test next week. Here are a number of methods
to help you improve, and expand, your English vocabulary.
Difficulty: Average
Here's How:
1. Vocabulary Trees
Vocabulary trees help provide context. Once you've mapped out a few
vocabulary trees, you'll discover yourself thinking in vocabulary groups.
When you see a cup your mind will quickly relate such words as knife, fork,
late, dishes, etc. This overview to vocabulary trees provides will help you get
started. Here is an example of a vocabulary tree.
2. Create Vocabulary Themes
These are appliances we use every day in our house. Each word includes a definition
and example sentence:
That steak was done to perfection. Where did you get that boiler? It's fantastic.
can opener - a device to open cans by cutting around the edges of the rim.
You'd be surprised at how much garbage the compactor can put into one bag!
Honey, where's the dryer? I've just taken a shower and I need to dry my hair.
I really don't like using the air-conditioning. I much prefer this fan to keep
things cool.
He goes shopping and buys enough food to put into his freezer for a month.
Could you check if the furnace is working? It seems so cold in here. It's a good
idea to put a humidifier in the room for young babies when they have a cold.
We have an icebox out in the backyard where we keep the beer. Feel free to
help yourself!
iron - instrument used for taking the wrinkles out of a piece of clothing
through heat
The production of modern materials such as permanent press has almost made
the iron a thing of the past.
stove - device used to provide heat (either electric or gas) to cook food
I really don't know how to cook. About the only thing I can do is boil an egg
on the stove.
I used the vacuum cleaner to clean all the rugs - they really needed it.
Now that you have studied these words, continue to the pronunciation and quiz page.
On this page you will find a list of the vocabulary studied and a sound file (using
RealPlayer) with the correct pronunciation of the words. Below this you will find a
quiz using these words, use each word in the list once to complete the quiz.
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The use of this lexical approach is essential for successful language acquisition in
English for Specific Purposes. However, teachers are often not equipped with the
exact English terminology required in very specific trade sectors. For this reason, core
vocabulary sheets go a long way in helping teachers provide adequate materials for
students with English for Special Purposes needs.
These core vocabulary reference sheets provide between 150 and 240 key words and
phrases for each industry. Each series is divided into three pages that, when combined,
form an alphabetical list. In taking this lexical approach to attaining key vocabulary,
students should be encouraged to translate the specific words and phrases into their
native tongues as each phrase has a very specific translation in each language.
Word formation is one of the keys to success for advanced level ESL learners.
Advanced level English exams such as the TOEFL, First Certificate CAE and
Proficiency use word formation as one of the key testing elements. These
word formation charts provide the concept noun, personal noun, adjective and
verb forms of key vocabulary listed in alphabetical order.
Personal
Concept noun Adjective Verb
noun
absenteeism absentee absent-minded to be absent
accounting accountant accountable account
accuser /
accusation accusing accuse
accused
achievement achiever achieved achieve
addiction addict addictive/addicted to become addicted
administration administrator administrative administrate
admiration admirer admired / admiring admire
advertisement advertiser advertised advertise
advice adviser advisory advise
aggravation aggressor aggravating aggravate
agitation agitator agitated agitate
analysis analyst analytical analyse
antagonism antagonist antagonistic antagonize
arbitration arbitrator arbitrary arbitrate
assassination assassin assassinated assassinate
authorization authority authoritarian / authorize
authoritative
6. Visual Dictionaries
A picture is worth a thousand words. It's also very helpful for learning precise
vocabulary. There are a number of excellent English learner visual dictionaries
for sale. Here is an online version of a visual dictionary dedicated to jobs.
An architect works designing buildings, homes and other structures. Architects draw
up blue prints which are used
Teachers instruct a wide range of students. Younger learners are generally called
pupils, university age learners are referred to as students. Teachers at
7. Learn Collocations
Choose which one of the following three verbs goes with the expressions listed below
8. Use a Corpus
Corpora are huge collections of documents that can track the number of times
a word is used. By using a corpora, you can find which words are often used
together with target vocabulary words. Combining corpora use with
vocabulary trees is a great way to learn key vocabulary for specific vocabulary
target areas. You can get started by visiting the British National Corpus.
Tips:
Improving vocabulary skills requires constant attention. This 'how to' focuses on a
basic strategy for increasing vocabulary in specific subject areas through the use of a
vocabulary tree.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:
Tips:
1. Remember that vocabulary goes from passive knowledge to active knowledge - this means
that you need to repeat a word often before it becomes active vocabulary.
2. Be patient with yourself, it takes time for this process to work.
3. Try to always learn vocabulary in groups of words instead of random lists. In this manner,
words are related to each other and are more likely to remember over the long-term.