7 Ways to Learn New English Vocabulary

1. Search for Images
Most of the time when you're looking for the meaning of a word you translate it into Google or other apps. The problem with translation is that it only creates an association with your own language. It's the same as trying to speak your own language with English words.

A better way is to take new words you learned and type them into a photo search engine, like Google Images. This will help you think of the object of the word in English. If you were to learn the word "cat" for example you would see images of cats. This way you will think of cats when you hear or say the word "cat".

2. Take Notes from Authentic Material
Reading, listening and watching real material in English is a great way for intermediate to advanced students to expand their vocabulary. TV shows, movies, podcasts and other material like TED Talks contain vocabulary in real contexts. But it's not enough to just listen. When watching, reading and listening, have a notebook with you to take notes of a few new words. Later your notes can be used for studying and practising.

3. Use a Flashcard App
Flashcard apps are tools language learners use to practice and memorise vocabulary. There are two kinds of apps. One is apps that let you make your own flashcards. The most popular is Anki. You could use the image search method in 1 to create cards in Anki that have words and images. Other apps have ready-made sets of cards. My favourite is Memrise because it has many different kinds of courses that can help students of all levels; even those preparing for exams.

4. Use a Word of the Day App or Website
If you're too busy and can only spare a little bit of time, the look for an App or Website that gives you a Word of the Day. I typically recommend my students use the Dictionary.com app which has a word of the day function but this may be better for more advanced students.

5. Replace Words you Already Know
There are more ways to express things that we want to say, especially feelings and sensations. Thinking of different ways you can say something is a great way to expand your English vocabulary. Here's an example:

The weather is cold today.
The weather is freezing today.
The weather is chilly today.
The weather is biting today.

By doing this, you can expand the number of ways you can express yourself and make your English closer to native.

6. Make Sentences with New Words
Practising new vocabulary is important. You can memorise 100s of words but if you don't use them then you won't feel like you've actually learned them. Once you learn new English vocabulary, it's good to practice by trying to make sentences. An even more challenging method is to make sentences with different forms of new words. Learning verbs can benefit from this because of the many different forms they can take.

7. Teach New Words to Someone Else
Teaching others is one of the best ways to further your learning and understanding of English vocabulary. This will make you think about how to explain to someone else what a word means. It's also great because you're sharing your enthusiasm for learning English.

What do you think of these tips? Leave a comment!
May 24, 2018
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Yannis Vatis

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United States
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Greek
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Hello! My name is Yannis and I'm a Greek American English teacher currently living in the lovely town of Brighton, United Kingdom. I got my start as an English teacher in 2009 whilst I was living in Beijing, China - though my very first teaching job was teaching Karate to children between 1997 and 2004. Being a teacher was such a rewarding and creatively engaging experience, I made it my career by receiving formal training and acquiring my Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) in 2014. Living in China for 7 years allowed me to work with a wide range of students of different ages. I got my start by teaching tourism English at a five-star hotel in downtown Beijing. There, I helped the hotel staff with their English communication skills by teaching them the best ways to talk to their guests and what are the important terms and cultural aspects they needed to be aware. One of the most career-defining jobs, however, came shortly after with a small startup that recr...
Flag
English
globe
United States
time
5
Speaks:
English
Native
,
Greek
Native
,
Mandarin
B1
Hello! My name is Yannis and I'm a Greek American English teacher currently living in the lovely town of Brighton, United Kingdom. I got my start as an English teacher in 2009 whilst I was living in Beijing, China - though my very first teaching job was teaching Karate to children between 1997 and 2004. Being a teacher was such a rewarding and creatively engaging experience, I made it my career by receiving formal training and acquiring my Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) in 2014. Living in China for 7 years allowed me to work with a wide range of students of different ages. I got my start by teaching tourism English at a five-star hotel in downtown Beijing. There, I helped the hotel staff with their English communication skills by teaching them the best ways to talk to their guests and what are the important terms and cultural aspects they needed to be aware. One of the most career-defining jobs, however, came shortly after with a small startup that recr...
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