You who study English have certainly wondered “what can I do to increase my English vocabulary?”, Right? Learning a new language can be challenging, but not impossible and, like all knowledge, it must be exercised daily. Finding ways to improve your vocabulary is a good way to keep up to date and broaden your horizons, as well as opening doors.
And always thinking of helping you become an expert in the English language, we have separated some tricks and still learn to use them in the best way.
The trick to increase vocabulary in English
The best way to increase your English is to learn to use the words you already know well in various contexts or in everyday expressions. By following some basic tips, you can learn new terms and expressions to speak more fluently. Here are some tips that can help you jumpstart your learning.
1 – Listen to international music
Music is part of our life, but you can confess: many times you just enjoy the sound without knowing the lyrics, right? So pay attention and try to understand as many words as possible. At first, choose slower songs, with well-spoken words that speak to common themes.
This is a great way to learn to play with words in different contexts and learn english with entertainment. Try inserting the songs at other times of the day as well, for example while you’re in the car or on the bus or before bed.
2 – Watch subtitled movies and series
To have more contact with new idioms and expressions typical of the natives, series and movies are excellent ways to increase your dialogue. A marathon of your favorite series with the original audio is an excellent option to train your listening. It also includes English subtitles to understand the pronunciation of the vocabulary and associate it with the meaning of each word.
3 – Read books of different genres in English
Nothing better than studying with something that arouses our curiosity and attention. Reading is essential to create connection with the content and a great way to increase vocabulary, allowing the knowledge acquired to be assimilated more easily. Therefore, it is important to read topics that suit your personal tastes. It could be the book that inspired a movie you’ve seen or magazines about entertainment or sports. Include reading in your routine whenever possible. Thus, your ability to understand will be better every day.
4 – Follow the international news
On the Internet, it is easy to find the most popular international news of the moment. For this reason, newspapers and websites are a good tool for you to delve into the language and learn new terms and different expressions.
5 – Write sentences and texts in English
In addition to learning the meaning of words, it is also important to put them into practice. Write at least two or three sentences a day and always try to apply the new expressions in different dialogues, paying attention if the original meaning of the sentence has not been affected. This way, you don’t forget what you have learned and still use the new vocabularies.
6 – Don’t be afraid of making mistakes
Each language has its own peculiarities and English is no different. With grammatical rules different from Spanish and several exceptions, English causes problems even for native speakers, imagine for those who want to speak fluently. Always remember: mistakes are part of learning. 😉
7 – Find a good English course
In addition to training on your own, you need to have a grammar guide and practice with those who can help you improve your fluency more and more. With that in mind, it is ideal to find the language course that has the best package of learning resources, which includes conversation, theoretical exercises and tools to practice what you are learning.
Group classes, for example, are essential to train conversation. For this reason, it is recommended that they have few students so that the class is dynamic and interactive. Here at EF English Live, for example, we have a maximum of six students per class, which facilitates interaction between them and the teacher helps by giving advice to everyone. The classes are also a great tool to clarify doubts and learn about different accents of the same language.
It’s easy to introduce English into your routine! Certainly, many of these habits are already part of your life, but they were not used as a way to train your vocabulary in the English language. With these tips, you will enjoy more and exercise your language without giving up entertainment.
And the most important advice: never give up. It is possible to learn English at any age, anywhere, and there is no ideal time frame to achieve fluency. Practice makes perfect and that applies to everyone!
Come on, study time! If you have more tips for this list, share it with us here in the comments