HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY?

There are a few things that we can do if we are serious about improving our vocabulary.

1  Read, read and read

Aim to read at least a book a month.  Make it a habit to read magazines, newspapers and anything you can get your hand on.  Look at the way good writers write.  What are the interesting phrases and words used?

2  Look it up

Is there a particular word that is always appearing when you read?  Look it up. Keep a dictionary nearby.  You don't need to look up every word you don't know.  That would kill the joy of reading.  Look up words which will help you understand the passage better.

3  Keep a vocabulary notebook

When I was in school, my English teacher made us keep a notebook for new words we learnt.  At the end of the year, it was fun to look back at what we had collected and used.  Many words became a part of our vocabulary daily.

4  Do word puzzles and play word games
There are many online games that will help you in improving your vocabulary.  For example, go to www.wordgames.com for games such as word search, crossword puzzle and puzzles.

5  Use online dictionaries

Use the free services of online dictionaries.  Sign up to learn a word a day. Learn the pronunciation of a new word from these websites.

6  Write daily
The fastest way of learning a new word is to use it.  Write about the happenings in your school or about your life.  Look for ways to use these words aptly.  There are many students who turn to the dictionary to memorise some bombastic words to use in their essays but they ended up using them wrongly.

7  Do your own research
Find words that are associated with certain topics. Do a mind map of these words.
For example, when you think of the word 'environment', what are the words that come to your mind?  Use the Internet to help you.

Words associated with 'football' -( nouns, verbs, adjectives)