1.Create flashcards
Use index cards to create an easy and effective study tool. Put the vocabulary word on one side and its meaning and an example sentence on the other. You can copy the example sentence from the word list, but you will learn the word faster and remember it better if you create a sentence of your own.
2.Use the words as you learn them.
The best way to remember what a word means is to use it. Make it an active part of your vocabulary as soon as possible. Use the word in a letter to a friend, as you write in your journal, or in your next conversation with a coworker. Share your new words with your best friend, your siblings, or your spouse.
Games like Scrabble and Mad Libs, for ex , are great ways to improve new vocabulary words.
3. Keep it manageable.
You can’t learn thoudands of new words overnight, and you will only get frustrated if you try to memorize many words all at once.
4. Review, review, review.
After you learn a set of words, remember to review those words regularly. If you simply keep moving forward with new words without stopping to review everything you have already learned, much of your effort will be in vain. Practice is the key to mastery, especially with vocabulary. The more you review the words and their meanings and the more you use them, the more quickly and permanently they will become part of your vocabulary.
5.Create or play word games.
Games like Scrabble and Mad Libs, for ex , are great ways to improve new vocabulary words.
6.Use Dictionary.
Make it a habit to find a new word every day. Look in the dictionary, sign up for “A Word a Day” (see dictionary.com) or make swapping new words a game with a workmate or fellow student.
7.Speak to people.
You’ll be surprised to see different cultural influences and occupations, all of which will introduce you to new words.
If the English you hear sounds strange, it may be a foreign expression! So pay attention to those words and expand your vocabulary.