Five Tips To Expand Your Vocabulary

Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. Having a wide vocabulary gives a lot of benefits to a student. There are different kinds of exam which include a part that will test your vocabulary. Once a person has a bank of different words on his brain, it will surely make him successful in real life. It is because having wide vocabulary equipped a person with language skills that is very important in communication to be effective. The secret to building a good vocabulary is to pay attention.

Here are 5 tips on how can a student expand his vocabulary.

1. Have a habit of reading.

It has been proven that a person who loves to read, find himself comfortable in expressing his ideas. Reading makes him intelligent and smart because of the information given on the  different kind of reading materials he spend reading with. Through reading, he can spot some words which are unfamiliar. A person cannot comprehend what he is reading about if there are some unfamiliar words which he doesn't know. Some books provide information regarding those words  using comprehension questions or vocabulary drills. However, some reading materials don't have those kind, that is why we just can use a dictionary to find out its meaning. Remember that the more you read and the more you encounter new words, the more you get a wider vocabulary.

2. Write unfamiliar words in a notebook.

Provide yourself a good vocabulary notebook. Once you encounter difficult words in your reading, try to write it on your notebook. Look for the meaning of it in the dictionary. Find out how the words is being use.  A word can be considered an adjective, noun, adverb or verb. Check also on how it is being pronounced. Make a list of at least 3 unfamiliar words a day and study it.

3. Use the new found word on your own sentences.

For you to determine if you were able to understand the difficult word, form at least few sentences for each. You can ask your teachers, parents, or friends to check your sentences. Be able to use those words in your conversation also. This will help you to have a stronger understanding of the word. In addition to that, by using new found words, you won't be able to forget it easily.

4. Make word associations

This means that for you to remember difficult words, link the word/s with a certain person or thing you are familiar with. For example, let us say you have a classmate named Dorothy, who is approachable, kind and very sociable. Rather than keeping in mind the meaning of gregarious, just think of Dorothy whenever you see the word gregarious, and the definition will probably stick.

5. Play word games.

This is an enjoyable way to review yourself on difficult words.  You just not enjoy it but also learn from it. Students who play word games are often motivated to learn more words, their synonyms and antonyms in order to win the game.  We can say that it is a big help in improving one's vocabulary.