Building your English vocabulary is a never-ending assignment because English is a living language. Learning new words should be a lifelong effort and the first action plan for increasing your vocabulary is to train yourself to be always looking for words that are new to you. You can do this while you are reading books, magazines and newspapers. Have your dictionary nearby so that when needed you can take a look as you encounter a word that you have not seen before.
In order to grow your vocabulary, you will have to read at least one book and several magazines every week for the rest of your life. As you find words that is not known to you, the technique is to stop reading and make an effort to discern what the word could mean based on its context in the sentence. Try to focus on how it appears and its sound. Then look up its meaning in the dictionary. As you do this, you could find that the word keeps appearing more often as you continue your quest to increase your vocabulary.
Another way is to ensure that you keep your mind open to new ideas and concepts as every word symbolizes a new idea. You may have to seek out those fields of thought which are still unfamiliar to you, like semantics, psychology, music and art. After choosing the specific field that you find compelling, commit to reading books and magazines on that particular subject. This will provide you with a greater understanding of the field and allow you to learn new words as you continue to expose yourself to it.
your next step is to permit the new words that you come across in your reading linger in your mind. A good way to do this is to apply them in your writing or in your speech. As long as you use them suitably, nobody will notice that you have been increasing your vocabulary. If someone does notice it and attempts to discourage you, remember to keep your mind focused on your goal because the next strategy is to set yourself a goal of how many new words to learn every single day. While this could seem a bit ambitious at first, you may soon find out that with each day of practise the process becomes easier.
You should also seek out websites that help you build your vocabulary. There are plenty of online resources that can help you. Crossword puzzles and other word games will also be a big help as they are likely to expose you to a wide variety of words.
In order to grow your vocabulary, you will have to read at least one book and several magazines every week for the rest of your life. As you find words that is not known to you, the technique is to stop reading and make an effort to discern what the word could mean based on its context in the sentence. Try to focus on how it appears and its sound. Then look up its meaning in the dictionary. As you do this, you could find that the word keeps appearing more often as you continue your quest to increase your vocabulary.
Another way is to ensure that you keep your mind open to new ideas and concepts as every word symbolizes a new idea. You may have to seek out those fields of thought which are still unfamiliar to you, like semantics, psychology, music and art. After choosing the specific field that you find compelling, commit to reading books and magazines on that particular subject. This will provide you with a greater understanding of the field and allow you to learn new words as you continue to expose yourself to it.
your next step is to permit the new words that you come across in your reading linger in your mind. A good way to do this is to apply them in your writing or in your speech. As long as you use them suitably, nobody will notice that you have been increasing your vocabulary. If someone does notice it and attempts to discourage you, remember to keep your mind focused on your goal because the next strategy is to set yourself a goal of how many new words to learn every single day. While this could seem a bit ambitious at first, you may soon find out that with each day of practise the process becomes easier.
You should also seek out websites that help you build your vocabulary. There are plenty of online resources that can help you. Crossword puzzles and other word games will also be a big help as they are likely to expose you to a wide variety of words.