There are many ways to improve your English, but the most important is your vocabulary. I cannot count how many times students have asked the question, ‘how can I improve my English vocabulary’. Grammar is important, articles, conjunctions, tenses, prepositions, modal verbs and so on play a part in getting your English up to scratch, but without a good vocabulary, understanding and speaking English will be limited. So how to improve your English vocabulary? Well let’s look at the following points one by one:
Always have a dictionary and thesaurus near you. Looking up words you don’t know, is a good way to increase your vocabulary list. The dictionary gives you the exact definition of the word, but the thesaurus the alternatives, thus increasing your English vocabulary list of words.
use flash cards, build your own blocks with the English word on one side and your native language on the other. Flash cards are a great way to practise and memorise the new words. Once you have learned the new word, you can eliminate the flash card from the pack. You can also target to learn a few words every day.
Read read read, yes that is definitely one of the best ways to improve your English vocabulary, it is an enjoyable way to improve vocabulary so make sure you read stuff that is at your level, so that you can understand the context and enjoy it at the same time. You learn more if you are enjoying what you are doing.
watch films, news and documentaries with subtitles, depending on your level you can start with your native language subtitles and as you get better change to English subtitles. This is good so you can see the words you are hearing and you can connect better and improve your vocabulary quicker.
Talk to English native speaking people, it could be a friend, a work colleague or a teacher. At ESO teachers are qualified to teach English conversation as well as all aspects of grammar. Remember that listening and speaking are the best exercises in improving vocabulary.
Communicating in English is the biggest reason why students want to learn the language. Whether they need English for work, academic reasons or just socialising, English plays an important part in people’s careers and social enhancement.