Since, vocabulary is a very important part of studying a language, I am going to dedicate this entire post to how I intend to improve my vocabulary
One crucial activity, in my opinion, is to read a lot and there is a simple reason for this. Reading (books, newspapers, blogs,...) not only helps you to come across new and interesting words, but it also helps you to get a feeling for when and how to use certain expressions and this comes in handy when writing a text for example. In other words, you get a better feel for the language. This is why I am going to try and read as much as possible and write down words that catch my attention are relevant to what we are learning in class, which brings me to my next tactic.
As useful as reading might be, it is crucial to use some kind of note book to collect new vocabulary. Making notes not only helps you remember what you just learned, but it might also lead you in the direction of other interesting and useful words. It is probably best if the book you buy is not too big or heavy, so you can have it with you wherever you go. You should invest in a nice looking one because that makes it much more fun to use. Go for one that's colourful and stands out. You should want to have it with you and write in it.
Last but not least, I am going to familiarize myself even more with, a number of online dictionaries, from monolingual ones to bilingual ones and of course a thesaurus. Researching words and writing down some useful information for example, meaning, example sentences and collocations, is an essential part of studying vocabulary. The more you become familiar with a word the better.
As useful as reading might be, it is crucial to use some kind of note book to collect new vocabulary. Making notes not only helps you remember what you just learned, but it might also lead you in the direction of other interesting and useful words. It is probably best if the book you buy is not too big or heavy, so you can have it with you wherever you go. You should invest in a nice looking one because that makes it much more fun to use. Go for one that's colourful and stands out. You should want to have it with you and write in it.
Last but not least, I am going to familiarize myself even more with, a number of online dictionaries, from monolingual ones to bilingual ones and of course a thesaurus. Researching words and writing down some useful information for example, meaning, example sentences and collocations, is an essential part of studying vocabulary. The more you become familiar with a word the better.
I
personally enjoy working with vocabulary.com, because it
combines the practice and research part of studying vocabulary. I like to create my own vocabulary lists, since this makes it easier to revise words I have trouble remembering. Unlike some dictionaries, vocabulary.com makes studying
enjoyable. If you ask me, this is one of the key elements in the whole endeavor. Unless it is enjoyable and rewarding in some way, why bother?
