how do i improve my english vocabulary?

Question

i ma an indian an d am in college 1st year. My freiends hv got awsum vocabulary n they they sometimes use words that r totally alien to me. and that feels pretty bad
I am doing the Norman Lewis book on vocabulary my teacher recommended bt i still need to learn more.
tell me ways in which i can work towards it. I try to read papers and watch english news n all bt somehow i am unable to incorporate those words in my conversatios.
how do i help this ?
any sort of notebook-keeping habit(n wat to do in it) or site u cud suggest.

Answer 1

Read, read, read. There's no shortcut to it. Think and speak in English. Watch English programs and/or movies. Read comic books written in English so you will have pictures to accompany what you are reading (plus it will help you become familiar with current slang, idiom or usage).

Think of your brain as a sponge that absorbs all this new information. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Practice, practice, practice.

When you want to know the exact meaning or synonyms of a particular word, look it up in an English dictionary or thesaurus. Engage in correspondence with English-writing people. Write, think and speak English whenever you can. Heck, try your hand at answering English crossword puzzles too to hone your vocabulary skills!

That is how I learned the language. I am a Filipino. English, as in your case, is my second language. I'm still learning. And I feel a sense of pride when people from other countries compliment my good command of English. I believe that given enough time, determination and unwavering interest, you too can be a fluent user of English. I mean, you are off to a good start already. Just be mindful of spelling, punctuation, capitalization and the rest shall follow.

Good luck with your studies!

21 Dec 2006, 7:45pm, Philippines

Answer 2

If you want to explore and build up your vocabulary in an interesting manner, then you should visit this awesome website www.mnemonicdictionary.com . This really helped me a lot.
Few examples from website:
apropos :=> at an opportune time;of an appropriate or pertinent nature
If you are planning to PROPOSE a girl, propose her on a SPECIFIC TIME or at an opportune time . Not anywhere, not everywhere... Otherwise you are going to loose your heart

Answer 3

Another reader suggested reading novels and storybooks and I must agree. But lets take it a step further. Read anything you can get your hands on - newspapers, magazines, sale papers.
Its more than just learning new words. Its about training your eyes to recognize and training your brain to problem solve the pronunciation and meaning. Many years ago, I had a similar situation. I attended a large university with some of the best and brightest. But inside, I knew my vocabulary and speech did not match my peers. I was determined not to be undone so I studied harder, and I read. I also listened to people, especially their opinions about things. Then I read about it. I read novels and other books. When I came upon a word I did not know, I looked it up in the dictionary. After 25 plus years, I still use a dictionary!
You can't learn everything in a month, a year or even a decade, but if you can recognize and know how to solve your problem, then the battle is almost won. READ READ READ
I am a retired English teacher and that is the advice I always gave my students. Not only will you learn new words and improve your vocabulary, but you will improve your reading skills which makes learning new words and improving vocabulary easier. Good Luck!

Answer 4

A decade ago to learn English, you had to attend costly English classes or purchase course material like tapes and books. Now you can learn English for free from the comfort of your home using the Internet. The BBC and the British Council offer a number of on line courses, which teach written and spoken English. You can also improve your English by watching television programs and reading English newspapers. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/qnzpt

Answer 5

All answers before mine were good. They came from the experiences of people in real world of learning English. However before following those advises, let us discuss about what vocabulary is in my opinion. For me, a member of my vocabulary is not a single word alone but a meaning that I can represent it by a single word or a combination of many words. To cover both, let me call it a meaning unit. This meaning unit would have a particular meaning and a particular grammatical role on a sentence. Not only the word or combination of word and its meaning you should know but the role it is playing. For example, in the sentence, "The boy in white shirt waving his hand to us is a friend of mine," I want you to look at only the subject. You'll see that the phrase "The boy in white shirt waving his hand to us" as a whole is working as a noun. Do you know the meaning of this phrase? I am sure you do but I wonder if that is all there is to it to learn in terms of vocabulary. Do you feel you can understand me immediately if I say that "The boy" is the chief element working as a noun; "in white shirt" is working as an adjective qualifying "they boy;" and "weaving his hand to us" is also an adjective doing the same role. If you do, you have learned 4 meaning units, the subject as a whole, "the boy" as a noun and 2 adjective units. This is the way I learn new meaning units from combinations of the words I have already been familiar with. If you underline all combinations of words working as nouns in an article, you will see that there are only few other kinds of word left. In the above sample sentence you will see many other noun elements: the boy in white shirt, white shirt, the boy waving his hand, his hand, a friend, mine, a friend of mine. You many want to know why you have to learn all those thing when you already know all individual words in the sentence. I don't want you to study them as an academic subject, but reveiwing what you already know to make it more solid memory and learn what you don't, but most important of all is to learn the law of substitution.
For your real new single words, I suggest that you note it down the way you would speak about it, as the word "walk" in, "to walk is to move on foot." Or to make you note look more like a dictionary, you may write it, "Walk as an intransitive verb. To walk is to move on foot." Some example may be added. Writing about word you want to learn using the words of your own (some may be borrowed from definition in a dictionary) is good because you can be sure that you will understand it when you read it again. To make your note the way you like, you have to read, and rewrite your note many times. The best is that you think of it and about it so many times that you can count. The last but not least, you have your text-to-speech read your note, have it recorded, and listen to it anytime you are free. I have found listening the best in reveiwing new vocabulary if you want to be able to use them in your speaking.

Answer 6

Get a book used as a study guide for getting a G.E.D. The language isn't complicated and it covers basic rules of english and vocabulary.

Answer 7

I am Greek and i had the same problem! My teacher in English class gave me a great idea!
Try watching English/American films without subtitles! Whenever you listen unknown words look them up!
It's easy and fascinating!
Good luck!

Answer 8

NOVELS STORYBOOKS any of these have everyday english that you will feel comfortable with and learning new vocabulary "in text'' has alot more value then just craming new words into ones memory.

Answer 9

Simple! get an english tutor! or... get help from your friends...or you could buy an indian/english dictionary (if they have). It takes time to learn a different language than your own..

Answer 10

ok, i this is something a lot of people do, surprisingly.

choose one word out of the english dictionary, at random, then try to use at the proper moments throught the day. if you can't..oh well, move to the next word, when morn comes.

i used to do it, but i stoped. i becaome indolent.