What's the most effective way to build English vocabulary??

Answer 1

Learning Latin would help, as would, to a lesser degree, Greek and German. These sources pretty well cover all the historical foundations of English and show you how words have developed. Even today, far too many years after I last studied Latin, I can see a new word and at least have an idea of its meaning.

But the three most important things to do are read, read, and read. I don't mean Harlequin romances or Johnstone westerns, but novels, good magazines (New Yorker and National Geographic as examples), and non-fiction (not technical stuff - that's too loaded with jargon). These will show you how words are used in their context, not just a naked dictionary definition. But when you inevitably come across a word you don't know, go to the dictionary; then back to what you were reading.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your vocabulary will grow.

Answer 2

See 1st link link to a previous question, asked by a chinese guy learning english. I gave some good links (user name ricochet).

Also see 2nd link to a question by a Korean learning english, with more links from me, especially the supermemo program for learning and testing vocabulary. The supermemo website has some free set of questions and you can make your own.

You could also read wikipedia articles in your own language and english on the same topic. They are not translations, but will use a similar set of words. For example, an article about a city such as Paris.

You can buy 'bi-lingual' (2 language) books on www.amazon.com
They have a story with French or Spanish etc on the left page and the English version on the right page.

The book 'How to develop a super power memory' by Harry Lorayne is excellent for memorising vocabulary quickly using wierd visual images. Get an english-speaking person to read it and explain it to you if required.

Answer 3

In my personal opinion, I would say that the best way to build a vocabulary in any language is to either 1, take a movie that you know really well, and dub it over in English, or put English subtitles on, that way, you already have the general understanding of what it is that they are saying. A secondary fashion would be to make relevant lists in both your native tongue, and English. For example, using French...

Days of the Week/Les Jours de la Semaine
Monday = lundi
Tuesday = mardi
Wednesday = mecredi

and so forth. These words can all be found in any dictionary.

Answer 4

Take any book, magazine or paper that contains English content, and start reading. Underline every word that you do not understand.
At the end of the page look up in a dictionary the meaning of the words you did not understand. Learn them by heart and read that page again. Continue till the end of the book, article or whatever. Progress will be painfully slow at the beginning, but it is surefire way to improve your vocabulary. And as you progress, the number of words you have to look up decreases all the time. It worked for me!!! Good luck!

Answer 5

Reading is the best way to build a vocabulary. Read a good novel or a short story! Read a comic book! Read a play! Read articles on the Internet! But always keep a dictionary beside you as you are doing it. Of course, if you are reading articles on the Internet, you can always bookmark a dictionary: http://www.m-w.com/

Everything we do in life takes practice if we are to do it to perfection. By constantly acquainting ourselves with new words, looking them up and memorizing their meaning, we competently build up a suitable vocabulary in any language. Any way that we can find to acquaint ourselves with new words will assist us in building a vocabulary. Solving crossword puzzles is another excellent way to accomplish this goal.

Answer 6

The first thing I will tell you is to read anything : magazines ans newspapers etc... Then try talk to people with enriched vocabulary and who actually use the words.

Answer 7

Crosswords, reading literary books and learning a new word each day by finding out it's meaning and using it in a sentence.

Answer 8

Study a foreign language that has a lot of cognates ... like French or Italian ... it will have a very positive affect .... I took Latin in high school and it did wonders!

Answer 9

Reading English books can help you to build your vocabolary level,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vocabulary_english/

Answer 10

Read quality newspapers and magazines.