10 Tips To Build Your Vocabulary Learn More English Words

Hello! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish! What’s the
best way to learn new English vocabulary?

Ahh the million dollar question! If only I
could give the ultimate answer to that question.

It’s a question that I get
asked daily - literally! There is no single

best way. There is no quick solution, but
I do have 10 tips or recommendations in

this lesson that will help you to
improve your English vocabulary. So you

need to find the best way for you and to
do that you need to take a few moments

to think about YOU. Think about your
interests. Do you like reading? The

movies? Watching the news? How do you
like to learn? Do you like to learn

inside or outside, in a group or alone?
What type of learner are you? How do you

best take in information? And what’s your
schedule like? When can you study?

On the train or with your kids? Use this
information to find the opportunities to

learn and enjoy English. The truth is
that to successfully learn new

vocabulary, you need to create really
good study habits. You need to keep it

interesting and you need to make sure
that you’re having fun! It’s something

that you need to be doing every day so
you need to find a way to involve things

that you love to do. Me? I get really
bored reading grammar books and

listening to words through dictionaries.
I’m much more likely to stay motivated

if I’m eating or drinking so I like to
study around meals. Hey, you may laugh but

it works for me! Consistency is key when
you’re learning new words.

You can’t just learn them once and magically
they’re kept inside your head forever.

You need to hear them again and again.
Understand how they’re used in different

context or how they’re conjugated or used
in different, in word families. You need to

use them yourself. The truth is that we
all learn differently. So in this video

I’m going to talk about 10 different
tools and techniques that you can use to

improve your vocabulary. You might not
like all of them

but you will definitely enjoy some of
them and hopefully you can make them a

part of your daily or your weekly
routine. And if you’ve got any of your

own suggestions about ways to learn
vocabulary, then add them to the comments

below! Share the love with everyone,
people! So, the first suggestion or the

first tip is get better at studying new
words. Keep a vocabulary journal. Don’t

roll your eyes at me, you can do this in
lots of different ways. If you think it’s

dorky to carry around a notebook,
then find a way that works for you.

There are lots of apps that can help you to do
this - apps on your smartphone. And it’s

just as easy to make notes there. Your
phone is great because it’s always with

you but if you prefer to keep a notebook
that’s just as good. So neat ways of

doing this are creating lists or by
creating vocabulary maps. However, you do it

you need to keep updating it and you
need to keep building on this list

and don’t just write the word down. Go deeper! If it’s a noun, learn whether it’s

countable or uncountable. Learn the
prefixes and suffixes so that you can

build on those words. Learn synonyms for
those words. You know, if you said “I felt

angry”, there are so many other options.
Annoyed, irritated, furious, frustrated, or

cranky. Learn if any of these words are used in phrasal verbs or idioms.

Number two. When you do learn new words, don’t just

learn them on their own. Learn them with
the words that they are often used with.

These are called collocations. Two or
more English words that are often said

together or used together. They sound
right because native speakers often use

them together. For example, you throw or
have or plan a party. You don’t make a party.

Or instead of memorising the word,
apply, learn the phrase “apply for a job”

or “apply for a citizenship” or “apply for a
visa”. You can learn hundreds of new

individual words but you’ll be
frustrated if you can’t put them

together in a sentence that sounds
correct and natural. When you learn words

in groups, you’re learning the words with
the verb, the nouns, the prepositions that

they are commonly used with so you’ll
sound much more natural when you speak.

Three. Learn new vocabulary through
stories. Stories are full of new words,

phrases and interesting expressions that
show you how words come together in a

really entertaining way. Just like the
collocation method, you are learning new

vocabulary in context. You’re not only
learning what words to use but you’re

learning how to use them. An important
note to remember is that it’s important

to challenge yourself but not feel
completely overwhelmed and confused.

Read stories that are fun, that are enjoyable
and that help you to feel confident with

English. Start with children’s books if
you need to! “Emma are you serious? Start

with children’s books?” Yes I’m serious!
There are lots of great children’s books

out there that are interesting, they’re
funny, they’re full of adventure.

Start with children’s books and when
you’re reading them and it becomes too

easy, you can try something a bit more
challenging. In the description below

I’ve linked to some great books that you
can get started with. In this wonderful

day and age that we live in, you can also
find audiobooks for almost any book that

you can imagine and when you’re learning
English, hearing how the words are

pronounced is so important because
English is not phonetic. In English, words

are often not pronounced the way that
you think they are, so listening and

reading at the same time is even better!
I use Audible to download my audiobooks

and listen to them while I’m jogging,
while I’m travelling, while I’m drifting

off to sleep. And I’ve listed some really
great books in the description box below.

Plus, there’s a link down there to try
your first audio book for free and I

really recommend it. Make sure you choose
stories and topics that you love and

that you’re interested in. On that note,
TED Talks are also really great for this

because there’s TED Talks on almost
every topic imaginable and you can also

follow the transcript as the speaker is
speaking. I’ll link you to some of my

favourite TED Talks in the description
below too.

Another great tip is to learn new
vocabulary through songs. If you love

listening to music, there is no doubt
that learning new vocabulary through

songs will help you to remember them. You
need to find songs where the words are

not sung too fast so that you can hear
each word and how it’s pronounced.

It’s more effective if you can download the
lyrics and read them as you’re listening.

There are so many more benefits to
learning vocabulary through songs! They get stuck

in your head - if they’re good - so you’ll
be singing them and practising them so

often you won’t even feel like you’re
doing it - in the shower, while you’re

exercising, while you’re driving to work.

Songs also use colloquial language or slang
language that’s really common in English.

You’ll also hear how words are
contracted and reduced and it’s going to

improve your speaking skills too. If
you’re singing out loud you’ll be

improving aspects of your pronunciation.
And the rhythm of music helps you to

memorise new vocabulary. I’ll also link
down there to some great websites where

you can get lyrics for English songs and
also, if you’ve got any suggestions about

great English music that you like to
listen to, make sure you add it to the comments.

The next tip. Get better at using
online dictionaries. Online dictionaries

offer so many ways to practise and learn
new English vocabulary. Let’s look at the

word, produce, as an example. When I look
up this word in an online dictionary,

I can read the definition, I can read and
sometimes listen to the different verb forms,

producers, produced, producing. I can
read lots of example sentences that

show how this word is used.
I can also learn synonyms

and collocations. You can also see the entire
word family: produce, producer, production,

productive, unproductive, productively,
product, produce. You’ll also listen to

the pronunciation and in this example,
you’ll be surprised (maybe) to learn that

the verb produce and the noun produce
are pronounced differently.

I recommend some online dictionaries below in the
description box. I use Oxford online

dictionaries and Macmillan online
dictionaries. They also have really great

apps for iPhone and for Android. So go and
explore all of the amazing vocabulary

building tools.
Plus, if you

and that’s just another way to get more
practice with new vocabulary!

OK, what about flashcards and labels?
Flashcards have been a really

favourite way of learning new vocabulary
for years and years! But there are lots

more options available for us today. You
might prefer to hand-write English

phrases on one side of a card and then
translate them into your own native

language on the other, but you can also
use an SRS program such as Anki.

Now I downloaded Anki a few weeks ago and I think
it’s amazing! It allows you to remember a

large number of words in a short amount
of time. And it also lets you work at

your own pace so I guess it’s kind of
like digital flashcards and as you

practise, the program remembers what
words you get wrong and it shows you

them more frequently. So you get to
practise some more! It’s a really

efficient way of studying, I can’t
recommend it highly enough! I use it

while I’m studying Spanish. Another tip -
my favourite tip - is to describe the world

around you, what’s happening around you.
If you like using a dictionary to learn

new vocabulary, getting into the habit of
describing things that are happening

around you in English is a really great
way to study. When you’re unsure of words,

look them up. It will help you to fill in
the gaps in your vocabulary. So for

example, when you’re at your local
supermarket, ask yourself “Do I remember

the names for everything that’s in the
fridge?” or “How can I describe the woman

waiting in line?” or “Do I know the English
names of all of these vegetables?”

When you can’t think of a word, you stop and
you look it up. Understand how it’s used,

practise it and then use it again next
time you’re at the supermarket. You can

also do it on your way to work on the
bus, as you’re going past things you can

think of the vocabulary and try and fill
in the gaps when you don’t know how to

describe it or explain it. Number nine -
my favourite - imitate a native speaker.

Imitation and shadowing are great
techniques to improve pronunciation and

spoken English but they’re also awesome
for learning new vocabulary, in context too.

I have a huge range of imitation lessons
that are available on different topics,

so if you want to check them out you can
go up here or I’ll link to them at the

end of the video. And number ten. If you
are confident enough, speak and practise

being in conversations. By the time you’ve
reached pre-intermediate to intermediate

level, you already have enough vocabulary
in you, you can communicate what you want.

The message might not be perfect but
it’s enough and it’s at this point that

practising real conversation is going to
catapult your English skills and that

means push them much further than if you
just keep doing what you’re doing.

In conversations, you’re developing core
language skills simultaneously. You’re

listening, you’re asking questions, you’re
learning new vocabulary and context.

You’re pushing yourself to find new ways
to express your ideas. And if you’re not

expressing yourself clearly enough, you
have to find a new way of explaining

yourself. And all of this is happening at
once, there’s lots of pressure, there is

no better way to build your language
skills than immersing yourself inside an

English conversation. There are so many
different ways that you can do this.

You can do it online, there are companies
that connect you with people who want to

study English like Cambly and Lingoda.
I’ll write a link to all of those in the

description below too.
Or in that link up there. I have a

Facebook group that encourages
conversation amongst women so if you’re

a woman, you are welcome to join! It’s
free and there is a link in the

description below as well. So that’s it,
my ten suggestions for improving your

vocabulary. Try them out and let me know
what you think! And if you’ve got some

other suggestions about ways to improve
your vocabulary, add them in the comments!

Most importantly, you need to find ways
to learn and practise vocabulary that

will work best for you because hey, we
all learn differently. We all have

different priorities and different
amounts of time to spend when we’re

learning new languages. You need to
create your own good study habits and

find ways to enjoy English while you’re
learning new words. If you haven’t

already subscribed to the mmmEnglish
Channel, you should definitely do it!

There’s always new lessons to keep you
busy. Watch one of my imitation lessons

right here to help you build your
vocabulary and improve your

pronunciation and become a better
English speaker. If you want to watch

some of the other mmmEnglish lessons, go
right here. Thanks for watching and I’ll

see you in the next lesson.
Bye for now!