Ways to Remember 10 Times More Vocabulary English Topics
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Alisha: Hi, everybody and welcome back to
English Topics.
My name is Alisha and I’m joined again by…
Davey: Hi, I’m Davey.
Alisha: Welcome back.
And, today, we’re going to be talking about
Ways to Remember Ten Times More Vocabulary.
So, these are going to be some methods that
we think are helpful in remembering vocabulary
and studying vocabulary and applying your
new vocabulary.
So, let’s get started.
Start as off!
Davey: Alright, my first method here is to
“keep a diary and use the new words that
you are studying.”
So, this tip, and actually my other tips as
well, all have a similar kind of strategy
which is you have to build new vocabulary
into your existing framework of vocabulary.
So, learning a language is difficult and you
need a certain amount of words to be able
to start using the language.
But, once you start to build a really solid
foundation, it’s easier to build more words
on top of it.
And so, doing something like keeping a diary
will help you build those new words into the
structure, the existing vocabulary set of
words that you already have.
Alisha: Mm-hmm.
Davey: So, you have to use it and you have
to use it with words that you know.
And, keeping a diary and using those new words
is a good way because it keeps you in a habit
and it’s meaningful for you.
You know, you write about your day, write
about your life, so, that way, those words
have meaning for you.
Alisha: Mm-hmm.
I totally agree.
I had the same the same tip, essentially,
which was to “use the words you’re studying
to create.”
And, I had a speech or text, either one.
Create something with the words that you’re
learning.
So, a diary is a great example of how to do
that.
Make sure you’re not just studying the words
but you’re actually creating something new
using those words that you’ve put in your
head.
If it’s only input and never output, there’s
going to be a block there.
I’ve experienced that where it’s only input
for words that I’m trying to learn or expressions
I’m trying to learn and until I learn to create
with those new words, with those new expressions,
it doesn’t stick.
I can’t actually use it until I’m comfortable
using it.
It takes it takes a long time in my case.
Davey: Yes, yes.
Alisha: So, absolutely.
So, creating, making a diary, whatever it
is for you, a blog could be another thing,
like a second language blog.
A Twitter feed, maybe an Instagram account,
social media is a great way to do that these
days, yeah.
Davey: That’s true.
Alisha: Lots of people do that.
Lots of people actually follow or lots of
people who follow this channel also have Twitter
feeds or Instagram feeds that have devoted
to their English Studies, I’ve noticed that.
So, people will follow me and I’ll see, “Oh,
they’re studying English,” and they specifically
only tweet in English which is really cool.”
So, they just, as you’re saying, they use
that as a way to keep like an easy diary of
their day in their language.
Davey: You can tweet at people or tweet using
those new words.
You can also search, you could do a Twitter
search for words that you’re using and see
how other people use them and that will help
you learn the context of those words as well.
Alisha: Yeah, so, there’s a lot that you can
do.
Especially, yeah, with these new tools as
well, social media is a great tool.
Nice.
Alright, yeah, we have the same one for one-ish.
Davey: Alright.
Alisha: Okay.
My next tip is to “devote 30 minutes a day
to vocabulary.”
So, again, this is just a rough number but
I’ve noticed that when I’m studying vocabulary,
if I just devote, in my case, I would devote
15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in
the evening just to studying vocabulary.
And, my vocabulary would improve steadily,
slowly, but steadily.
And then, when I don’t do this, in times when
I get busy or I stopped studying in the morning
and in the evening, I noticed I just plateau,
I flatten out.
So, if you take 30 minutes a day, morning
and evening, I find this best, in my case,
this is best for me, to study vocabulary,
review the vocabulary that you had studied
the previous day, for example, that can be
extremely helpful.
One, to remember the words that you studied
in the week prior or whatever.
And, two, just to make sure that you continue
to pick up new words.
So, even if you’re not doing anything work-related
that allows you to use English or to use your
target language, you’re still able to, through
your studies, pick up new vocabulary words
that you might encounter in the future.
So, this is something that I have found and
I’m guilty of not always following this rule
but this is something I have found that really
does work well.
And, there are a lot of tools to do this too.
Like flash cards and like vocabulary word
banks, whatever is useful for you.
Davey: Right.
Alisha: Yep, yeah.
Do you study vocabulary?
Davey: I do.
I study a lot of vocabulary and I completely
agree with you.
It’s something you have to have built into
your routine.
As you said, you do this in the morning or
in the evening, it’s good to know that about
yourself what time of the day is good for
you to study that kind of things that you’ll
help retain it.
For me, it’s morning as well and afternoons
actually.
Alisha: Mm-hmm.
Davey: In the evenings, I’m a little fuzzy
maybe but yes, I try and study a lot of vocabulary.
Alisha: Mm-hmm.
Davey: But, it doesn’t always stick.
I don’t always use it, I have to use it for
it to stick.
Alisha: Yep, I agree.
Okay, nice.
What’s your next tip?
Davey: My next one, again, is similar to the
tip that I said before.
All my tips have to do with kind of building
that that net or that scaffolding, and, it’s
to “use a thesaurus.”
So, this would be if you’re doing something
like writing a diary or using Twitter or just
what you want to study the meanings of words
and get a sense for the nuance or the different
shades of meaning between words that have
a very similar meaning, use something like
a thesaurus because if you learn–if you can
learn five or ten different words that mean
sad or happy, those words will start to stick
together in your mind, you’ll associate those
words with each other.
That makes them easier to recall because,
again, you’re building a framework, you’re
building a net of different word meanings
in your mind, the more vocabulary that you
have built.
So, I think, using a thesaurus when you’re
writing can be really helpful for understanding,
not only the differences in meaning but helping
those related words to stick.
Alisha: Right.
I think that that’s a tip that if you can
apply that effectively and learn, like in
your example, of many different words that
have similar meanings like words, “sad”
or like words that mean happy, for example,
if you can do that, it’s going to make your
writing and your speaking much deeper in meaning.
You’re going to sound much more fluent if
you can use deeper vocabulary words.
If you always rely on the same vocabulary
words, it’s going to limit a lot in your reading
and in your speaking.
Davey: Yes.
Alisha: So, if you can use it thesaurus effectively
to understand the series of words that have
similar or associated meanings, it’s going
to open up a lot of opportunities for you.
Totally.
Great one.
Okay.
Davey: Thank you.
Alisha: Nice ones.
Davey: What do you have next?
Alisha: My next tip is–this is something
that I use actually.
It is “reading things in your target language
related to your work and your hobbies.”
So, one of the things that I struggled with
when I was studying, when I do study, one
of the things that’s difficult for me is that
I have trouble identifying or maybe understanding
how I’m going to use the things in the textbook
in my life.
Like, how often do I need to call my pen pal
or my exchange partner or whatever?
I know I need to maybe study English, for
this job, sure, but if I read about my hobbies
in my target language, if I’m studying English
and I want to read about my hobbies in English,
I’m much more interested in that topic and
I’m going to learn the vocabulary words a
lot more quickly.
So, for example, in my case, what I found
really useful, going back to the other example,
is I was interested in music or I am interested
in music and so I would pay attention to my
favorite musicians.
What are the kinds of words that they’re writing?
What are the sort of phrases that they use?
How do I use those same words and phrases
to talk about the things that they’re talking
about?
So, because I was using people that I was
interested in as my base for my understanding,
I was able to pick up those words, the specific
words that I needed for my hobbies in my life
much more quickly.
It would have been difficult for me to go
to my teacher and say, “Hey, how does a
musician explain this feeling?” or, “What’s
the best word I could use to describe this
or that aspect of performance?”
It was something very specific to my interests,
and so, by going directly to the people who
were using those words and expressions, I
could find them immediately, over time, it
took a little bit of time to get used to the
way they spoke or the way that they wrote
on the internet.
But, I could pick up things that I wanted
to know and words that the people around them
were also using.
So, this was something that I found very,
very useful and I continued to find useful.
So, things that are specific to you, specific
to your life and the things that you need
to do and that you want to accomplish in terms
of your language goals.
Davey: Right.
And, at least, with regard to hobbies, maybe
not work as much, but could be, but especially
with hobbies, you’ll be more motivated to
read about that in English or in your target
language because that’s something that you’d
read in your first language anyway.
And so, to be motivated to read that will
help you.
Because, if you’re interested in it, you’re
motivated to do it, you’ll read more, you’ll
get more language.
And then, you’ll get language that you’ll
use in that situation.
For example, if you’re a skier, if you love
to go skiing and you read skiing magazines
in English, and then when you go skiing, you’re
in a situation where you can use those words.
So, I think that’s a really good tip basing
your vocabulary around your hobby or your
work.
Alisha: Alright.
Nice.
Okay.
What’s your next one?
Davey: My next one is similar to the last
one but maybe a little bit different take
on it.
And, it’s “word association.”
And, of course, using something like a thesaurus
helps you make word associations but what
I meant with this tip is to do exercises to
help you with word associations.
So, drawing like bubble maps, idea maps, linking
up vocabulary words with similar words.
Playing a word association game with a study
partner.
Just, if I say a word and then your partner
gives a word back to you, that makes them
think of another word and that’s a nice way
just to drill vocabulary, but also as I was
saying before, to build association between
words which helps those words stick in your
mind.
So, different word association games, I should
say.
Alisha: I see, okay.
So, maybe we can try one.
So, you said you would say a word and then
the partner playing the game would just respond
with a word that they associate with the first
word.
Davey: Sure.
You could set rules on it.
You could say similar meaning, opposite meanings,
you could do antonyms or synonyms.
Alisha: Right.
Oh, there’s another game that I remember I
used to play when I was a kid which was going
through the alphabet.
My family and I used to play this on road
trips.
We had to think of words that began with each
letter of the alphabet.
So, for example, it would be like an animal.
So, we had to think of an animal that started
with an “A,” like, “anteater.”
And then, you’d go to “B.” But, you had
to say “A” first before you can move to
“B.” So, “anteater, buffalo.”
And then, “anteater, buffalo, cat” and
go through each letter of the alphabet with
that category.
Of course, “Q” and “X” always got
a little bit difficult.
Davey: That’s a nice idea too because that’s
a memory game and remembering vocabulary requires
a strong memory.
So, that’s a nice way to kind of build those
skills together.
Alisha: So, there are a lot of things I think
you can do to improve your word association,
for sure.
But, of course, these aren’t the only ways
to remember vocabulary but perhaps some things–at
least that has helped us and that are maybe
easy for people to do.
Anybody can do these.
Everybody I think watching this video will
have access to the tools they need to do these
sorts of things.
So, please feel free to give them a try if
you have not already.
So, thanks very much for watching this episode
of English Topics.
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Thanks very much for watching this episode
of English Topics and we will see you again
soon. Bye-bye.
Davey: Yah!
Alisha: Sit back down. I have to do the subscribe message one. Thank you.
I’m very sorry.
Davey: That’s cool.
Alisha: I’m very sorry for shouting at you.