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Strategies and Activities for Learning Vocabulary

Although improving vocabulary takes time, it is well worth the effort. People associate a strong vocabulary with higher levels of education, often assuming that a wide vocabulary range indicates higher-than-normal intelligence. The ability to effectively express yourself is important in that it not only hones your power of persuasion but also helps you both socially and in the workplace.

Having a large vocabulary gives you more word choices, allowing you to make subtle distinctions in speech. For instance, the words good, first-class and angelic all have similar meanings, each with its own unique shade of meaning. (You might say an apple tastes good, or even is first-class, but who'd say an apple tastes angelic?)

As a result, learning techniques to improve your vocabulary is crucial to making you more articulate.

Activities for Teaching Yourself Vocabulary
There are a number of activities for teaching vocabulary to yourself, all of which are effective methods of improving vocabulary. Some ways to enhance your vocabulary include:

• Ask questions: In classroom situations, many students are hesitant to ask questions, as they are afraid of looking foolish. If an instructor uses an unfamiliar word, ask for clarification. (If you're too self-conscious to do so during class, ask the instructor in private.)
  
  
• Keep a List of Words: As you come across words you don't know, write them down, along with their definitions. Take a look at the list once a day. As soon as you become familiar with one word on the list, erase it and add a new word in its place.
  
  
• Play games: Playing word games is another valuable tool for both learning and teaching vocabulary. Traditional board games such as Scrabble are fun ways of improving vocabulary. Crossword puzzles are another option. While you may not complete the puzzle, you can learn a few new words by checking the answers. Most of these word games are readily available online.
  
  
• Read: Reading is the single most important method of improving vocabulary. Pick books that challenge your vocabulary limits. While there's nothing wrong with romance or action novels, they won't challenge your vocabulary limits enough. By the same token, don't pick books where you have to dive for the dictionary every second word: Read just beyond your limits.
  
  Try choosing books on different subjects, as they will present you with a variety of words to help you broaden your vocabulary. If the book has a glossary of unfamiliar words, read it before you start. Read history books, science magazines, poetry and classic novels.
  
  As you read, keep a good dictionary next to you so you can look up new words. A good dictionary offers more than just a definition: It also offers the words' etymology, or origin. The more you learn about a word, the more likely you are to remember it. Learning vocabulary builds on itself: The more words you know, the easier it is to associate a new word with other words, which also increases you retention level.
  
  
• Use new words as frequently as possible: The more you use a new word, the more likely it is that it will become ingrained in your vocabulary. As you come across new words and learn their meanings, try to use them in conversation as soon as possible to help them stick in your memory.
  
  
• Use one Word at a Time: Online dictionaries and word-related sites often e-mail a word-of-the-day newsletter that defines and explains unusual words. Word-of-the-day calendars are also good tools for improving vocabulary.

Teaching Vocabulary
Strategies for teaching vocabulary depend on the nature of the students. Are they native or non-native speakers? Are your students elementary school kids or high school students? As with learning vocabulary by yourself, teaching vocabulary in a classroom should emphasize reading and practicing the words.

Word games and crosswords also have their place when teaching vocabulary, if the vocabulary of the games is tailored to the students.

Getting students to make flashcards is another way to reinforce the memorization of new words.

Activities for Teaching Vocabulary to Non-Native Speakers
Teaching vocabulary strategies to non-native speakers requires a different approach. While reading is still one of the best activities for teaching vocabulary, non-native speakers need to master basic vocabulary before they can read and tackle more complex words.

Because reading tends to be less effective for non-native speakers, television is a useful tool. Television shows tend to use basic vocabulary that's accessible to them. Additionally, because the words are spoken in context, the student is likely to remember the word and glean its meaning.

Learning to break down complex words is of use to both native and non-native speakers intent on improving vocabulary. Understanding prefixes and suffixes, as well as Latin roots, helps students break down words to derive their meanings. For instance, if a student understands "visible," and knows that the prefix "in" means not, he or she can decode "invisible" to arrive at its meaning.

Associations are helpful vocabulary strategies for non-native speakers, allowing them to use their native language as they are learning vocabulary in their new language. If a vocabulary word looks or sounds like a word with a similar meaning in the student's native tongue, he or she can mentally associate the two words.

Improving Vocabulary is a Lifelong Endeavor
Improving vocabulary doesn't end: If you're serious about learning vocabulary, you can learn new words every day for the rest of your life. If you keep activities for teaching vocabulary fun and interesting, you'll find that learning vocabulary quickly becomes a rewarding habit.