[Music]
hello I'm Emma from English what's the
best way to learn new English vocabulary
ah 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 shed you're
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 used in different
context or how they're conjugated or
used in different inward 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 ten 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 some neat ways of doing this are at
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 you
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 memorizing the word
apply learn the phrase apply for a job
or apply for 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 verbs 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 I
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 traveling 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 audiobook 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 it to some
of my favorite TEDTalks in the
description below too
and another great tip is to learn new
vocabulary through song 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 practicing
them so often you won't even feel like
you're doing it in the shower while your
ex
sizing 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
memorize 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
comment the next tip get better at using
online dictionaries online dictionaries
offer so many ways to practice 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 examples sentences that
show how this word is used
I can also learn synonyms and
collocation 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 Android so go and
explore all of the amazing vocabulary
building tools plus if you sign up to
their email list you're going to get
sent a new English word every day and
that's just another way to get more
practice with new vocabulary okay what
about flashcards and labels flashcards
are have been a really favorite way of
learning new vocabulary for years and
years but there are lots more options
available for us today you might prefer
to handwrite 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 a key now I downloaded an key 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 practice the
program remembers what words you get
wrong and it shows you them more
frequently so you get to practice them
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 favorite 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 the word you stop and
you look it up understand how it's used
practice 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 favorite imitate and 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 practice
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 practicing 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 in 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 Campbell
and lingo de and wrap a link to all of
those in the description below - 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 10 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 practice
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 English
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 English lessons go
right here thanks for watching and I'll
see you in the next lesson bye for now