Better English Vocabulary | 4 steps to learn new words effectively!

Have you tried different methods to expand your  active English vocabulary range?

Learning new vocabulary may not be difficult. But, learning how to use it actively can be.

Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at  Anglo-Link.

Today, I'm going to share with you a four-step method that I know from experience  will help you to expand your active vocabulary.

By active vocabulary, I mean vocabulary that we can use spontaneously when we speak.

A quick reminder to download my mini guide on how to become a confident English speaker through different listening activities.

Okay! Let me start by telling you what I think is not the best way to improve your active vocabulary

And that is...

Reading!

Many of us think that reading is the best way to expand our vocabulary.

There are two reasons for this.

We start learning English at school through reading and translation.

This becomes a habit.

Also, most of us have a better visual memory than an auditory memory.

So, we think that we will remember a new word better if we see it written down.

Now, of course, reading expands our passive vocabulary and  will improve our reading comprehension.

And maybe also our writing skills.

But it will not help us with our listening and speaking skills at all.

Let's see why with an example.

Let's say you read this sentence in a book and you don't know the underlined word:

This will put our economic growth in 'new word', and therefore, it's a danger we cannot ignore.

From the context, you can easily figure out that this new word means...

'danger'.

Let's say you like this word and decide to learn it.

So, you write it down on a flashcard or in your notebook, and you  write its translation in your own language next to it.

The way you learned to do it at school.

So, what is the problem?

Pronunciation!

To pronounce a new English word correctly, you need to know two things.

Firstly, which syllable takes the stress.

And secondly, how each vowel is pronounced.

Because in English, each vowel letter produces different vowel sounds.

 For example, letter 'e' can be pronounced in four different ways.

It can be pronounced as 'ee'. Redo.

It can be pronounced as 'i'. Repeat.

It can be pronounced as 'eh'. Sent.

And it can also be pronounced as 'uh'. Absent.

So, let's now see how this new word is pronounced.

First, we have to decide where the stress is.

In this word, the stress is on the... first syllable.

Then, we need to find out what the letter 'e' sounds like.

Is it 'eh', or 'ee', or 'uh'?

It is 'eh'.

And now in this word, the letter 'o' is silent.

So, the pronunciation of this word is jeopardy.

jeopardy.

Now, your pronunciation doesn't have to be perfect.

But, if you mispronounce a word completely, for example, if you say: Jeopardy.

You will not be able to hear this word when others say it.

And others won't be able to understand you when you say it.

So, what is a better way of expanding your active vocabulary?

Here's the four-step method I would recommend.

Step 1. Listen first.

Choose a topic you're interested in.

Find a YouTube clip, or a podcast, or an audio book on that topic.

Listen to it without subtitles once just to get familiar with the context.

Step 2. Listen and read.

Listen again, this time with the subtitles on or with the text in front of you.

When you hear and see a new word you'd like to learn, stop!

Write it on a flashcard.

Step 3. Practice pronunciation.

When you've collected about five interesting new words, go to an online dictionary.

Listen and repeat each word several times.

Then write its pronunciation also on your flashcard.

You can use the symbols in the dictionary or you can create your own symbols.

And finally, step 4. A very important step.

Choose an example sentence.

Copy one good example sentence from the dictionary on the back of your flashcard.

And make sure that you underline the other important words too.

For example, in our sentence:

This will put our economic growth in jeopardy.

The other important words are... 'put' (the verb).

And 'in' (the preposition).

So, you want to learn: Put in jeopardy as a collocation.

This is a really important step in allowing you  to create correct sentences with this new word.

Of course, with this method, you will learn  fewer new words in the time that you spend studying.

But, you will be able to use these new words reflexively when you speak.

You will change from a passive learner of vocabulary to an active explorer of vocabulary.

And this will make you a much more confident speaker.

To finish, I've got a little homework for you.

Here are three other words that you can go and explore this method with.

Have fun!

You will change from a passive vocabullalary.

You will change from a passive vocabulalyy.

I can't now say vocabulary.

You will change from a passive vocabulalary.

You will change from a passive vocabulalry leaner.

I can't! It's impossible!

Vocabulalary. You say 'vocabulaly learner'.

Vocabulary learner.

Okay, fine show-off.

Well, that's all for now.

If you would like some more tips on how to become fluent in English, you can watch this lesson.

Please remember to download your free guide and also to  like, subscribe, and allow notifications.

Thanks a lot for watching and I look forward to seeing you in my next lesson.

Take care, and goodbye for now.