Exam Skills: 5 tips for dealing with new and difficult vocabulary

The skills for learning vocabulary are one of the keys to success in English language

exams! English teacher, Margaret John, would agree…

English teacher, Margaret John: "You know, what really makes the difference

between a fair and an excellent performance in exams? It’s knowing how to learn your

vocabulary."

This is true when you're faced with a new or difficult word – you need to know how

to deal with it. Hopefully our top tips can help you…

Firstly, when you see an unfamiliar word can you ignore it? You might find that you can

understand the general meaning of the sentence without understanding every single word.

If you're stuck on a new word, are there clues to help you guess its meaning? Again look

at the context of the sentence to work out what the new word means. Maybe the word looks

like a similar one you already know? But be careful of what we call false friends. These

are words which look very similar to words in your own language, but have a completely

different meaning. Get to know the common false friends that your language has with English!

It may sound obvious but you could use a dictionary to look up a new or difficult word. Think

about which one to use – a bilingual one or a monolingual one. Think about the new

word in English. It will also help you build your vocabulary by giving you other words

connected to the new word you've just learned. And of course when you discover a new word,

use it or lose it – as Examiner, Mark Shea explains…

Examiner, Mark Shea: "You need to revise your vocabulary on a regular

basis, perhaps once after twenty-four hours and once a week. It’s not enough to write

a word down to learn the word. You need to use the word to really acquire it."

So don't forget your new word, record it and make use of it in your writing and conversations.

Try these tips, and hopefully you won't find new and difficult words a challenge any longer.

Good luck!