How to Get Advanced Vocabulary in English

- Hi there.

I'm your English coach, Christina,

and welcome to Speak English with Christina,

where you'll learn about American culture

and business know-how to become confident in English.

We've talked about the notorious P-word

in previous episodes.

That P-word, of course, is plateau.

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If you've hit the plateau, you would know.

The symptoms include feeling like

you're no longer making progress,

no matter how hard you study,

difficulty remembering new words,

feeling like you can't express yourself

as well as you should.

The good news, this challenging period is temporary

and one simple way to push

through is to expand your vocabulary.

In this episode, we'll discuss some tips

to learn more words faster

and start seeing your language proficiency

in English accelerate.

The lesson is particularly useful

for intermediate English learners

ready to move to an advanced level.

Let's go.

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One reason that we experience the language learning plateau

is because when we're in the beginner stages

of learning a language, our learning is rapid.

It's easy to mark how much we're learning

in large part because everything is new.

However, once you reach the intermediate stage,

it can be difficult to notice your progress,

especially as you transition from early intermediate

to advanced intermediate

and then, finally to the advanced level.

Vocabulary is a key component to moving from beginner

to intermediate and advanced levels of language proficiency.

Sometimes, when students reach a certain level in English,

they can communicate with other English speakers.

They might use simple vocabulary words to get by

and this is understandable.

I mean, after all, if you can express yourself

and feel understood, then you may not make much effort

to expand your vocabulary beyond

the core words that you already know and that works.

However, to see progress in your language learning,

it's important to expand your vocabulary,

as well as include more colloquial words,

idioms, and phrases in your English repertoire.

The plateau is actually an exciting time

because now you can develop a new strategy

to get more proficient in English

based on your personal interests and needs.

For example, you might consider focusing

on learning new vocabulary words

that are specific to your job,

your industry, or your studies.

Let's chug, chug, chug through that plateau

and to our next peak of achievement with these five tips.

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It's easier to recall a list of words

that are grouped or organized in a meaningful way.

Create a list of words to study

that are focused on a particular subject

and you're more likely to remember them.

For example, if you love music,

you might focus your attention on creating

a vocabulary word list with music as the theme.

You might learn the names of musical instruments,

musical terms, and so on.

As you learn these new vocabulary words,

you can draw linkages between the words

which help you to remember those words easier.

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Do you feel like you learn a new word

only to forget it the next day?

The key to remembering new words is repetition.

The more frequently you encounter a word,

the more likely you'll remember it.

Did you know that you're already a master language learner?

When you were a child, you learned your native language

through lots of listening and repetition.

As you pick up new words, repeat them several times

throughout the day, just as a child would.

Adapting the language learning techniques we used

as children can help us tremendously as adults,

even if adults and children do learn differently.

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Another way to bulk up your vocabulary is to recognize

how modifiers, or affixes, change the meaning of root words.

Understanding affixes can help you interpret

the meaning of hundreds of words that you may not know.

The first affix I'd like to talk about are prefixes.

Prefixes are letters used at the beginning

of a word to change its meaning.

For example, a common prefix in English is re.

And when re is used, it means again or back.

Rethink, redo, and repay.

Each word has re at the beginning.

Another prefix is un.

Un can mean not, remove, or opposite.

Adding un to the word rest gives you

the word unrest, which means not restful or chaos.

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Similarly, suffixes can help you determine

a word you don't know

and help you accelerate your vocabulary learning.

A suffix is a letter or group of letters

added to the end of a word, for example,

er at the end of a word often suggests a comparison.

We find er at the end of adjectives and adverbs.

Er suffixes are good at making a comparison

because they compare two things

and show that one is more than the other,

such as faster or stronger.

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This sounds fancy, but it's a simple idea.

A collocation is when two words

are more or often seen together.

For example, blonde hair is a collocation.

In English, we use the word blonde,

it's most likely an adjective used to describe hair.

We wouldn't say a blonde car or a blonde house.

Here's another example.

The word heavy has many different meanings

depending on the word it's associated with.

You can have heavy rain, a heavy meal,

heavy traffic, a heavy smoker,

and in each instance, the word heavy changes its meaning.

Memorizing common collocations will make

a noticeable difference in your level of proficiency.

By noticing the subtleties of English,

you'll sound more fluent using these words

in the right context, avoiding some of the most

common mistakes that less experienced English learners make.

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It's worth noting, that according to research,

3,000 words is a good target to achieve

lower intermediate level.

One of the big reasons why intermediate learners

hit that plateau is because they no longer

actively expand their vocabulary knowledge.

By expanding your knowledge according to your interests

and needs, recognizing prefixes

and suffixes that modify words, repetition of words,

and memorizing collocations, you'll be well on your way

to pushing through the plateau

and reaching an advanced level in your English studies.

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Now, what about you?

Do you have any tips on how to learn vocabulary words

or ways that you've elevated your level?

Share them in the comments below.

And if you wanna practice speaking English,

then consider my Faster Fluency Conversation Club,

where members can participate

in three group sessions per week.

You'll be paired up in small groups

with other motivated students

and get some help from a Fluency Club Leader, too.

The small group size ensures that you get

plenty of practice to speak English

and receive feedback on mistakes or ways that you can speak

more colloquially, so that you gain fluency faster.

You can get all of the details

and join the Fluency Club by clicking on the link below.

You'll also get extra resources

and a conversation guidebook

to help you increase your vocabulary

and become more confident in conversations.

Thank you for learning with Speak English with Christina

and I'll see you next time.