How to Improve Vocabulary? | Ranjan Shekhawat

Hi, everyone, I am Ranjan Shekhawat. I warmly  welcome all of you who have taken the time  

to be here. This video focuses on methods to  enhance your vocabulary. Many of my students  

who struggle to improve their vocabulary asked  me how to improve their vocabulary. They have  

fluency. They have a good command of grammar.  But what they lack is vocabulary. They don't  

have sufficient vocabulary. Some students want  to have a treasure of advanced vocabulary for  

various reasons. For example, to clear  IELTS, GRE, TOEFL and many more exams.  

Many students wanted to impress their girlfriends  with the knowledge of advanced vocabulary. But the  

problem is that they are not able to remember the  words for long. They learn the vocabulary words,  

which will be in their mind for two to three  days. But after that, on the fourth day, however,  

they try, unable to recall those vocabulary words  from their mind. They asked me this question and  

sought tips from me. Here is how I improved my  English vocabulary when I was in my college.  

I improved my English by falling in love with  this language. Once you do that, nothing will  

seem like an effort. It will be fun. I learnt  vocabulary words using a link method. But what  

is a link method? I have made a wonderful video  on the link method. If you haven't watched it,  

you can go and watch it. I would drop a link  to the video in the description box. Take the  

benefit of this video. It will really be useful,  not only in learning English or remembering  

vocabulary but also in learning any subject. It is  an excellent method to know about. Many students  

struggle to learn things, but some students  don't give much time and effort to remember,  

but they still remember, and that too for a  long. Because they apply techniques to remember,  

they would remember for a longer duration than any  other student. So, don't miss the opportunity to  

learn any technique that may be useful in your  studies, career, and professional life. Go,  

do it and watch the entire video. The other  method I used to remember vocabulary words,  

idioms, phrases, and phrasal verbs is to record  my voice while reading out the words, phrases,  

and idioms along with a sentence where the words  are being used. What I want to say is that I  

used to read out these words and use them in a  sentence. I would go to a quiet place and read  

out these sentences and record them. And whenever  I was free, I used to listen to them. So, try to  

make a sentence using the words that you want to  learn and then record that sentence in your voice.  

And whenever you are free and your ears are not  engaged, for example, while jogging, walking,  

travelling on a bus, or in a taxi, just plug  earphones in your ears and play this recording.  

Others will assume that you are listening to  music. But you are busy learning. Right? With  

this, you are giving yourself an association  of those words and the sentences. The way the  

songs are remembered without any effort, just  listening again and again, the same way you will  

be able to learn new words with sentences. So,  why don’t you try this method? I used to do it,  

and now also I am doing it. I haven't stopped  it. Others assume I am listening to songs, but in  

fact, I was improving my English. It can be fun.  Isn’t it? If you fall in love with this language,  

maintaining this habit won’t be difficult.  Once you fall in love with this language,  

nothing will seem like an effort. It will be a  pleasure. Until and unless you don't have a desire  

to learn everything about this language, not only  for your exam point of you, you will find it much  

more difficult to have command of this language.  For example, I started reading avidly right from  

my college days, gradually progressing to more  advanced reading material. I started with fairy  

tales and progressed to reading Lewis Carrol,  writer of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. And  

then later, Sherlock Holmes stories. I read the  Ramayana and the Mahabharata. I also read R. K.  

Narayan's novels. Apart from these, I read E.B.  White, Roald Dahl. My favourite was Charlie and  

the Chocolate Factory, written by Roald Dahl.  Based on this novel, there is a wonderful movie  

called Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. If you  get time, watch it. It is available on Netflix.  

You can read the novel as well. Try to read those  novels on which there are movies available. First,  

watch the movies and then start reading the  book. After reading the book, again watch the  

movie. You will understand it in a better way.  It's time-consuming, but If you are a beginner,  

it will help you understand the sentences based  on the context. There is nothing easily available.  

You have to give your time and effort. No gain  without pain. You can watch as well as read  

Harry Potter. I told Havisha to read Harry Potter,  but she didn't like it. Once, she watched a harry  

potter movie, but after 15 minutes, she switched  the TV off. She said I don't like this movie. And  

you know she never attempted after that. Anyway,  different strokes for different folks. She didn't  

like it, but probably you may like it. Just give  it a shot. You won't come to know until you try.  

Everybody is unique in this world and has special  qualities which others may not have. You have to  

find out what it is that you have. What is  your passion? Another regular reading habit  

of mine is reading the newspaper. I always  read the editorials and the op-eds. There are  

brilliant editors and journalists. Along with  newspapers, I read magazines too. I owe a lot  

to those great journalists and content writers in  popular magazines like Reader's Digest, outlook,  

and India Today. Of course, many of the words I  encountered while reading were not familiar. I  

did not run towards the dictionary each time  I read a new word. I was lazy and unwilling  

to interrupt my reading and reach out for the  dictionary. Instead, I would make a guess from  

the context. I would refer to the dictionary  only if that word was frequently encountered  

and did not make sense to me. Looking up a word in  the dictionary is irritating as it interrupts my  

reading pleasure. Many new words were learned  by me simply by encountering them again and  

again in different contexts. Let me tell you, by  reading, you won't improve your pronunciation.  

Then how to improve your pronunciation. One is  to check the pronunciation in the dictionary on  

your mobile or computer. The second is to listen  to a good English speaker. For your information,  

I am a keen listener. Once convinced that a  person spoke excellent English, I would listen  

to them with rapt attention and hang on to every  word they said. I would be incredibly attentive  

to the way he pronounced words and note where I  was mispronouncing them. I would make a note of  

the expressions they used and remember them and  practice them in my mind. Earlier, you had only  

radio and TV to listen to a good English speaker.  But now you have the internet, YouTube to help you  

to give a boost to your learning process. Listen  very attentively to how the speakers pronounce  

words. And you know most of your pronunciation  would be corrected by just listening to better  

speakers. Writing also will boost your English.  Don't hesitate to write comments on the video  

you watch. I encourage Havisha to write letters to  her cousins regularly. Before sending the letter,  

I would correct her grammar and spelling in the  letter. Your English learning journey would be  

easy if you don't set any time limit for learning.  It is an ongoing process. I am still learning, and  

let me tell you. It will never end in my lifetime.  Always remember there is only one rule for being  

a good talker. Learn to listen. One must possess  the ability to listen intently. This point cannot  

be stressed enough. Hamesha yaad rakhiye ki ye  jaroori nahi ki kuch bhi nayi cheej sikhate samah  

aapki umra kitni hain, balki jaroori ye hain ki  usko sikhne ke liye aapke andar lagn kitni hain.  

I hope you liked this information.  If yes then don't forget to like,  

share, and subscribe to this channel.  Bye-bye! See you in the next video!