The keys to building a better vocabulary are motivation, active involvement, repetition, and relevance (Towell, 358). To achieve these things, you should make building a better vocabulary as fun as possible.
Here are some creative ways of making vocabulary-building fun, adapted from a much longer article by Janet Towell, "Fun with Vocabulary" (1997) 51(4) The Reading Teacher 356:
- Trace it. Trace the word your are learning with your finger while pronouncing each syllable until you can write the word from memory;
- Color it. Write each letter of the new word in a different color, beginning with green for "go" to designate the beginning of the word.
- Draw it. Draw around the letters in your new word to emphasize the letters' shape and length.
- Create word banks. Keep a personal word bank for storing and remembering your new words. Watch your word banks grow. (If you use Ultimate Vocabulary, your word bank could be your custom word lists.)
- Beep it. When you come across a new word in your reading, say "beep" for the unknown word and read to the end of the sentence. Think of a word that would make sense in that space. Use context to help you.
- Act it. Act out the meaning of the word to a friend.
- Sing it. Write a song that uses your new words; write the song to popular tunes like "Old McDonald" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
Another fun way is to use vocabulary-building software such as Ultimate Vocabulary. Ultimate Vocabulary includes vocabulary Flash cards, imagery, audio pronunciations, synonym tests, antonym tests, definition tests, visual word webs, an innovative "Word Messenger" feature, and other elaboration techniques for building vocabulary. You can also download a free vocabulary-building screensaver, and 5 free mini-courses on building a better vocabulary, at Ultimate Vocabulary.