A good vocabulary helps in attaining success in life by improving communication in both your personal and professional life. Not surprisingly, a common question for many people is: “How do I improve my vocabulary?” If you are looking at improving your vocabulary, there are many techniques that you can use.
Building vocabulary through "elaboration" is a simple yet powerful technique that helps in improving vocabulary. Elaboration involves linking every new word that you come across to something relevant to you and something that you already know.
For example, think of situations or contexts that are relevant to you where the word would be applicable. Define the word in your own words. Elaborate on the word by using examples of the word in context. There are many websites that provide examples of a word being used in context. When you learn the word in context, the probability of remembering the word increases manifold.
The elaboration technique used by children is simple – they ask adults about the words. Learning by discussing helps in better retention. Discuss the words that you have learned with your friends, siblings, and parents. You will also learn new words from others as you discuss vocabulary with them.
Another simple technique to increase vocabulary is repetition. Studies have shown that it takes about 10 to 20 repetitions for a person to retain a word in their memory. Making a list of all words learned and repeating them every day is the simplest way to “repeat” the words. Keep the list handy and keep reading it whenever possible – while waiting for the bus, during a train ride, or waiting at the dentist. Using the newly learned words in daily conversation will also help greatly in increasing vocabulary.
Playing with words can be fun as well as efficient in helping you learn new words. Playing with words is similar to elaboration but makes the learning process more fun. For example, many websites have free word games. Some of the traditional word games like scrabble and crosswords are very powerful games that can help in improving vocabulary.
There is also vocabulary software that comes with different games at different skill levels. You can keep moving up the skill levels as you learn more and more words. Since the words are used according to the context or situation, the retention of the word is maximized.
The techniques mentioned above use simple strategies and do not require much extra effort. So get started today on improving your vocabulary!