How to learn vocabulary words fast and effectively

How to memorize new vocabulary faster: 9 tips ‹ GO Blog

No matter how good your grammar is, if you don’t know any words that you can use it with, you (literally) won’t get very far with your language skills: Vocabulary opens up doors to new worlds and makes learning fun and satisfying.

But expanding the range of word you know is like a diet: You have to put in some effort and there’s neither a magic trick nor a secret or one-approach-fits-all way to do it. Everyone has to find what works for them; but being patient, setting realistic goals, and rewarding yourself if you reach them are a good strategy that can be complemented with any of the following points.

1. Use Memory Techniques

A popular way to memorize vocabulary is the use of mnemonics, which are mental shortcuts that help you remember more complex concepts or words. For example, you can create associations between words: If you don’t know how to spell the words accommodation, just remember that it has two cots that need two mattresses. Or you come up with an acronym: Like, when you need to go to the STORE to buy Spaghetti, Tomatoes, Olives, Rice, Eggs. The problem is, of course, that you still have to memorize the acronym, song, or association, but with a little bit of practice, you’ll get good at coming up with creative and useful connections. And: The longer you think about acronyms or associations, the better will you remember the words that come with it.

2. Create a learning environment

When you’re studying abroad, you will hear and read the language everywhere and learn much faster through immersion. But you don’t have to go abroad to slowly increase the number of words you know – you can create an inspiring and study-friendly environment wherever you are: Buy magazines or books in the new language, watch movies, and cook (or just eat) the local food.

3. Put the words in context

A good idea to learn more words faster is to put them in context: Instead of writing lists of random words, try to put them in sentences. That way, you know how the word is used in real life. Plus, if you come up with funny sentences, it will be easier to memorize. Depending on how you learn, you can also make drawings or find images that will complement the sentences and put the words into their natural habitat.

4. Learn from real-life situations

Speaking of context: Movies, TV shows, books, podcasts or songs are not only a great source for the most common words, they can also help you memorize the vocabulary because they always come associated with a scene, a person, or a (real-life) event. So, try to read books or watch movies in the original language (with subtitles) and figure out what the words mean. If you see or hear a phrase or sentence that you don’t understand, write it down, look it up and start memorizing it.

5. Take it to the next level

If you want to take language learning to the next level, leave enough space for mind maps with associated words, synonyms or antonyms. If you want to get the most out of your learning process, try not to translate the word into your native language, but instead, explain and describe it in the language you’re trying to learn.

6. Find the tools that work for you

Everyone learns differently, so if you don’t already know what works for you, try as many different ways – or a combination thereof – as possible: Flashcards, apps, lists, games, or post-its, are great ways to memorize vocabulary. The same goes for finding the right time: Some people want to set apart a specific time, others learn more spontaneously. No matter which approach you choose, be sure to get into some kind of rhythm – practice makes perfect, after all.

7. Make it interactive

Just like you have to find the right tools that work for you, it’s also important to make the learning experience as encompassing as possible: Don’t just read the words from cards or lists – hear them pronounced, say them out loud yourself and write or type them. The more you make your encounter with the words an experience for all senses, the better. (Why not eat ice cream while learning what the different flavors are called?)

8. Focus on useful words

If you want to expand your vocabulary because you want to work at a marketing firm abroad, you probably don’t have to read Shakespeare’s novels or focus on words that pertain to the Middle Ages. The more practical and popular the words are for your career, hobbies and real-life conversations, the easier they are to learn – and you will be able to use them more often. (This can be like a game: You can reward yourself every time you used a certain word in a real-life conversation.)

9. Repeat and then repeat some more

Remember to not just repeat current words, but also the “old stuff” that you think you’ve memorized already. You don’t have to look at the stored words as often as the new vocabulary, but the more you use the words, the better you’ll remember and recall them.

A Scientific Approach to Vocabulary

Vocabulary is usually considered one of the simplest parts of language learning, much more straightforward than the complexities of grammar, for example. It’s just memorization, right? But make no mistake: learning and remembering enough new words to speak fluently is still a huge challenge.

This is especially true of language learners trying to figure out how to learn English, which has the largest vocabulary of any language in the world. Learning vocabulary takes patience, but you can speed up the process if you take a methodical, scientific approach. Too many people just pore over lists of words and try to memorize them, when they could instead learn new words through use.

In this article, we’ll walk you through a few scientifically-proven methods on how to learn new vocabulary. First, let’s go over just how many vocabulary words you’ll need to know.

How many words do you need to learn to be fluent?

To begin with, let’s find out how many words you need to learn if you want to understand most foreign-language speech, and to be able to express your thoughts. A 5-year-old native speaker child in an English speaking country uses 4,000 – 5,000 words. A university graduate in an English-speaking country uses around 20,000 words. However, a person who studies English as a foreign language, has a vocabulary of only approximately 5,000 words, even if they have studied English for a few years.

But there is good news, too: a vocabulary of 2,000 words is enough to understand 80% of a foreign language. This is the conclusion of researchers after an analysis of the so-called Brown Corpus. (A linguistic corpus is a collection of texts on different topics so that scientists can have detailed examples of how language is used.)

It is interesting that after you learn 2,000 words, adding another 1,000 words only helps you understand merely 3–4% more of a foreign-language text.

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3 Scientifically Proven Methods to Learn Words Faster (and Remember Them!)

You study and study, but there is no result! You forget everything in a few days.
Use the scientific approach to memorizing words! We present to you three scientifically proven methods that will allow you to memorize foreign word quickly and permanently.

How can I memorize new words fast?

The first question that everyone asks is, how can I quickly memorize foreign words?

Scientists believe that we can more easily memorize information which has an emotional load. So, it is a good idea to learn words through games, riddles, or films. If you like a song, then don’t be lazy: look up the words you do not understand. You will always associate these words with a song you like, which means they will leave an emotional trace in your memory.

Mnemonics is a great solution. Create vivid associations. This will allow you to remember even words that are difficult to pronounce. There are special learning resources where you can find all kinds of mnemonic techniques for memorizing English words. However, it’s better to create such associations on your own, because our associations and emotions are very individual.

How can I remember new words?

So, you have learned a few hundred words, but after a week only ten of them remain in your memory. What is the problem? The human brain has two different kinds of memory: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory allows you to remember information for 15–30 minutes. Later, when this information is no longer used, your brain simply stops remembering it. How can you make your brain understand that we really need these words? The solution to repeat the word many times. Do you remember Pavlov’s dog in the history of psychology: the lamp comes on, and the dog produces saliva. However, the dog starts to produce saliva only after 5–10 repetitions of the food+light sequence. If you stop giving food when the light comes on, the association in the dog’s brain between the light and the food will be destroyed, and the dog will not produce saliva anymore.

So how many times do you have to repeat a word so that it moves from short-term memory into long-term memory?

The German psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus developed a curve of forgetting. It reflects how we forget information over time if we do not repeat it. In the first 20 minutes after learning words, we will remember only 60%. Within an hour we will lose over 50% of the information. With time more and more information will be lost, and by the 3rd day, only 20% of information will remain in your memory. This way, if you skip even one day of reviewing your studies, you won’t be able to bring back the forgotten words.

Prepare to speak confidently

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The conclusion is obvious: you must repeat words! Use the words in your everyday conversation, makeup stories using the new words, do flashcards on your smartphone at least a few minutes a day. All this will help you to remember the words you’ve learned. Otherwise, the time you have spent on learning them will be wasted.

We suggest that you use the following schedule for reviewing the words you study:
· 10–15 minutes after learning new words;
· 50–60 minutes later;
· The next day;
· Two days later;
· Three days later.

After this, most of the information will be saved for the rest of your life.

Still want more advice? Here’s a live lesson from tutor, Michael P. with some expert tips for increasing your vocabulary in English. Michael has 17 years experience as an English teacher, and works as the Head of English at a high school in Guadalajara, Mexico (when he’s not teaching on Preply!) so he has a lot of knowledge to share.

How can I express my thoughts faster and more quickly?

We all want foreign words to come out of our mouth easily, without any effort and without spending a few minutes on building a sentence. There is a way to speak a foreign language more quickly by developing muscle memory. By muscles, we understand the muscles of our speech organs. These muscles, just like muscles in your legs when you ride a bike or the muscles in the fingers of a pianist, have a memory. This memory lets the muscles make automatic movements almost unconsciously.

To create this muscle memory, it is important to pronounce words aloud when learning them, making movements with the tongue and lips. It is also useful to imagine not only the word but also the thing it refers to. With time you will not have to think any more about which word to use. Your muscles will do it automatically.

Simply put, to become a better speaker, you must practice speaking regularly. This is what Andrea learned when she took regular lessons with Preply, and this familiar repetition made all the difference. She started speaking fluently in 6 months.

Her story shows that fast improvement is possible. By making your short-term memory, long-term memory, and muscle memory work together, you can increase your vocabulary learning quickly and remember words for a long time.

How to learn English words: the best tricks ‹ Ingleks

Want to learn how to learn English words quickly and easily? We will tell you how many words you need to know, where to get them from, what tools to use and how to learn all this in general. Use at least a few tips and you can expand your vocabulary.

Content:

1. How many English words do you need to know
2. Where to get new English words
3. Tools for learning new words
4. Useful tips on how to learn English words effectively

All students are interested in the question: "How to learn English words?" The more vocabulary we know, the better we understand what the heroes of our favorite English films are talking about, what is written on the Tate Modern museum plaques, and how favorable the terms of the deal are offered by our partners from the USA. Today we will give some recommendations that will help you learn new vocabulary effectively.

Before that, we advise you to watch the webinar of our methodologist Yulia on the topic “How to learn English words”.

How many English words do you need to know? It will show your approximate vocabulary which you can compare with the average scores of native speakers and English learners. On average, 3,000 - 4,000 words will be enough to communicate on most topics.

However, we want to warn you: do not rely solely on the results of the test. It can only give a rough estimate of your vocabulary.

Our English Level Chart has a Vocabulary column that tells you how many words you need to know at each level.

And now let's find out what English words you need to learn:

Basic vocabulary needed to understand foreign speech. There are eternal topics like "Greeting", "Family", "Food" - every person needs to know them.
The words you need. If you need English for work, learn general business terminology or more specific industry terminology, such as for IT professionals. If you want to travel more, learn travel phrasebooks.
Mastering all the lexical sets is impossible and pointless. Why do you need medical topics if you are not a practicing doctor? Except for watching "Doctor House" :-) Consult with an experienced English teacher, he will tell you exactly what to study.

Where to get new English words

1. Favorite movies, series, songs, podcasts, books

This method is good because words are remembered in a context that is not boring for you. If you already watch films in English, you should take vocabulary from there. We advise you to use the resource ororo.tv. It is paid, but worth the money: you can watch new movies and TV shows in good quality with Russian and English subtitles. As soon as you come across an unfamiliar word, click on it and it will automatically go into your personal dictionary of new words.

The texts of most English-language songs can be found on the Amalgam resource. Or use the search bar in the browser: enter the name of the song and add the word lyrics. We also recommend a selection of podcasts, audio series and radio shows, as well as resources for downloading books online.

2. Special textbooks

Vocabulary books will help you learn new words and set expressions in which they are used. The benefits of manuals are that they provide lists of words along with examples of their use, so words are learned in context. We have presented a detailed review of textbooks for learning English vocabulary, be guided by it to choose the best manual.

3. Lists or dictionaries of high-frequency words

How do you know if it is worth memorizing the next new English word that you meet? It may have fallen into disuse or is rarely used. You can refer to lists of words that are most commonly used by native speakers. We recommend you lists from the Oxford Dictionary - The Oxford 3000 British Dictionary and The Oxford 3000 American Dictionary. These are the 3,000 most important words any English learner should know. They have been carefully selected by linguists and experienced teachers. You can recognize these words in the Oxford dictionary itself by the key icon.

Tools for learning new words

1. Word cards

This technique may seem old-fashioned, but it is still effective. All students at least once in their lives started cards and tried to learn new vocabulary from them. It is convenient and affordable: no need to spend money, because you write them yourself, and you can take the cards with you anywhere.

Before making cards, you need to choose a good dictionary that will help:

pick up translation;
get acquainted with typical phrases in which the word is used;
study examples.

Then you should decide whether you will make paper or electronic vocabulary cards.

Paper cards

Color blocks are recommended (one color = one theme). Beginners can choose one of the following options:

On one side of the piece of paper we write the word in English, on the other - in Russian. We test our knowledge: we translate a word from Russian into English and vice versa.
On the one hand, we write the word in English and paste the picture, on the other hand, the translation into Russian. This method is well suited for people with associative thinking. In your mind, you associate a new English concept with the subject it denotes.
On the one hand, we write a word in English with a Russian context, on the other hand, a word in Russian without a context. When repeating vocabulary, try to translate the concept from Russian into English. And with the translation in the opposite direction, the second side of the card with the Russian context will help you.
More experienced students are advised to use English-English dictionaries, such as the Macmillan Dictionary. On one side we write the word in English, on the other - its definition in English. You can also write synonyms and antonyms of the concept under study.
And how to learn vocabulary? Remembering English words is best in context. Therefore, you can write on the card not just a word, but a sentence in which it is used. Examples of sentences can be found in electronic dictionaries, such as ABBYY Lingvo.

E-cards

If it's hard to get away from your computer, use your affection for good: create virtual stickers with words on your desktop and in a few days you will remember them well.

To create electronic vocabulary cards, we recommend the Quizlet service, which allows you to memorize words in different ways: choose the correct translation from four offered, fill in gaps in sentences and play games with words. Here you can also track your progress: which words are harder for you than others, how quickly you learn new vocabulary. There is an app for Android and iOS. An alternative resource is Memrise. Its free version has limited functionality, but it will be enough for compiling flashcards.

You need to constantly work with cards: review and repeat the learned vocabulary. Periodically change the cards to new ones, and after 1-2 weeks return the old ones again to repeat the words.

2. Vocabulary notebook

This method is good for those who constantly lose something: the cards are unlikely to last long :-)

You can structure the notebook in any way you like. We present our version. Each page must correspond to a specific day. At the top, write the dates of the repetition of the words. In order for the studied vocabulary to be well fixed in memory, do not forget to train it. To do this, use the techniques described by us in the article "How to repeat so as not to forget anything." cheese cheese

3. Mind map

You can easily learn English words of the same subject if you draw a mind map. Such a scheme clearly shows which topic the words belong to. In the meantime, you draw it, the vocabulary will be deposited in memory. A mind map might look like this:

We recommend using Coggle to create these mind maps. You can share the result with other people, as well as download mind maps in pdf or png.

4. Learning Websites and Apps

Study on learning resources, we recommend englishteststore.net, and in the article "5 websites to learn English words" you will find even more great learning resources.

On your way to work on the subway or in line at the clinic, use every free moment to learn new words. Useful programs for your gadget can be found in the article "28 best apps for learning English on Android and iPhone".

It is enough to practice 10-20 minutes daily to feel progress.

Useful tips on how to learn English words effectively

1. Combine words by topic

How easy is it to remember English words? Groups of words related to the same topic are usually well remembered. Therefore, try to break the words into groups of 5-10 pieces and learn them.

There is the so-called Restorff effect, according to which the human brain best remembers the most prominent from a group of objects. Use this effect to your advantage: in a group of words of one subject “introduce a stranger” - enter a word from a completely different subject. For example, when studying words on the topic “Fruits”, add one word from the topic “Transport” to them, in this way your studies will become even more effective.

2. Use associations and personalization

Many students like this method: to learn a word, you need to come up with an association in Russian. For example, you need to remember the word obstinacy (stubbornness). Break it down into three syllables: ob-stin-acy, you get "stubborn as a donkey against a wall." The word shoot (to shoot) can be remembered as "the jester shoots." You can make convenient associations yourself, the main thing is that they are clear to you and easy to remember. This will make it easier for you to increase your English vocabulary.

Learning will be effective if you not only make a word association, but also visualize it: while saying the word shoot, imagine this shooting jester, let the image turn out to be as funny and memorable as possible. Even better, a dynamic picture with your personal presence: you imagine how the jester next to you shoots someone (with a water pistol to make the spectacle comedic, not tragic). The more alive the picture, the easier it will be to remember the word.

3. Use learned vocabulary in speech

How to learn English words correctly and not forget them? Are you familiar with the use it or lose it principle? In order for knowledge to remain in memory, you need to actively “use” it. It is good practice to make short stories using new words. The best remembered vocabulary is set out in a short funny text, which is written about oneself, beloved or dear to the heart of things.

If you take a course or have an English teacher, try to put new words into the conversation as often as possible: the more times you say a word, the better you will remember it. Do not forget about spelling: try to use new words in writing.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I will remember. Make me do it and I'll learn.

Learn new words and apply them immediately with the Conversation Course.

4. Regularly test your knowledge

It is useful to take various tests to determine the level of vocabulary from time to time. For example, great picture quizzes (a joy for visuals and kids) are on the Vocabulary for learners of English page. After passing such a test, you will immediately see what is deposited in your memory, and which topics or words need to be repeated.

5. Follow your daily plan

We have already told you how many words to learn per day. Recall that for the average person, it is best to learn 5-10 words a day. Be sure to follow your plan for learning new vocabulary to see progress.

6. Use entertaining learning methods

At engvid. com, native speakers explain complex information in a light, entertaining way, thanks to which new material is well remembered. On newsinlevels.com, every piece of news is adapted for different levels of English proficiency, and explanations are given for all difficult words.

You can expand your English vocabulary through fun activities such as crossword puzzles, gallows games, etc. A lot of fun is provided on the Have Fun Learning English and Vocabulary exercises pages.

7. Improve your memory

It is impossible to remember anything if you do not have a good memory. Learning a language in itself is a good exercise for our brain and improves memory. But to make it easier to remember, you can use the tips from our article “How to improve memory. Best Advice for English Learners.

8. Consider your type of perception of information

Not all methods are equally good for you. Don't try to apply everything at once. Try text, video, or audio formats and choose the ones that help you pick up new words faster. So you will come to your author's mix of techniques.

You can understand whether you are auditory, visual or kinesthetic by reading our article "Learn English according to the type of information perception."

The main thing - do not forget to move from theory to practice. Not only read useful tips on how to memorize English words quickly and easily, but also actively use them in everyday life, then you will not have to puzzle over how to improve your level of knowledge.

Do you count cards and notebooks with the words “yesterday”? Then try to learn words according to the current British textbooks in the online English courses at our school. Our students learn words and phrases in context, use them in a lively dialogue with the teacher, memorize new vocabulary easily and quickly. Try to learn English words in a new way!

How to quickly learn words.

Scientific approach

photo tumblr.com

THREE SCIENTIFIC-BASED METHODS THAT WORK

You study and study these words, but there is no sense! After a couple of days everything is forgotten.

Use a scientific approach to memorization! We present you three scientifically based methods that will allow you to quickly and permanently memorize foreign words.

Related article:
18 funny English words related to food

HOW MANY WORDS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

First, let's figure out how many words you need to learn in order to begin to understand most of the foreign speech, and to express your thoughts yourself. A five-year-old child living in an English-speaking country uses 4,000-5,000 words, and a university graduate uses about 20,000 words. However, an English language learner only has a vocabulary of 5,000 words, despite years of study.

But there is good news : a vocabulary of 2,000 words is enough to understand 80% of foreign speech. The researchers came to this conclusion based on the analysis of the Brown Corpus. A linguistic corpus is a collection of texts on various topics.

Interestingly, after you have learned 2,000 words, vocabulary replenishment for each subsequent 1,000 words allows you to increase the amount of understandable text by only 3-4%.

HOW TO REMEMBER A WORD QUICKLY?

The first question that interests everyone is how to quickly memorize foreign words?

Scientists came to the conclusion that the information that has an emotional coloring is remembered faster. Accordingly, it is a good idea to learn words through games, riddles, movies. I liked the song - do not be too lazy to look at the translation of incomprehensible words. These words will forever be associated with the song you like, which means they will leave an emotional trace in your memory.

Great welcome - mnemonics. Create colorful associations - this will allow you to remember even hard-to-pronounce words. Usage example: the word weather is similar to the Russian word wind, we build a wind-weather pair in our head, remember forever that weather translates to weather. There are special reference books where you can find various mnemonic techniques for memorizing English words. However, it is better to come up with such associations on your own, since our associations and emotions are strictly individual.

Article in the topic:
Infographic: varieties of tea in English + 6 "tea" idioms

HOW TO NOT FORGET A WORD SO QUICKLY?

So, you learned a couple of hundred words, but after a week about ten of them remained in your memory. What is the problem? This is due to the existence of short-term and long-term memory. The mechanisms of short-term memory allow you to store information for 15-30 minutes, then, noticing that this information is not used, the brain gets rid of it, as if it were something unnecessary. How can we make it clear to the brain that we really need these words? The answer is repetition. It's like with Pavlov's dog: the light bulb lights up - saliva is released. However, it is released only after 5-10 repetitions of the food + light chain. If food is not served when the light is turned on, the association of the light bulb with food in the dog's brain will be destroyed, and saliva will stop secreting.

So how many times does a word need to be repeated in order for it to stably move from short-term to long-term memory?

The German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus developed the Forgetting Curve, which characterizes the amount of information lost over time in the absence of repetition. During the first 20 minutes after learning the words, we will already remember 60%, and within 1 hour we will lose more than 50% of the information. Then, over time, more and more information will be erased, and by day 3, only 20% of the information will remain in memory. Thus, if you miss at least one day in repetition, you will not return the forgotten words.

The conclusion is obvious: without repetition, nowhere . Use words in speech, make up stories using new words, play flashcards on your smartphone for at least a couple of minutes a day - all this will help you save the learned words. Otherwise, the time spent on their initial study will simply be wasted.

We suggest using the following repetition schedule:

10-15 minutes after learning the words;
After 50-60 minutes;
Next day;
After 1 day;
After 2 days.

After that, most of the information will be fixed for life.

Article in the topic:
Infographics: English words on the topic of work

HOW TO EXPRESS THOUGHTS FASTER?

I really want foreign words to flow from my mouth, without requiring excessive brain tension and several minutes to formulate a phrase.