How to Enrich Your Vocabulary

Would you like to be able to express your thoughts more accurately? What if your words could paint a picture in the minds of the hearers? Building the quality of your vocabulary can help you communicate more effectively and make you a more interesting person to converse with. Here are some simple ways to help you gain a better command of the English language.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• dictionary
• other books and media
• notebook
• internet optional

1. Read. If it suits you, have two books going at a time: a classic and a modern. You can also read one at a time, but try to alternate modern books with classics to round out your reading experience.
2. When you read or hear someone use a word or phrase you like, write it down in a notebook. Note the context in which it was used. To gain a clearer understanding of what it means, look it up in your dictionary.
3. Watch for newspaper columns (like "The Word Detective") and magazine features that highlight interesting words to learn. You can also subscribe to word-of-the-day emails from yourdictionary.com, and explore word search websites like phrontistery.info.
4. Every day use the new words and phrases that you learn. This is how you will make them your own.

Tips & Warnings

• Pace yourself! If you fill a whole page in your notebook on day one, it will likely be more than you can absorb.