VOCAB TEST! (+ Tips & Tricks!) https://englishwithlucy.h5p.com/content/1292040759582572307 How long have you been learning English? A couple of months, a year… years? Well, I have many students who have been learning English for decades (a decade is 10 years - so quite a long time) but still do not feel confident when speaking English. Learners often fear they won’t sound fluent when they speak because they lack the necessary vocabulary to converse in all English settings. I felt this, too, when I was learning Spanish. I often thought I couldn’t contribute to a conversation because I only had a basic level of vocabulary that I could rely on… even then, I wasn’t sure I was pronouncing all of the words correctly. Once I started teaching English, I realised my concerns about my Spanish were the same ones my students had about their English. I guess these feelings are pretty universal across all languages. Everyone wants to speak correctly and fit in with the crowd. Do you identify with any of these feelings? Idioms “Learning idioms and colloquial phrases is extremely rewarding, but these expressions are SO confusing because they don’t have literal meanings. I understand each individual word, but that doesn’t help me at all! Then, once I finally grasp the meaning, I need to figure out how to use them correctly in conversation…” Cultural Understanding “It seems that many advanced English words and phrases seem to be deeply tied to culture. I hear some expressions that make absolutely no sense, but everyone around me is laughing like it’s some sort of in-joke that I’m not a part of. How am I supposed to learn these?” Pronunciation and Spelling “I’ve tried learning some advanced vocabulary terms, but they are honestly such a challenge to pronounce. Some of them are super long, with way too many syllables.” “I’ve seen some advanced terms in books and articles, but their spellings are so confusing! I have no clue where I would even start with pronouncing some of these words!" Context “I am always confused about which words to use in different situations, like if a word is too formal or not formal enough. It also seems like some words can change from one type of communication to another, like speaking and writing or academic texts and casual conversations. It feels like I’ll never get it right.” Lack of Exposure “I sometimes feel quite frustrated about my limited exposure to English. I know there's this whole world of new words out there that I haven't fully explored yet. I hope one day I'll be able to freely express myself in English, but at times, it feels like I’ll never get there.” Learning new and advanced vocabulary often feels like an uphill battle, especially when you don’t know what your current level is. Well, it so happens that I've got just the thing for you because I honestly believe learning English vocab should be intoxicatingly exhilarating (an incredibly powerful feeling of excitement)! There are so many words out there to learn and— more importantly—use! HERE IS A VOCAB TEST TO FIX THIS: How'd you get on with that?! Here are the (very British) 'grades': 0-1 - Needs work! 2 - Getting there! 3 - Solid effort! 4 - Bloody marvellous! 5 - Utter perfection, you legend! It may have been a bit challenging because there were some quite advanced phrases, so let me go ahead and give you a few tricks that you can start using to help improve your vocabulary today! Read, Read, Read… and Listen I highly recommend that you read a variety of materials regularly, such as novels, newspapers, academic papers and online articles. This will help expose you to diverse writing styles and topics and a wide range of advanced vocabulary in different contexts. To take this a step further, concentrate on reading material about specific themes or topics you are interested in to build targeted vocabulary. If you aren’t a big fan of reading, you can listen to podcasts or other audio content but practise active listening. You must actively think about new terms as you hear them and write down their use in context. It might be a bit more work, but rewarding in the long run. Focus on Context Learning new words in isolation doesn’t help as much as you might think. Instead, focus on learning words and phrases within their context. This enables you to grasp their precise meanings and usage nuances, making it easier to remember and apply them correctly. Keep a Journal As part of your vocabulary practice, keep a physical or digital journal to record new words, their meanings, example sentences and any notes that may help these terms stick in your brain. Make sure to review this journal periodically to reinforce each new word. Learn Your Affixes Here’s a more tangible tip for you! An affix is a linguistic element added to a word stem to modify its meaning or grammatical function. Affixes are often divided into prefixes, added at the beginning of a word, and suffixes, added at the end. Understanding affixes can help you figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words more effectively or at least give you a place to start. For instance, "un-" usually indicates negation, and "pre-" signifies something before. Use What You’ve Learnt The best way to truly retain new vocabulary terms is to use them and use them often (like every day)! It’s great if you can interact with native English speakers or participate in online discussions and language groups. Conversing with others exposes you to idiomatic expressions and colloquial phrases in natural communication, but I know it’s not always possible. If you don’t have any way to practise new vocabulary with others, you can always write! Write essays reviewing books you’ve read or articles about your hobbies or keep a daily journal explaining what you do each day; really, the sky's the limit, but make sure you incorporate your new words and phrases into your texts. I hope you found these tips useful and you are now ready to get out there and learn some new vocabulary!
