Is building your vocabulary giving you the nightmares? You are not alone. For most people trying to learn English, especially those for whom
memorizing complex English words is a major hurdle.
Certain English words are very easy to remember! These words are generally used in non-English sentences as well. Words like 'please', 'sorry', 'thank you', 'I love you', etc. have more or less become universal in usage. Then, there are other words that people find it easy to remember. The problem lies with bigger or complex words. Words like 'envelope', 'knife', 'psychology', are especially confusing, as they are spelt one way and pronounced the other way! With so many rules and exceptions, one cannot blame a poor student for being unable to remember all the English words he/ she learn!
This is where learning techniques come into play. Learning techniques or memory tricks are certain ways in which you can boost your memory and improve vocabulary. In our previous blog, http://bit.ly/XMGLvU, we have discussed a few tips that will help you in boosting your vocabulary, and in this blog, we will dish out a few more tips. Is that great or what!
While there is no guarantee that these tricks can help you in memorizing every English word (there are 1,033,661 of them, for God's sake!), but these will definitely help you cross the hurdle and gain confidence!
• Picture it: Certain words, especially nouns, are easier to remember when you associate an image with it. For example, when you are learning the word 'stethoscope', it can be quiet an intimidating word. Not only is it very long, it takes a little bit of practice to pronounce it the right way. Now close your eyes and picture a real stethoscope, hanging from the neck of a doctor. Now as you picture it, repeat the word over and over again. Now, is it still difficult to remember the word? Associating a visual with the word always helps. However, there are certain words with which you cannot associate a picture. What image will you associate with words like 'honesty', 'patience', 'truth', etc? For such words, visualize a scene, where you can place the word.
• Feel the word: About 20% of the population is kinesthetically inclined; they remember things that they are able to feel. Now, you will wonder 'how can one 'feel' words'? It is simpler that it appears. Say for example, you are trying to learn the word 'sunshine', try to feel the warm sunrays falling on you and how it makes you feel. The next time you are out in the sun, you will surely remember the word 'sunshine'.
• Play around with the word: So, you have learned a new word. Now learn its synonyms, antonyms, rhyming words, etc. – anything that can be related to the word. This exercise will help you learn the root word and several other words as well. For example, you learnt the word 'day', now you can learn other words related to it like night – antonym, play – its rhyming word. Now this is what we call hitting three birds with one stone!
Many people wish to learn English easily, but little do they realize that it takes discipline and efforts. Whether you wish to improve vocabulary or improve spoken English, your best bet is to learn English online. Online English learning programs like the eAgetutor spoken English program is a convenient and effective way to learn English.