Reading can improve your vocabulary

And how can it help increase vocabulary? Independent reading is the reading we do of our own volition. It could be a romance novel, sports magazine, or local newspaper. It is anything we pick up and read because we want to read it — not because we are required to read it for a class or work. The reason independent reading promotes vocabulary growth is because we are exposed to new words and can discern their meaning through the context of what we are reading. The greater the variety of our independent reading, the more vocabulary one is likely to assimilate.

The following techniques will maximize the value of independent reading and its link to vocabulary development. Read different genres of books. Variety is the spice of life and it is also the key to increasing vocabulary.

Mystery, science fiction, biography, sports, humor, inspirational, how-to books, history — all have their own vocabulary. A third advantage is that they usually have exercises that test what you have learned, which gives you a clear sense of progress. The major disadvantage of many of these books is that the words in them may sometimes be too difficult for the person who does not have a large vocabulary.

Such a person would have a hard time learning these words and could quickly become discouraged. We suggest, therefore, that you scan the materials you are interested in before buying. If most of the words are totally unfamiliar to you, you will probably not get very much out of it.

If, however, you recognize many of the words but do not quite know them, then the material is probably at the right level for you. Many books approach vocabulary building by teaching you word parts—prefixes, suffixes and roots—and showing you how these parts can go together to form many different words.

You might find this approach useful, because it will make you sensitive to how words are formed, and this can often be a help in figuring out a word's meaning from its context. The important thing to keep in mind is that these materials are not a complete substitute for the process we have been talking about.

One book will not give you all the words you need to know. Besides, you are establishing a lifetime interest in building your vocabulary, and just selecting one way to approach it may not be enough.

Perhaps the most important factor in a successful vocabulary-building program is motivation. It will be very difficult for you to study words month after month without a strong feeling that it is worth doing, that a larger vocabulary will help you in school and on the job, and that it can well lead to a more exciting and fulfilling life. We certainly feel that this is true, for nothing we measure at the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation contributes more to success in life more than vocabulary.

Your time could not be better spent. We know you can expand your vocabulary almost as fast as you wish. There are countless examples of people who have done so. Remember, you started out in life knowing no words, and now you know thousands. You can learn many more. Why not start today? The Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation offers a vocabulary development program of 1, words selected based on the results of studies of over 15, public and private school students.

To learn more about this fantastic and fun way to learn new words, visit the Wordbook page. Why do large vocabularies characterize executives and possibly outstanding men and women in other fields? The final answer seems to be that words are the instruments by means of which men and women grasp the thoughts of others and with which they do much of their own thinking. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Request new password.

Powered by Drupal. Interests vs. Building vocabulary is a powerful way to enhance your life and career Learning how to build a better vocabulary can be a pleasurable and profitable investment of both your time and effort. Four basic steps to a better vocabulary While there are not any magic shortcuts to learning words, the larger your vocabulary becomes, the easier it will be to connect a new word with words you already know, and thus remember its meaning.

There are four basic steps to building your vocabulary: 1. Be Aware of Words Many people are surprised when they are told they have small vocabularies. You may not even need to use a dictionary because you can guess the meaning from the rest of the text from the context. Not only do you learn new words, but you see them being used naturally. When you read, it gives you a good example for writing.

Texts that you read show you structures and expressions that you can use when you write. When people write, they usually use "correct" English with a proper grammatical structure.

This is not always true when people speak. So, by reading you see and learn grammatical English naturally. You can read as fast or as slowly as you like. You can read ten pages in 30 minutes, or take one hour to explore just one page. It doesn't matter. The choice is yours. You cannot easily do this when speaking or listening. This is one of the big advantages of reading because different people work at different speeds. If you choose something to read that you like, it can actually be interesting and enjoyable.

For example, if you like to read about football in your own language, why not read about football in English? You will get information about football and improve your English at the same time. Try to read at the right level. Read something that you can more or less understand. If you need to stop every three words to look in a dictionary, it is not interesting for you and you will soon be discouraged.

Make a note of new vocabulary. If there are four or five new words on a page, write them in your vocabulary book. But you don't have to write them while you read. Instead, try to guess their meaning as you read; mark them with a pen; then come back when you have finished reading to check in a dictionary and add them to your vocabulary book. Try to read regularly.

For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix a time to read and keep to it. For example, you could read for fifteen minutes when you go to bed, or when you get up, or at lunchtime.

You can find English-language newspapers in all large cities around the world. Newspapers are interesting because they are about real life and the news.