Love Vocabulary: 3 Basic Methods of Learning New Words

Hey! Let's start a new journey of the ghost riding towards what? Do you imagine?

I know, you are enough smart and have already got my points. Learning new words is a horrible trial for me and sometimes also for you. Don't worry. You and I together do it make fun!

Before we start, I would like to share my experience of the trip that I made last year when I was a new college student. I was depressed about my poor knowledge of vocabulary. When I wrote something, I had repeated the same words again and again. It was bored not only for me but also for my teachers. They always marked my assignments with a red alert.

I really struggled too much to draw up the right words. I asked advice to my friends, families, and teachers as I was seeking the best way to build up my vocabularies. They all suggested a dozen worrisome tips and tricks but I was failed to improve my words.

After a couple of few months, I enrolled in a seminar arranged by the Language Centre of Dhaka University that showed me three basic methods of learning new words. Here are the following methods that I learned from there.

Method no. 01: Mnemonics

Mnemonics technique is not so much hard that the spelling of the word 'mnemonic' is. It is a device or tool full of with some tips and tricks that help people to remember something, by relating with another well-known object. And the most interesting affair is that people always use this method whether they realize it or not. Let me show an example.

If you want to remember the colors of the rainbow, what do you do? The colors of the rainbow have seven individual colors and it may be hard to bear in mind each time. So, you can use a name or a word mnemonics techniques such as " VIBGYOR" or " Richard of York gave battle in vain". Here, the first letter of each word is presented from a word or phrase.

Now, it’s the question that how you use mnemonics techniques to learn a new word. It is quite easy to illustrate. Suppose, your new word, 'Disseminate'  means to spread something or to make widely known. So, you can relate it with the movement of the Me_Too hashtag. When you think about the Me_Too hashtag on the internet, you will easily remember what the word 'Disseminate' is.

Tips: try to relate the new word with your known word or scenario. But you must be aware of binding two things and only the two things always otherwise it will be confusing.

Method no. 02: Playing Games

There is various kind of online and offline games such as word search, letter blocks, build a word, match a word, crossword puzzle, post box, and quiz test, etc. to build a solid and sophisticated structure of your vocabulary efficiency. Playing a game can be an interactive and effective way of learning new words. By practicing every day, your intellectual memory will be sharper and stronger.

For example, Merriam-Webster's online dictionary asks you, "How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?". Here, you have only 10 seconds to answer each question. It’s a great way of testing your previous learning if you love to take a challenge. The faster you answer, the higher your score. If you choose the wrong answer, then it will show you the correct one.

Tips: Practice makes perfect. Keep time and play your favorite word games every day. It will bring your level up and refresh you.

Method no. 03: Flash Cards

Flashcards are some little pieces of paper with a piece of short information. It will be colorful or just simple white in color but the flashcard lovers know what the importance of it is. It’s a part and parcel of their everyday routine just like a cup of morning tea.

Flashcards are really in handy and proven way for learning new words. It’s very easy to make. At first, you have to take a simple piece of paper or cardboard. Then write your new word on one side and a definition on the other. Sometimes, you can add more colors or pictures so that you can easily visualize the meaning of the word.

Tips: Just making flashcards won't increase your vocabulary. You have to do practice it regularly. Hold the words in your mind.

It’s all about the methods. Now It's time to do a backpack and start the journey. I wish you would be a good company.