Raise Your English Level with More Vocabulary

01Let's look at two English learners.

02One knows about 500 words and understands how they are used in a sentence.

03The other knows about 1,000 words but has some problems with grammar.

04Which person can understand and communicate more in English?

05Clearly, it is the person who knows 1,000 words.

06Some studies have shown that for learners to fully understand a written work, they need to know 95% or more of the words in it.

07That means that if there are only five or more words you do not know in a 100-word text, you might not really understand it.

08In today's program, we will give you some advice for building up your vocabulary.

09Vocabulary can mean a single word, two words such as phrasal verbs, or many words together, such as an expression.

10There are two important things to keep in mind when trying to learn new vocabulary.

11First, connect new words to a story or a situation.

12This makes it easier to remember vocabulary than studying words from lists.

13Second, be active, not passive.

14Make yourself use the new words.

15Here are some ways to do that.

16When you find a new word or expression in a story, repeat the sentence and think of the situation connected to the new vocabulary.

17Write down, then repeat in your head three to five more sentences that use the new vocabulary.

18Make your own short story and include several new words you want to remember.

19Each time you retell the story, you will review the new vocabulary in your mind.

20Make yourself explain the new word like you are a teacher.

21This is a great way to test how well you understand and can use the vocabulary.

22And if you have a study partner, you can explain the new vocabulary like you are a teacher.

23It is better to learn just a few words in a group of related items instead of all the words in the group.

24For example, if you try to learn the names of twelve different birds, you will certainly mix up which name goes with which bird.

25But if you simply learn the names of two or three birds and then learn a few more at another time, you will remember more easily.

26Learn how a word can be used as different parts of speech, such as a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

27Here are examples of the word hope used in four different ways.

28Be sure to learn which suffixes or endings are used for different parts of speech.

29For example, OUS, IC, FUL, and LESS make adjectives, while ION and NESS make nouns.

30Prepositions are among the hardest things for English learners to remember.

31For example, we say AMUSED BY and HAPPY WITH, but we cannot say HAPPY BY.

32So, you should memorize the word and its preposition TOGETHER as one unit instead of two separate words.

33Music often makes it easier to remember words or phrases.

34Sing along with a song.

35But make sure that you can remember the new vocabulary without the music, too.

36After all, you do not want to sing every time you try to remember something.

37Learn the tone of the vocabulary.

38Tone means the feeling the word carries with it.

39Tone can be positive or negative.

40And formal or informal.

41For example, the word idiotic means very stupid.

42It has a strong negative feeling and can be used as an insult.

43And howdy is a very informal use of hello.

44It is hard to learn about tone by yourself.

45The best way to learn the tone of vocabulary is to ask native speakers about it.

46There are many apps to help you learn vocabulary.

47They use a way of learning called spaced repetition.

48English in a minute, news words, and words and their stories are three programs that center on vocabulary on VOA Learning English.

49But you can learn vocabulary from any VOA Learning English program.

50Most of all, remember to be active instead of passive.

51Make yourself think and use new words.

52And you will see your vocabulary grow day by day.

53I'm Andrew Smith.

54And I'm Dorothy Gundy.