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Learn NEW VOCABULARY and REMEMBER IT!

A really common question I get all the time is, how do I learn new vocabulary. But more importantly, how do I remember it? What should I do? Well, if you ask any English teacher, they will happily tell you this: vocabulary, it’s quite easy. Watch movies in English, read books in English and listen to the radio in English. Done, leave me alone! Okay, that advice is fine, but really, we all knew that. And maybe you already do those things. So what is real advice? Well, today, I’m going to show you 5 real ways to improve you vocabulary but most importantly, remember it.

Number one, we have to make the vocabulary relevant. Make a list of your aims, your goals. Why are you learning English? What do you want to achieve with it? Do you want to learn tourism vocabulary for a holiday? Do you want to learn “job interview” vocabulary so you can succeed in a job interview? It’s not worth learning tons of new vocabulary about a wide variety of topics; if actually, you only talk about this one, small thing or these couple small things. For example if your goal is to be able to talk about football in English, it’s really not going to help you, if you start learning business vocabulary because you might not use it. Think about how you’ll use this new vocabulary and find material, specific to your aims. If you’re trying to learn English for your job, in fashion for example, start following fashion YouTubers, people who talk about fashion, fashion magazines. Follow fashion websites. Again, you have to make the vocabulary relevant to your goals. Also, that new vocabulary that you’re learning, make a list of it. We’ll talk about that later.

Number two, listen to the radio. Listening to the radio in English is great. It’s great for your listening and also for your speaking. Those two skills really complement each other well. But, here’s how to make the most, out of listening to the radio. Have it playing in the background, when you’re walking, when you’re at the gym, when you’re not really focusing on the radio itself. You shouldn’t be trying to understand 100% of the conversation, 100% of the time. That wont work. And that is fine that you don’t understand everything. The focus shouldn’t be on, what they’re saying on the radio. The focus should be on how they’re saying it. Think about their style of speech, their intonation. You’re listening and like, oh, that’s how you pronounce this word. That’s how babies learn pronunciation, that’s how you should learn, like a baby. That’s the benefit that you’ll get from listening to the radio. Also if you want a recommendation of a radio station, the one I listen to, is LBC; it’s a London based radio station. They talk about news and current events; a variety of opinions and a variety of accents. I like it and it’s all talking so you can really practice your listening with a variety of British accents.

Number three, books; yes, it’s a great tip but reading should be about fun. Again, don’t worry about understanding every single word. Don’t translate words. Don’t try to understand 100% of the words. Most of the time, it’s not necessary and most of the time, you’ll understand the story from context. Reading should be about fun.

Number four; get creasy and funny in English. Remember I told you, to write a list of all those new vocabulary words that you’ve learned, well, this is how you use it to your full advantage. So, you learn a new piece of vocabulary, you learn a new piece of grammar, you’ll make an example sentence of it to remember, right? Yes, but we all know that you’ll remember a creasy or funny situation, much more than just a boring one, right? For example, you probably don’t remember your trip to work, unless something creasy happened. The same rule applies with memorization of vocabulary. For example, if you learn the expression, be about to do something and you learn that it means, you’re going to do something right now. Well, you could make a sentence like, I’m about to drink tea. That’s fine but it’s boring and you won’t remember it. But, make that example creasy and funny. For example, I’m about to play cards with a fish. This situation, you’re more likely to remember it because it’s wired.

And finally, number five; practice English when you’re feeling emotional. If you’ve just had a breakup or someone died, this is a perfect time to practice your English. I’m not kidding; you will feel much more natural in another language if you practice it when you attach an emotion to it. Oh my god, I’m so sorry about your divorce. Maybe you should speak in English about it. It sounds strange but, trust me, it will really help.

Thanks for watching. If I’ve missed any really cool tips, let me know in the comments. Also let me know which type of video, you’d like to see in the future.