Building vocabulary in English will be easier, more enjoyable, and with faster results if you take the scientific advice from this article. Linguistic researchers point to a number of effective tools to improve vocabulary memorisation. These will quickly improve conversation and comprehension.
A large vocabulary is essential for understanding and speaking another language. William Nagy and Patricia Herman are two reputed academic researchers in the area of vocabulary. Their work in 1987 found that native speakers of English have a vocabulary of 10,000 - 100,000 words. English as a second language (ESL) speakers have a much smaller vocabulary. It averages 5,000 - 7,000 words according to Singer's research on "Instruction in Reading Acquisition" in 1981.
An immersive technique is the best way to learn more words. Students can experience quicker and more effective results by first deciding which vocabulary-learning strategies to adapt. From here, students should participate in a few of the following methods regularly:
Independent reading has numerous advantages for learning new vocabulary. It is a method used by native speakers and ESL learners to broaden their knowledge of English words and see them used in context. Linguistic experts recommend reading widely, which means reading across fiction and non-fiction. Nagy, Herman, & Anderson (1985) researched how wide reading assists children to learn words incidentally. More words are learned by those who read regularly than by those who don't.
ESL learners can access books in English from schools, universities, the local library, a city library, book shops, or book clubs. There are also magazine or newspaper subscriptions such as The Economist and National Geographic.
Affordable second-hand books can be found on Amazon Marketplace and similar online stores, Facebook Marketplace, charity shops, and car boot sales. Ebooks are cheaper than new paper books and can be purchased from online marketplaces. Many open-access online academic articles in English are available to read on Google Scholar. Similarly, there are free blogs, news websites, and articles to read online.
The simple exercise of keeping a vocabulary notebook is surprisingly powerful. Numerous researchers state that this method has great payoffs for learning vocabulary. Schmitt & Schmitt (1995) stated that a vocabulary notebook helps to encourage independent vocabulary study. It can also act as a revision and learning aid if designed correctly. Forming a daily or weekly habit of adding new words and their meanings can have a profound effect on increasing vocabulary knowledge.
Schmitt suggests creating a notebook with loose pages or cards that are in a file, folder, or binder. This makes it easier to rearrange, order, and move around while studying the words. Adding drawings and images helps reinforce the word during memorisation. A digital notebook, notes app, document, spreadsheet, or presentation slides are other ways to keep a list of new words learned.
Flashcards are very similar to a vocabulary notebook. However, unlike keeping a list of your new words, flashcards also test ESL learners on words they might not know. Chinese researcher Wu created three studies (2014, 2015a, and 2015b) to look at the relationship between flashcards and learning vocabulary. It was found in each study that a flashcard mobile app increased the retention of English words for Chinese ESL university students.
Another study by Zakian et al. (2022), discovered comparable results. A group of Iranian ESL university students were given a premium flashcard mobile app to learn vocabulary. It featured pronunciation and speech details, as well as correct definitions. The control group only used the basic version. The findings showed that the premium flashcard app improved English word knowledge by 40% more than the group using the basic app.
Rather than creating hundreds of flashcards, it is easiest to access a bank of ready-made flashcards online. This saves time and has the element of surprise since the learner doesn't know which words are in the bank. Language learning websites offer flashcard resources, as well as language mobile apps such as Vocabot. Simply choose a topic to practise and get started.
Listening and conversing with a native English speaker is beneficial for an authentic language experience. ESL learners will be able to listen to native phrasal verbs, idioms, new vocabulary, and known vocabulary in context. Not only can an ESL learner enhance their confidence with comprehension, but they can also ask questions and get feedback.
ESL learners can interact with a native speaker to practise discussions, asking for definitions in English, using new vocabulary, and asking for synonyms. One-to-one conversation sessions can be booked with a native teacher online, through friends, a language school, a language exchange, when travelling, and through social media.
Podcasts and audiobooks are excellent resources for learning the correct pronunciation of words in a target language. A scientific review by Singh & Alexander in 2022 looked at studies on the subject. They found that audiobooks combined with printed books have a better impact on learning vocabulary than print alone.
Podcasts have the same effect. Both offer a different and interesting way for ESL learners to enjoy immersing themselves in English. Students have a huge variety of topics and genres to choose from. This is due to the recent increase in high-production podcasts and audiobooks in English.
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Amazon Music are a few places to browse podcasts. Audiobooks are available from Audible, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Digital Book, and OverDrive to name a few.
Films are a great asset for building vocabulary. They allow viewers to use a system called "dual-coding," according to research by Kanellopoulou et al. in 2019. The meaning of words is portrayed first visually and then verbally. The body language, gestures, and dialogue of the actors combined with the other images and sounds in each scene allow deeper learning of the language.
Subtitles when viewing films improve the rate of vocabulary learning even more. Sadiku (2018) studied the difference that subtitles make for ESL learners. The research showed that watching an English-speaking film with subtitles in the native language was the most effective. ESL learners were able to retain more vocabulary using this method compared to no subtitles or English subtitles.
Using a vocabulary notebook while watching films is an additional idea. Writing down unknown words and cross-referencing with a dictionary later, as well as noting new learned words, are helpful for long-term memory retention.
Similar to watching films, webinars can help build vocabulary. This is particularly interesting for adult learners who want to learn business English. Choosing a subject that interests the learner is important. This could be marketing, advertising, industry trends, creative writing, or any other skill enhancement.
LinkedIn, university websites, Google, the International Institute for Learning, and HubSpot are some platforms that offer free webinars.
Social media sites such as Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp can be effective tools for learning new vocabulary in English. A 2020 Malaysian study found that 60.4% of primary school children who used social media in English used the words they learned when communicating with others. A further 73.6% said they use the new words learned in their written work.
YouTube is a useful channel for accessing videos in English. From the top 243,000 YouTube channels in 2019, Pew Research Centre found that over 41,000 YouTube channels were in English (17%). This gives English learners a lot of options to find video topics they are interested in. Subtitles can be used to help learn new words.
Twitch is an American live-streaming channel. It is recommended for ESL learners who want to watch content about gaming and esports.
Instagram Reels and TikTok have short videos. These are clips up to three minutes long. YouTube also has similar-style videos called Shorts. They usually have subtitles, otherwise captions can be switched on. Videos are excellent for listening to English words in context.
Facebook, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Quora, and Reddit are social media channels to help with reading and writing in English. Comments, posts, and messages in English are great for learning and practising new vocabulary. Adult learners interested in business might prefer channels such as LinkedIn, whereas younger ESL learners might prefer WhatsApp.
Video games have been researched over the last ten years as having a positive impact on learning. This includes PC games, mobile games for smartphones and tablets, and console games. A study by Chang et al. in 2008 found that video games that allow the user to explore and collect items were best for maintaining interest and remembering words.
Vahdat & Behbahani (2013) discovered that adventure games were the most popular and effective for learning new English vocabulary. They tested the game Runaway: A Road Adventure on a group of male and female ESL undergraduate students. Results showed that 65% of the learners agreed that having fun in the game helped them learn vocabulary for longer. 85% agreed that video games helped them intentionally learn new words. 70% agreed that the virtual world of gaming improved how many new words they acquired.
Quiz apps have also been researched for their value as a vocabulary tool. Naz et al. (2022) studied the effect of using Kahoot on building English vocabulary. Their findings showed that the group that used Kahoot had 45% better retention of new vocabulary than the control group that used traditional methods.
Language learning apps are easy to access for ESL students. Their general affordability, ease of download, quick use throughout small intervals of the day, and interactive games make these apps a favourite tool with learners. Research such as that by Guaqueta et al. in 2018, Wang in 2017, and Deris & Shukor in 2019 finds that language learning apps on mobiles are a positive experience. In the participant survey conducted by Deris & Shukor, 77% of learners agreed that mobile games are fun for learning vocabulary and motivate them to use these apps every day.
Vocabot is a language-learning mobile app that uses Telegram. It is a free tool for ESL learners to access, providing useful ready-made flashcards and vocabulary practice on-the-go.
In summary, ESL learners can build their vocabulary by using a mix of tools available online and offline. Customising a vocabulary plan based on the ESL learner's strengths and interests gives the best results. To make sure new vocabulary isn't lost quickly, it's important to write down new vocabulary in a notebook as well as practise using it. By trying the methods in this list consistently, ESL learners will see a steady increase in the number of words they know and a faster recall of them during conversation.
