How to Improve Your English Vocablary

There are many ways you can improve your English vocabulary, not only so that you will know and understand words and phrases but also so you can use them correctly in your everyday speech. Reading makes a great way to expand your vocabulary, and you can use other tools to help boost your knowledge.

• 1

  Consult your dictionary often. Having a good dictionary is essential to building a solid vocabulary, and you can also find dictionaries, such as the popular Merriam-Webster dictionary, online. The online edition includes a Word of the Day that users can access on the site or receive daily via e-mail by signing up for it. You can also follow Merriam-Webster on Twitter so you can access the Word of the Day.

• 2

  Practice word association: another effective way of helping you improve your vocabulary. Write a key word in the middle of a page in a notebook you designate as your vocabulary notebook. Draw a bubble around the word and draw lines from the circled word connecting them to smaller bubbles. Write words associated with the main word in the smaller bubbles.

• 3

  Play games like Scrabble or the now popular Words With Friends, which you can play on your iPhone or Andriod mobile phone. (Words With Friends allows you to compete with your friends remotely.) You'll learn to stretch your vocabulary in a fun and exciting way, and have a good time with your friends to boot.