Start Reading to Increase Your English Vocabulary

Recently, one of the most popular target language students select is English. Reading can help you increase your vocabulary. Learning languages comes with benefits, such as job opportunities, better memory, and improved problem-solving skills. Although English is currently spoken by nearly one billion people, the number will increase in the future as its need rises. Before you start seeing results, you need to make an effort to reach your goal.

What does it take to speak a language? Time and practice. The process of learning a new language should be fun because you must dedicate hours to speaking and communicating. This includes having enough words in your vocabulary repertoire. Interacting with other English speakers can help, but using books to learn new words is another quick way to get better in the language.

Improve Your Vocabulary by Reading More

English language students often want to make quick progress in the language, but there is no easy or short way to do that. You have to go the extra mile. Therefore, use books to increase your English vocabulary. To speed up your learning, read material you are interested in. 

Written language is a practical way to learn how a language works. Before you can understand the meaning of complete sentences, you need to understand individual words, punctuation, spelling, among other aspects. Of course, this process should be complemented with listening, writing, and speaking. Pay attention to words in context rather than memorizing a long list of random terms.

How Often Should You Read Books?

Life gets busy with work and school, little time may be devoted to activities that will help you improve your vocabulary. There is no specific amount of time to dedicate to reading books or stories. You should pay attention to the knowledge you acquire and information you comprehend every time you pick up a book. Quality is better than quantity. 

Reading before bedtime can help you remember the words or expressions quickly. Also, you are likely to have fewer distractions at night. Additionally, you will get a break from electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or TVs if you add reading to your night routine. In short, there is no specific amount of time of the day to crack open a book and learn something new. 

Genres to Read to Improve Your Vocabulary

Possessing some cultural context is essential to having a better understanding of a book or text, but that doesn’t mean you are limited to choosing outside of your favorite genre. There are different genres, such as horror, romance, fiction, suspense, mystery, etc., to choose from. If truth be told, reading any genre will actually help you enhance your English vocabulary because you will come across new words or expressions.

For this, you should add variety to your reading. That is to say, explore writing by different authors and styles available in your local bookstore. Additionally, you may find a new favorite genre hidden in another author’s words. Viewing reading as a fun hobby will help you take in new facts and information quickly.    

In fact, adding long books to your list of books to be read will be more beneficial to your learning process. You will tackle both vocabulary and reading comprehension. It might take some time to finish a long story, but the new knowledge will remain with you for a long time. 

Among the books you can add to your list before the year ends are 100 Years of Solitude, How to Kill a Mockingbird, Things Fall Apart, Invisible Man, and Don Quixote (check out our Instagram page for more recommendations). After you finish reading, leave a review for other potential readers and let them know what you think of the story. 

Techniques to Increase Your Vocabulary with Books

When you decide to learn new words using books, you should also prepare a plan to get the most out of it. Are you going to make learning single words or phrases a priority? Either way, a plan will keep your learning process more organized. Keep in mind that understanding the essence of the text is also important. 

One way to do this is to identify a new word. Then, highlight the term and write it down. On another piece of paper or in a special notebook, write the sentence containing the word from the book so you see how the term is used in context. After that, create your own sample sentences using the termt. If the meaning of the word is completely new to you, use an English dictionary as a guide.

Also, avoid memorizing long lists of random words. You need to actually see the word used in a sentence to gain clarity about its meaning. You’re most likely to remember a new word if you remember the whole sentence. In addition, reflect on what you’ve read and think of the context of the story. As a bonus, try to create your own story with the word!

Takeaway

Learning a new language is a fun activity because you gain a new skill and open the door to new opportunities. In many cases, you need to dedicate some time to get better at it, but you will eventually reach your goal. Vocabulary is an essential part that shouldn’t be left behind even after reaching a specific language proficiency level. Plays, novels, or short stories contribute to increasing your English vocabulary. The more you practice what you learn, the more proficient you will become.