Vocabulary is the essence of any language. As is life to human beings, so is vocabulary to language. Vocabulary comprises 25% marks in IELTS Writing and Speaking and plays a vital role in Listening and Reading tests too. Poor vocabulary makes you repeat words within a passage and run short of words while conversing with your examiner. As IELTS is an English Language Proficiency Test, good homework on vocabulary will help in improving the overall score.
TIPS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH VOCABULARY
1. Make a list of new English words daily with their meanings. Learn how to pronounce them and frame sentences using them.
2. Start with a count of 5 words per day. You would have learnt 30 new words in a week. Slowly increase the count to 50 new words per week.
3. Learn the common words that native speakers use in their day-to-day lives.
VOCABULARY FOR IELTS
Vocabulary for IELTS may be centred around the following areas:
- Shopping
- Sports
- Literature
- Music
- Innovation
- Knowledge
- Heritage
- Entrepreneurship
- Creativity
- Places
- Festivals
- Vehicles
- Fashion
- Technology
Another common misconception is that getting to know new words (especially difficult ones) is vocabulary. Many are unaware that vocabulary doesn’t end there. You should also know to use those words contextually.
Eg: He had a quick lunch —- Correct usage
He had a fast lunch —— Wrong usage
The word ‘fast’ doesn’t pair with lunch, as ‘quick’ does.
What you need to know is the right vocabulary to answer questions on a particular topic and know how to make use of it. You need not know every word related to the subject.
VOCABULARY FOR LISTENING
Ears can do wonders. They have a unique capacity of retaining information that they are often made to listen to. So listen to podcasts, speeches, audios of native English speakers via authentic sources. You would see a dramatic improvement in your vocabulary after a period of time. Familiarize yourself with the words that native speakers often use.
How to use an English movie to learn English?
- Select a movie
- Watch the movie in your native language, if available.
- Watch the movie again with English subtitles or dual subtitles (English and native language)
- Select an interesting scene and use the pause button in places you find it to be too fast. Understand the scene thoroughly.
- Watch the movie many times, but each time with a difference. Try watching the movie by removing the subtitles ( both English and your native language)
- Your ears will do the magic of connecting to your memory and will make you say, what you heard often in the movie.
- You can refer your dictionary and get to know the meanings of words you don’t know.
You can improve your listening skills in this way.
VOCABULARY FOR WRITING
Writing task 2 for both versions (Academic and General) involves writing an essay, in about 250 words. There are specific structures for different types of essays. But in every essay, an introduction has to be paraphrased.
Paraphrasing
There are two important components to any word. They are synonyms and antonyms.
| Synonym – a word that means exactly, the given word
For example:
|
| Antonym – a word that means the opposite of a given word.
For example:
|
Learning synonyms and antonyms are important because they aid in developing a skill called paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is the ability to convey the same thing using different words.
| Example:
Nearly all the students who went to the roadside shop fell ill. Majority of students who visited the roadside shop became sick. |
Apart from this, there is writing task 1 of the Academic version, which involves visual interpretation and vocabulary related to maps, pie-charts, bar graphs, line graphs etc. Each of them has a dedicated vocabulary. They are given below:
| Maps: Related vocabulary
Pie-charts, Bar-graph, Line-graph: Related Vocabulary Process diagram: Related Vocabulary |
Writing task 1 of General version involves writing a letter and vocabulary related to it.
VOCABULARY FOR SPEAKING
Learning to use idioms and phrasal verbs will fine-tune your English.
Idioms are phrases that do not have the same meaning as the words actually spoken. Many people try to insert them while speaking and it will look quite unnatural. Those people who use them well have actually picked them up through experience.
| Eg: raining cats and dogs – raining heavily.
– It’s been raining cats and dogs all day. |
Eg: Blow your own trumpet – Boast
|
Phrasal verbs:
Phrasal verbs are phrases that indicate actions. They usually consist of a verb with a preposition or an adverb.
Look forward to :
Meaning – search/seek Example: She is always looking forward to the holidays. |
VOCABULARY FOR READING
Reading comprehension involves multi-tasking, and thus it can be easy for some aspects of a text to get lost. But it is just like any other skill and can be improved by practice.
- Learn the art of skimming and scanning.
- Learn how to derive the central idea of a given passage quickly.
- Also, follow this rule of thumb “Never learn words in isolation”. Always learn them in a context.
| Example: Word – Tantalizing
Meaning – arousing desire or expectation for something unattainable or out of reach Word in the right context – He always gave tantalizing glimpses at the diamond section of the Jewelry shop. |
Read English newspapers regularly. Make reading English books as your hobby. When you read for pleasure you automatically understand things, once you felt difficult. When you strain yourself to do something which you don’t like, you tend to ignore the nuances of it and hence cannot reap full benefits.
Tips to learn new words:
Mnemonics: Is a memory technique that helps in faster recollection of new words learnt.
For example, to remember the OSI layers: [Physical layer, Datalink layer, Network layer, Transport layer, Session layer, Presentation layer, Application layer].
The acronym – PDNTSPA (the first letter of every layer) will help you recollect the OSI layers.
Use visuals for memory retention:
For example, the symbol of the computer language “Java” is a cup of coffee. Whenever you hold a coffee mug, you will automatically recollect Java.
How to familiarise yourself with new words?
As in a diet regime, where you are asked to take small portion of meals in regular intervals, so is the familiarisation technique with words. Don’t get exhausted trying to remember the new word by thinking continuously on it. Forget it for a while. Then come back. This is a powerful exercise.