Even the most linguistically strong person will complain to you about his or her struggle with English vocabulary. You can never learn enough of English words. There are so many new words out there that it's quite impossible to remember most of them. Each word has several synonyms, antonyms, and different forms of parts of speech, thus making the list of words longer. Most of us realize our limitation of vocabulary when we prepare for English testing exams like TOEFL or IELTS. But the time seems to be too short to learn so many new words. In my GRE, for example, I've come across words in the questions whose meaning was unfamiliar to me and also the answer words that looked strange too. Though it is impossible to learn so many new words before the exam, you should use certain techniques to remember them vaguely. Here are some vocabulary-building tips that can help you.

Write down the new words

Just reading the new words aloud won't help you to remember the words. You need to write them down. Besides the word, you can write a sentence involving that word, or draw a picture. This will improve your information-retaining capability.

Revise the vocabulary

If you have decided to learn 10 words a day, for example, then you should not forget to revise the previous ones. You should go back to revising those words as well. Revising the words regularly will help you to recall those words easily.

Read more

You should spend time surrounded by English. So, find a book from your home library and start reading it. Here also use a note to write down the difficult words. You should look up in the dictionary or search online for the meaning of the word.

When you do practice tests, the context is displayed before showing the questions. The texts are arranged after a lot of thought by the examiners. So, you can learn new words by rearing those extract. Also, you can learn new information about the world or society.

Reading is a very powerful tool for improving vocabulary. So, read different types of books and articles so that you come across varieties of new words.

Use flashcards

It's a very common yet effective technique to learn new words. Get some square-shaped small cards and write down the new word on one side and the meaning on the other side. Put all the cards in a small bag. Whenever you go carry the cards with you. Take out the cards and try to remember their meanings. If you can't recall the meanings right away, turn around the card to look at the meaning. Arrange the flashcards according to different themes. For example, make a group of flashcards for words related to sports and then another related to business.

Have an immersive English experience

You should surround yourself with English, meaning do everything that involves English like watch movies, read newspapers, help your younger brother with story reading, speak to a native English-speaking friend, read a blog, and other things.

Listen to an English radio program

You should listen to the radio where they play English songs or have talk shows in English. Listening to these English content will help you learn new words too.

Play word games

You will find many word games online that will help you to learn new words. Do some research to find out some free online games to help you develop your vocabulary. The classic 'Scrabble' is a wonderful game to learn new words.

Apps

You can download various word-learning apps on your smartphone. These apps have interesting ways of teaching you new words. There will be exercises, games, and tests to help you improve your vocabulary.

Join communities

You can join social media groups or forums focused on English vocabulary learning. You can discuss with others regarding the meaning and usage of new words. You can have a conversation surrounding those words to help you retain the new information in your memory.

Contextual learning

A single word can be used differently in sentences giving them a different meaning. So, only memorizing the meaning of a word is not enough. You should be able to use them properly in sentences. You must remember doing 'make sentences' with new words in your literature class when you were young. The purpose of giving you such an assignment was to help you apply the word in a sentence properly besides knowing its meaning. You should maintain a vocabulary journal to keep track of the words you have learned along with their meanings. Try writing a paragraph or an article using the new words that you have learned. You can even use them in composing emails or social media posts.

Repeat and review

Using the new words repeatedly in your writing will move those words from your short-term memory to the long-term one. So, you will never forget those words.

Apart from reading stories and articles, you should read idioms, synonyms, and antonyms. Using words in different forms will help to improve your English. If your vocabulary is strong then you will be able to answer many questions in the English tests. When you talk to your friends or family members, try to use the new words you have learned. Teach them those words. That way you will remember the words well. Vocabulary is a major section of all English Language exams. So, whether you take TOEFL or IELTS, you cannot avoid learning new words. So, use these tips and techniques to build up your vocabulary.