Vocabulary Strategies

Strategies for learning vocabulary range from rote memorization to fun and interesting games. Tailor your strategy to your learning style or play some fun games with words to memorize vocabulary words quickly and easily.

Visual Learners

Visual learners learn best by reading and writing. Visual learners can often improve their vocabulary by doing something as simple as reading a lot. When you read a new word that you don't know, if you take the time to look it up, you are likely to remember that word. In fact, discovering a new word in the context of a book may be one of the best ways to remember it, since you’ll be able to remember it in light of the sentence in which you found it. Reading new vocabulary words by signing up for Word of the Day lists may also be a great strategy for learning new vocabulary.Visual learners may also benefit from tried and true methods of memorizing vocabulary words. When students in school learn new vocab, they often do so by writing the words in sentences and writing out the word and the definition several times. This process of memorization through writing can help you commit large lists of words to memory. Play with the idea of learning words by writing sentences by writing a sentence containing a new vocab word and then another sentence containing the antonym (the opposite word). This way, you can learn two words at once and remember both because of the association between them. You can do the same with synonyms and even homonyms, in case you get bored with just writing sentences. Flash cards may also be useful. Write the word on one side and the definition on the other. You can even make this into a game if you have friends or relatives who also enjoy learning vocabulary words. Set up your flashcards as a makeshift Jeopardy board, and award points if the person gets the definition of the word correct.You can also devise mnemonic devices by coming up with associations for the words. For example, if you are trying to learn the word “boisterous” which means rough, stormy, turbulent or noisy, you could create a word association like Boy did those boisterous people stir up trouble for us. "Boy-stir-us.”

Auditory Learners

Auditory learners learn by listening. When an auditory learner has a list of vocabulary words to write, making a tape recording of the words may be the best option. People can effortlessly memorize songs and television commercials by listening to them; employ this same strategy with new vocab words. Record yourself saying the words you want to learn and listen to the tape while in the car or making dinner. You can multitask and learn by listening.

Vocabulary Games

Both auditory and visual learners can learn new vocabulary words by making a game out of it. Crossword Puzzle Games.com allows you to design your very own crossword puzzle by inputting the words you want to learn and the definition of the word as hints. Make a crossword puzzle daily or weekly with words that you want to learn and then complete the crossword puzzle. You will feel as though you are just doing a fun activity and your brain will commit the words to memory. Likewise Armoured Penquin.com allows you to make your own word jumble. Enter the words that you want to learn and then you can spend time searching for them in the word search. When you find the word, ask yourself the definition. Learning while having fun can be a great way to memorize vocabulary words and improve your powers of speech.

Vocabulary Strategies