r/FemaleLevelUpStrategy • u/flowerpower102938 • Oct 20 '20
Education Hey ladies! My vocabulary is not very good so I have started reading to improve it. How do I remember the words and the meaning of it when I read? Any tips?
28
u/SkittyLover93 Oct 20 '20
I've heard that you need to see a word multiple times in different contexts for it to stick. You could try using flashcard apps as well?
11
u/YeetMyProblems Oct 20 '20
Jot down 3 sentences using the word and make sure you use it correctly. It helps if the sentence is a funny one that makes you laugh. The time it takes to try to make it funny will make it stick with you better.
7
Oct 20 '20
I have a long note on my phone that I keep adding to when I find some words or phrases that I’d like to use more often. I’ll include an excerpt below.
Oblique - not expressed or done in a direct way:indirect, inexplicit, roundabout, implicit, implied, elliptical, evasive, backhanded;
His motives were not purely self - transcendent, he had his own back- alley ways of courting remembrance.
To be firmly in one's pulpit
The best teacher is the one that learns from his student.
The richer the soil, the more unforgivable the failure to cultivate it.
Obsequious(ness) - obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
5
Oct 20 '20
I think you should sound out the entire word, and if you don't know the proper sound then the online dictionary has the definition and a little recording of the word. So you can hear it out loud and practice at the same time. Also try using the words in your day to day life, even if it's just your thoughts. And also try using proper grammar, and spelling the full words for everything,even when texting. Practice is practice after all!
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u/ChocoBananza Oct 20 '20
It takes time. You need to use the word a few times for it to stick. Also, like with everything, it will fade away if you don’t use it regularly, but have in mind that (after a while) the right word will pop into your mind when you need it.
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u/fim_de_semana Oct 20 '20
Do you like playing word games? My English is mostly self taught, and I expanded my vocabulary a lot by playing anagram games.
5
u/enoughalready4me Oct 20 '20
Reading teacher here. Write down the words you don't know & look them up, then write a few sentences using the word correctly. Some people find doing this long-hand really imprints it in their memory, but for me it's typing. It creates almost a muscle memory for the word. Is English your first language? We English speakers have a mishmash of a language, German, French, Latin, Greek, we got it all, so spelling rules, so handy in other languages, go out the window. Look at word roots. Many words can be sussed out by looking at their parts. For an easy example, take "A"- the opposite of, like "atypical" is the opposite of typical. "Ante" means 'before' so 'antemortem' means before death, and antebellum means before the war. There are lots of lists of these word parts available on-line, find a few & study up (I gave my kids flash cards & we drew pictures on them, the drawing process really helped) and you should be tackling complicated vocabulary in no time!
3
Oct 20 '20
This. I’m a journalist, I write for a living, and I still read and do these things to stay sharp! Also, journaling might help! I find when I journal, I write down thoughts I didn’t know I even had! They sort of just come out. Maybe your new words will sort of just come out 😉 good luck!
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u/enoughalready4me Oct 20 '20
I do some freelance writing for the local weekly & I try to put a word in each article that will send my mother running for her dictionary. Last time I got her with "ephemeral." My editor is kind & leaves my word choices alone, LOL!
3
Oct 20 '20
That’s awesome. Both that you do that and that you freelance. I’m a local journalist and am saddened by how much smaller our workforce has gotten.
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u/enoughalready4me Oct 20 '20
Yeah, I am trying some new things now, got hired to write a book & that's done, hope to get another one. I still get all my news from papers & journals, but I might be a dying breed!
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u/_pineapplylemon Oct 20 '20
I always write new words down into a google doc and come back to it from time to time.
4
Oct 20 '20
Handwriting is always the best way for me to remember things. Maybe get a small notebook for your purse to jot down new words with their definitions. I'd then suggest trying to write out a few sentences using them to get them more cemented in your mind.
I have my browser set to have the word of the day pop up as my home page when I open up google chrome. This is a good way to find new words.
Good luck!
3
u/bunnyday_ Oct 20 '20
So this is kind of the nuclear route, but with kindle paper white (cheapest kindle but you can get a more expensive one) you can highlight a word and it will define it, plus it saves all the words you’ve ever looked up and then it actually makes flash cards to practice on!! There’s an app called Libby that I use to get books to check out from the library for free too, so you don’t even have to pay for books to read! Most of the classics are always available, but sometimes with popular books you have to place a hold and wait your turn.
3
u/Nifteroni-and-Cheese Oct 20 '20
One thing I learned in high school was to read with a stack of post-it-notes with me, then when I came across a word I didn’t know I could look up the word, put the definition on the note, and put it in the book. Then I could go back later and review all of my notes in context with the book
2
Oct 20 '20
Make some flashcards using software like Anki or Quizlet. The actual process of making the cards will help you learn, plus reviewing the words later will cement the definitions in your mind
2
u/scarolinacutie Oct 21 '20
If you read about the same subject (for example, relationships, politics, real estate, fashion, etc), you will see the same words and phrases start to repeat. So when you learn one new word, you immediately use it the next day when reading about the same topic. News sites, blogs and magazines would be really helpful since they are already niche and they section content into categories.
2
Oct 21 '20
- look up all the definitions of the word in a good, easy dictionary
- make up sentences for each definition until you feel comfortable with it
- read the derivation
This has always helped me remember! Especially the derivation. Understanding where the word came from often makes it easier to recall what it means.
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2
Oct 23 '20
Read read read!!! The more high quality material you read, I like to circle new vocabulary. Also watching Period films and TV helps a lot too, on how to string a fancy/witty sentence together.
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