How to Learn New Vocabulary: 3 Practical Ways to Find Useful Words
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In this guest post, Kerstin Cable from Fluent Language shares her practical approach to learning new vocabulary.
My name is Kerstin and I’m a dictionary fiend. Learning new words and figuring out how they’re related to other languages is one of my favourite parts of language learning.
The following advice about vocabulary learning is based on what works well for me and the research into learning and teaching I did while writing The Vocab Cookbook.
I think about vocabulary learning in four stages: finding new words, memorising them, revising them and recalling them when I need them.
Fi3M update: Later research supports a flexible mix. Contextualised and decontextualised word-focused practice can complement each other, while spacing, retrieval and corrective feedback can improve retention.
A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.
Acquiring New Words
There are three ways that you can add new words to your vocabulary:
Method 1: Use High-Frequency Lists as a Starting Point
With the number of words in any language being potentially endless, many language learners seek out high-frequency word lists. You can find these online or use a curated list such as the French “Mot à Mot” or the German “Mastering German Vocabulary”.
For many people, this is a real strategy, the “I’ll study the 2,000 most frequent words and then I’ll have basic fluency” approach. Relying on a list alone, mind you, sounds about as appealing to me as getting to know new people by reading the telephone book.
Word lists can be an efficient way to learn basic form–meaning pairs, especially as a beginner. I still prefer to use them as reference tools and then meet the words in examples, because that gives me more information about how they work.
I make one exception when I want students to focus specifically on writing. We create an exercise with common word lists, making sentences with randomly selected words and building up to ten words in one sentence.
It’s a fun, creative exercise, but I use the following techniques much more often for finding useful vocabulary.
Method 2: Find Words in Texts and Videos
For more vocabulary tips, follow @languagehacking and start with this answer on learning phrases rather than individual words.
Learning new words is dull as dishwater without any context, so look for input you can understand. I usually teach new words by pointing them out in texts, repeating them in several examples or telling a short story. Storytelling is one useful way to find new words and put them to work straight away.
There’s a useful set of vocabulary acquisition and revision guidelines at Omniglot. Simon recommends that intermediate and advanced learners work with parallel texts, which print the languages side by side. I do this quite often; it’s the literary equivalent of watching original films and shows with subtitles in a language you already understand.
Don’t turn your nose up at having the translation nearby. It’s practical for understanding stories, and interesting material will keep you going. Short stories, children’s literature and picture books can also work well for early learners.
Be organised about researching and recording new words and phrases so you can return to them regularly. The routine I use with videos and books is simple: highlight, research and record.
Highlight a new word when you find it, research it in a dictionary or another reliable source, then record it in Anki, a vocabulary notebook, a database or anywhere else you’ll revisit.
Method 3: Learn Through Conversation
Travelling to a country where your target language is spoken isn’t an option for everyone. You can still find proficient speakers, start a conversation and learn new words in real life.
If you’re a beginner, don’t get too hung up on learning only from a native speaker. Anyone ahead of you may have something valuable to teach, but conversation doesn’t remove every doubt: context can be ambiguous, speakers vary, and anyone can make a mistake. Ask what the word means, how it’s spelt and how it’s pronounced, then check anything uncertain against a reliable dictionary, recording or teacher.
Benny has already shared plenty of advice on finding a language exchange. One thing I love to do when travelling or visiting a foreign restaurant or shop is to look around carefully, noticing signs and labels and looking for familiar words.
The last three times I travelled to Russia, I wandered around Moscow pronouncing street signs and shop names to myself. I wasn’t lost; I was practising my Cyrillic!
If you’re past the complete beginner stage, there’s one question I want you to ask: How do you spell that? It puts the other person into “teacher mode”, meaning they may be ready to correct and help you improve. It also makes taking useful notes much easier.
Learn New Words From Anywhere
Any source of a new word is fair game! It doesn’t matter if you learn it from a book or from real life. I get a buzz every time I learn something new, it doesn’t matter which language it is in or where I found the word.
In fact, my own favourite place to get a quick fix in a new language is the ingredients list on food packaging like cereal boxes and cakes.
Make Notes You’ll Actually Revisit
One useful action you can take today is to organise your vocabulary notes.
I love me some good notes, and many of my most successful learners organise theirs well. Use a large notebook, a project pad or a notes app, with sections for vocabulary, exercises and grammar. I still prefer paper, but the best system is one you’ll keep using.
For another vocabulary-focused resource, have a look at Fi3M’s The Vocab Vault.
Use Cognates as a Vocabulary Shortcut
Shared vocabulary often comes from cognates, words in different languages that share a common origin and have similar forms and meanings. Historical contact, trade, migration and conquest have all left traces in English and French vocabulary.
One useful clue is the French circumflex. In many French words, it marks a historical s, which you can see in pairs such as “hâte” and “haste”, “hôpital” and “hospital”, and “forêt” and “forest”. It’s a clue, not a rule that works for every circumflex or every English equivalent.
Cognates can give you a head start, especially when the languages overlap in both form and meaning. That doesn’t mean you already know the new word, its pronunciation or its grammar, and false friends are a good reason to check before using it.
Start Learning New Vocabulary Today
You’re ready to start building your vocabulary. There are better and worse techniques for a particular goal, but no single method suits every learner. Here’s what you can do now:
- Ask how to spell and pronounce new words you learn in conversation.
- Build a routine of highlight, research and record.
- Try to recall a word before checking the answer, then come back to it later.
- Set a realistic target: not “500 words this week”, but “every new word is a win”.
A system you return to is more useful than a perfect system you abandon. If you’ve built a paperless learning system, by the way, I’d love to hear about it.
Kerstin Cable is a native German speaker and has lived in the UK since 2003. She has studied English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish and Russian, and writes about language learning at Fluent Language. She is the author of The Vocab Cookbook.
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