1. STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING A POWERFUL VOCABULARY

2. What do you do when you encounter a new word in your reading?
Ask another student about the meaning
Try to guess the meaning of the word from the context
Look up the definition in a dictionary
Skip over the word and continue reading
Analyze the word for clues to its meaning

3. Strategies for building a powerful vocabulary
Strategy 1:
Check your knowledge of the words used most frequently in English
Strategy 2:
Focus on the words used in academic texts
Strategy 3:
Use the dictionary effectively
Strategy 4:
Keep a vocabulary notebook
Strategy 5:
Use study cards

4. Strategy 1: Check your knowledge of the words used most frequently in English
The research shows that a small percentage of words-about are used much more frequently than all the other words. If you know these words, you have a much better chance of understanding what you read

5. Strategy 2: focus on the words used in academic texts
Research on academic texts has shown that certain words are used very frequently in these texts, regardless of the subject matter. Learning these 570 academic words can improve your comprehension of academic materials

6. Strategy 3: use the dictionary effectively
Along with the definition, a dictionary provides a great deal of other information about a word. It tells you the part of speech of the word, how to pronounce it, and how to divide it into syllables. An example sentence is often included as well

7. Strategy 4: keep a vocabulary notebook
When you encounter new words, write them in a notebook that you use only for vocabulary and not for other course work. This notebook will help you study vocabulary more effectively. You can easily check your knowledge of words you have studied before.

8. Strategy 5: use study cards
Add new words that you encounter and want to learn. You should not remove a word from your set until you are completely sure of the meaning and can recall it instantly

9. Learning new words from your readings
Read a lot. Each time you see the word in context, you build up a stronger sense of its meaning.
Work with a new word in a way that requires active thinking. You need to analyze the word and use it in speaking and writing.
Note how a new word is used. If you look closely at the context and write down the sentence where you found the word, you are more likely to remember it.