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How to improve your vocabulary

Case 1. Gathering and organizing your own vocabulary material in four easy steps

1...Imagine you're walking in the rain.
You're getting really wet.
Half way you meet a person and the two of you have a short conversation.
One moment you want to say "I have to go home because I'm all wet"
But...
you don't know how to say: "I'm all wet" in a foreign language.

While walking home you keep this problem in mind: the problem not being able to say that the rain made you all wet in this foreign language you are learning.

2. Coming home you get your dictionary and start looking for the word "wet"
Try to find anything about "wet" you might need in a normal day by day conversation: the adjective, adverb, the verb and phrases made up with "wet"

Write everything down in an organized way.
Don't choose, write words, compound words, phrases, expressions and verb-preposition combinations you probably will not use.
Just focus on necessary vocabulary, idiom.

3. In order to memorize the word more easily, play with it:

find synonyms: damp, drenched
find the antonym, the oppositi word: dry
find homonyms definition of homonym: wed
use in humorous, bizarre context: wet water
use in a context of your daily life: he still wets his bed

Don't simply try to learn the isolated word. Try to learn by using it in context. Use it in sentences.

4. Get your flashcard program and make a special about the word "Wet", using all the words and phrases you found in your dictionary.
Do not only put isolated words, to memorize, but also phrases containing "wet" and related words.
Adding pictures is a good idea for visual learner, while auditory learners might benefit from adding sound; the pronunciation of the words.

Don't overload your flashcard file: 20 cards per file should be enough: it's better to memorize in small portions than long extended lists.
It's much more important to train each small portion on a regular basis during a long period.

Using this strategy consequently every time you cannot find the right word or phrase, can quickly help you to build your very personal vocabulary.