How to improve your vocabulary for IELTS Test
The IELTS Test has no part which tests only the vocabulary of a candidate. But a wide range of vocabulary is indispensable, as your vocabulary is responsible for 25% marks in the IELTS writing and speaking tests. The vocabulary is also important for the IELTS Listening test and the IELTS Reading test.
Initially, you have to build up your vocabulary by reading English newspapers, English magazines and by listening to English news on preferably international TV channel. While reading or listening you must take note of unknown words and take the help of the good dictionary and write down the word meanings. But a single word is used to express different meanings. So just memorizing the word meanings is not a great idea. Taking notes of thousands of words or downloading a long list of unknown words and find their meanings in the dictionary is the most hectic and the absurd way to enrich your vocabulary. A lot of IELTS learners have seen to commit this same mistake without result.
So you have to build up your vocabulary in the right way using a little wit. You have to do it in such a way so that you can use your vocabulary into sentences in different ways. As an IELTS candidate you need to know the suitable use of words in each suitable situation and thus gain high score in the tests. You should learn the perfect way of grouping of words in a sentence (collocations), together with word forms i.e countable/uncountable, nouns, verbs, etc. You should focus on grasping the meaning of words in a particular context. So let’s now discuss how to improve your range of vocabulary in the most effective way.
- Listen a lot: The IELTS Listening Test is a very tough test for the non-native English speakers. In this test, you would have to listen to an audio, which is a recorded conversation of native English speakers. Assuming that you understand their accent, (you have heard a lot) you would come across with lots of new words. You have to understand the word meaning by the usage of it by the speaker. Accordingly, you have to write answers. So how to get practice? Listen to a lot of TV News, TV Shows, Debates on TV, News on Radio, etc. Try to understand the meaning of the word by noticing its’ use in the sentence. You will get lots of audios from the Internet which replicate the IELTS Listening test. Download the audios, listen to them time and again. Take help from a ‘Professional Tutor’ by getting admitted to a well reputed IELTS coaching center.
- Read a lot: Read English newspapers, Study business magazines or sports magazines. Download the IELTS Reading test sample papers from the Internet and read them, this way your reading will be perfectly focused. Also reading the sample papers will make you aware of what you should learn for the exam. Download IELTS sample vocabulary papers from the Internet memorize them, but don’t cram them. The more new word you come across, the better for you. Remember, you need to know the contextual word meaning, not just the meaning of the word from the dictionary. Taking help from a professional coaching center would help you in many ways, by saving your time and energy, by taking a series of mock tests and so on.
- Speak a lot: For the IELTS Speaking test you have to be a fluent speaker of the English language and your vocabulary should be very good. Though it is not a test for vocabulary, but a great vocabulary is a must. So, to be fluent in spoken English, start speaking in English as much as you can, think in English all the time. Not everyone is as lucky as to get a ‘Good English speaker’ to talk to. If you get one, keep speaking in English, speak with any English speaking person to become a fluent speaker. But being fluent is not all, you have to get rectified at every step so as to become a flawless fluent speaker. For being a ‘flawless speaker’ you would have to have a rich vocabulary and for making your vocabulary rich you should better take the help of a reputed coaching center or a reputed teacher who is famous for preparing students for IELTS.
- Write a lot: The IELTS Written test is the ultimate test of writing in excellent rich English, using a wide range of vocabularies. So a wide range of vocabulary has to be built by following ‘IELTS Sample Papers’ rigorously and repeatedly studying according to the pattern of the sample papers. From the Internet, you will get adequate IELTS Vocabulary lessons with the necessary word list, practice exercises, audios with the right pronunciation. As vocabulary alone bears 25% of the total marks in writing test, the importance of the right vocabulary is well understandable. A professional coaching center specialized in IELTS training would make you help a lot in your vocabulary building in the right way.
It is wise for you to understand exactly what kind of word meanings you need to know to enrich your vocabulary for IELTS. Having known what you need to know, strictly follow the right way to achieve it. Adhere to the tips and tricks you get from the sample papers downloaded from the Internet. Also strictly adhere to the instructions given by the coaching center you are studying in. Some precise tips on which areas you should work in are being given below:
Topic specific word knowledge : Like words in the environment, society, technology etc.
Functional words for speaking : Like giving opinions, citing examples etc.
Functional words for writing : Like link building words or phrases
Words for Academic Task : Like words for describing the current trends etc.
Apart from that so many examples can be cited, like learning special words for letter writing, learning special words for essay writing, learning idioms, phrases, also learning colloquial words (informal), learning specific words for official uses (formal). You should also learn from your own mistakes, naturally, your teacher’s help is a must, he would rectify your mistakes. Initially, you should start learning yourself by searching and downloading sample study materials for all IELTS tests following instructions and practicing accordingly.
The Perfect Way you should follow for enriching your IELTS Vocabulary:
Below given are some points to help you in increasing your range of vocabulary.
- Take notes while reading a good book of your choice, take notes while, watching TV debate shows, listening TV/Radio news or reading a magazine. Ask yourself whether you are enjoying learning this way. If the answer is no, then stick to the option you like after consulting your teacher. The study says a person learn more effectively from something when he enjoys or likes
- For the purpose of taking notes dedicate a special notebook, keep writing in it on a regular basis.
- While reading or listening to top selected audio or video try to note down at least 15 new words unknown to you. In the case of audio samples, listen again. Try your best to guess the contextual word meaning. This step is mandatory for remembering the words with their usage. Note all these 15 new words with their meaning in your notebook.
- Whenever you come across new words apart from writing word meaning, try to form new sentences. Get them checked by your teacher. When applicable, try to know the synonyms, antonyms, and pronunciation. Also, try to learn the tenses of the verbs.
- Continue this for one week, then repeat it. Again, go for learning new words in the same way.
- If you do learn 15 words a day for 7 days it makes that your vocabulary is richer by (7X15) or 105 words, but without repeated practice, you would forget a bigger percentage of them. So what to do? Practice the same words for another 3 days. It would take less time because everything is already written in your notebook . So in a span of (7+3),e. 10 days your vocabulary would become richer by 105 words which you would not easily forget.
A lot of practice under the affectionate guidance of a genuine ‘IELTS’ Tutor would make your life easier. Gradually you would start feeling that, you are learning in less time and you are learning more words a day. Proper learning under the guidance of an IELTS Teacher of reputed coaching center would slowly but surely lead you through the pathway of success to achieve your goal. The targeted goal for any candidate should be at least a ‘Band Score’ of 7+. Building your vocabulary is a time-consuming process, it would take 3 to 6 months, depending on your ability to remember, but the suggested ways are surefire ways to succeed.
Originally posted 2016-11-07 11:34:33.