English Vocabulary Minimize and Grow.

English Vocabulary Minimize and Grow

Let’s talk about English vocabulary study. Hi, I’m Mark Smith of Smith’s School of English and I have been coaching English conversation since 1996. One question I have been asked hundreds of times is, “What is the best vocabulary to study?” so, I will now discuss a shortcut that has helped hundreds of beginners master day to day English quickly.

How Many Vocabulary?

How many English vocabulary do we need to join an everyday English conversation? This is another question that I have been asked many times and, of course, there are various opinions, by many expert linguists about how many words we need to join an everyday English conversation. When I read these opinions most of them simply frighten me and I’m sure that indications that native English speaking high school students know 30,000 words or that a native English speaking child aged five knows 10,000 English Vocabulary would depress any student of English Conversation.

Impossible

The full English Vocabulary is massive. It is too big for any human to study in a lifetime. Whether you are a native English speaker or a student studying English conversation as a second language it doesn’t make any difference, thinking to master the entire English vocabulary is impossible. So, don’t try. It’s depressing.

Minimize Vocabulary Study

It is surprising how little of the English vocabulary is required to join in an everyday English conversation. So which vocabulary do we study to get going? That is actually easy. We study the words we need and only the words we need.

Repeat Repeat Repeat

Yes I know it is boring and most students want to study “Interesting” vocabulary however what we need to speak English is to know the basics very well. So once we find our English vocabulary set we repeat it until we master it and we improve quickly.

English Vocabulary Set

To build a personal vocabulary set one simply breaks one’s own day down into minute detail. Make note of every word one needs in one’s native tongue. Translate those words and bingo! It is as simple as that.

Expand English vocabulary

As your life expands so must your vocabulary. This month I began a new sport. I began Paragliding. My teacher and fellow students all study in Japanese and so my Japanese vocabulary set needed to expand. I have lived in Japan for thirty years and consider myself fluent in everyday Japanese conversation. Yet, never before have I needed to know the meaning of 乱気流  Rankiryū no eikyō (Effect of turbulence) or ライズアップ時の頭上安定  Raizuappu-ji no zujō antei (Overhead stability during rise-up) but now I need those vocabulary so, I must study those words. But it would be a waste of time perfecting fluency in my Japanese vocabulary set to master these words if I never needed them.

Keep it Simple

So, Keep it simple and quickly master simple daily English conversation. 1. Define a vocabulary set of your daily activities. 2. Repeat Repeat Repeat. 3. Expand the vocabulary set as life expands.