Building Vocabulary - EnglishSolo

📖 How to Expand Word Knowledge for Faster Reading

Learning new words is vital to becoming a better reader. Your vocabulary should be constantly growing in order to increase reading speed and improve comprehension.

~3,000

Words used in everyday conversation by English speakers

10,000+

Additional words you may need for academic texts

English speakers generally use just a few thousand words in everyday conversation. Of course, you may need to know many additional words if you are reading an academic text.

🎯 Reading Strategies for Vocabulary Growth

Use reading strategies to help you gain more vocabulary:

🔍 Make Inferences and Use Context Clues

Use inferences and context clues to find word meanings from surrounding text.

🧩 Break Words into Smaller Parts

Break unknown words into smaller parts you can guess using prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

📖 Use a Dictionary

Use a dictionary to look up new words. Many learners say using a paper dictionary helps them better remember new words.

📝 Keep a Word Journal

Every day, write down three or four new words you have learned. Creating flashcards or word cards can also be useful. Your word card can contain several pieces of information in addition to the definition, such as synonyms, pronunciation, and part of speech.

🧩 Using Word Parts to Guess Meaning

The prefix, suffix, and root word can often give you clues to its meaning.

redistribution

You may not at first recognize this word.

re-

distribute

-tion

🔴 The prefix re- means "again"
🟢 The root verb distribute is more common, meaning "to give out or spread"
🟡 The suffix -tion is a noun indicator

Complete meaning: "The act of distributing something again"

📋 Example Word Card

ABUNDANT

Pronunciation

/əˈbʌndənt/

Part of Speech

Adjective

Definition

Existing in large quantities; plentiful

Synonyms

Plentiful, ample, copious, rich

Example Sentence

"The garden produced an abundant harvest this year."

Word Family

Abundance (noun), Abundantly (adverb)