How To Learn Vocabulary Fast: 17 Practical Tips

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Are you asking yourself questions like where to start with vocabulary learning, how to learn it, what methods to use for learning vocabulary…? Then you are right here. Vocabulary learning is a crucial part of our language learning journey. The most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun. Otherwise, it gets a lot more difficult.

This article will show you fun and effective ways for how to learn vocabulary fast. You can look forward to some tips and tricks on how to learn vocabulary fast on your own. I’ll reveal various creative ways to work with the vocabulary, games that will help you memorize new vocabulary, and strategies to make the learning process enjoyable. Let’s learn vocabulary together.

 

 

3 Steps For How To Learn Vocabulary Fast

Before we get round to it, I want you to remember 3 things about learning vocabulary.

A: When you learn new words, you have to use various tips & tricks that are effective. Find the ones that work best for you.

B: To memorize the vocabulary, you need to repeat these words many times and be constantly in contact with them. Don’t learn 10 words in one day and switch to the other 10 days the next day, leaving the words you’ve already learned behind. You need to constantly repeat words you have already learned. The best way is to play some games and have fun.

C: Practice makes perfect. Practice using it in sentences after you feel like you’ve mastered the vocabulary and are confident with it. Create texts, talk to yourself, or talk to your friends. Improve your language skills with various methods to understand the vocabulary in context. 

 

These are the 3 steps you have to implement when learning vocabulary. Below, I am giving you ideas for each step. Find out the best way to study vocabulary for you and use it to learn vocabulary on your own.

 

 

A: Tips & Tricks For Learning New Vocabulary

In the first section, I am giving you some tips to start studying new vocabulary. Remember that we want this process to be fun and effective. Just opening a book, writing words down, and trying to memorize them is not enough. You have to have constant contact with the language and the words you want to learn. So once you have the words you want to learn, you write them down in your language travel notebook, use these tricks to learn the vocabulary.

 

1. FLASHCARDS

Flashcards are one of the most effective ways for how to learn vocabulary fast. They materialize the whole vocabulary for you. So not only do you have the words in your memory, but you can visualize the vocabulary, hold it in your hand and carry them physically.

It’s also one of the best ways to be in contact with the vocabulary when designing your own flashcards. First of all, you think of the words you want to learn within a specific topic. Then you create flashcards and cut each flashcard. You’ll see the words various times during the process, which already makes you automatically memorize them.

 

 

2. VOCABULARY CARDS WITH IMAGES

Vocabulary cards with images are very similar to flashcards. These are basically cards with words that have a pair with image cards. You have to find a pair of word card with an image card.

Imagines are a fantastic way to memorize things. When you associate words with images, it helps you make unique connections in your brain. You are also using the brain’s left hemisphere, which is the creative part, so you not only memorize the words, but you create these unique connections.

The information is processed through a different channel, and it boosts the process of learning vocabulary.

 

3. CREATE MENTAL VISUALIZATIONS

If you associate words with images and real things that surround you, it helps you to remember the information much better. Imagine something in your head, for example, a sun, and then connect it in your mind with the word ‘sun.’

Coming up with these mental images and associating them with the words you are trying to learn is another great way to memorize and process new vocabulary.

 

4. VOCABULARY WALL

Cut small paper sheets, as many as you can. Write each word onto a sheet and glue them on the board. Or you can also put them on a wall. Choose a space on the wall in your room and create a vocabulary wall out of it. Attach all sheets with words on the wall that you want to learn that week or month.

This way, you have your vocabulary always handy. It’s constantly visible to you. Choose a wall or a spot where you spend most of the time at home so that you can be looking at the word sheets frequently.

 

 

5. WEEK SHEETS

Let’s say you have set up a goal that you’ll learn 50 words next week. After that week, once you have learned the vocabulary, there might still be some words you can’t memorize.

Write them down to your weekly sheet. Your weekly sheet has sections into which you can write the words you struggle with. This way, you’ll pay closer attention to these words, and hopefully will be able to memorize the words.

Get your WEEK SHEET here

 

6. EVERYDAY VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

Pick one or two of your topics within which you learn vocabulary. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out my article about how to learn a language by yourself.

Then, start doing an activity associated with your topic in your everyday life. For example, you are learning food vocabulary. Create your own recipe, write it down in the new language, and cook according to the instructions.

Also, you can use this technique to learn random vocabulary. For example, suppose you are going to a supermarket and on the way you see many things like a tree, a bus, a road, people, etc. You can translate these words on the way into the language you are learning and try to learn them on the way. Once you come back home, write these words down in your language travel notebook.

 

7. LEARN VOCABULRY WITH SONGS

Music boosts any activity we do. Whether it’s running, cooking, having a shower, or just chilling on a beach, it just gives you that extra energy and engagement in the activity. Learning new vocabulary isn’t an exception.

Find an easy song with a melody you love and listen to it. Print the lyrics, highlight new vocabulary and play it repeatedly. You’ll see how easily and almost effortlessly new vocabulary will jump into your head. Play the songs when going to work or while cooking dinner. The whole vocabulary learning process gets easier because you might not even realize you are learning something, especially after a difficult day.

 

 

B: Games To Be In Contact With New Vocabulary

As I mentioned above, once learning vocabulary, you need to be in constant contact with it. You have to repeat the words. Below, I am giving you some great game ideas to be exposed more to the vocabulary you want to memorize.

 

8. PEXESSO

Pexesso is always a fun game. Try it with new vocabulary. For example, you might use your flashcards with words and images, shuffle them all together, organize them, and play pexesso.

 

9. LETTER CARDS – SCRABBLE

You have cards on which there are only letters. You can play around and put these cards together, creating words you’ve been learning that week. Just like playing scrabble. It’s another perfect practice and memory activity for you to remember the words.

 

10. ONLINE GAMES

Any gamers here? Gaming online while interacting with other gamers in another language is also an effective way to learn new vocabulary. Many gamers understand a foreign language thanks to online gaming, and you can do so as well. It can be any game such as Minecraft, Age Of Empires, Escape From Tarkov, Detroit Become Human, or any other game that comes to your mind.

So choose a game you like to practice and memorize the vocabulary.

 

 

11. TABOO – PLAY WITH FRIENDS

Taboo is a perfect game. I always recommend my students create associations when it comes to vocabulary studying. Whether you are creating associations with images or finding other synonyms and antonyms for the word, it always helps you memorize the words better.

With taboo, you already have different synonyms and words with similar meanings written below the primary word. So you have to describe to your friend what word you have on the card without using any of those 4 words written on the card. It boosts the learning process a lot, not only because you see all these synonyms and associations. But also because you have to come up with different words to describe what is on your card.

 

12. IDEAS FOR GAMES & ACTIVITIES 

I’ve put together a list of great gifts for language learners, including exciting games you can play. They will help you to learn the language in a natural and fun way. It includes games such as play cards, storytelling, a dice game, a blank recipe book, and other tools for your language learning journey.

 

 

C: Ways To Practice Vocabulary

Lastly, we need to use the vocabulary in real life, construct sentences, and make connections. Here are the ways you can practice the vocabulary you’ve learned. It’ll help you not to forget it.

 

13. WRITE A STORY TO A FRIEND

Open your social media account – Facebook, Instagram, Email. Write a message to your foreign friend that speaks the language about what you’ve been up to. Tell them anything and try to use the vocabulary you are currently learning to practice.

 

 

14. TALK TO YOURSELF

This is my favorite strategy. Because you can do it everywhere and anytime you want. Let’s say you are waiting on a bus or train or walking to a shop, school, or work. Rekindle all vocabulary you have been learning recently and the sentences you wrote down to your language travel notebook. Then talk to yourself using them in your head. It is the best way to improve vocabulary.

 

 

15. SPEAK WITH LOCALS

Speaking is one of the most important skills in language learning. You need to overcome fear of speaking foreign language and use the vocabulary you have learned effectively. Find a friend online or a tutor and speak to him. You can even tell them what kind of vocabulary you learn at the moment and ask them to talk about it. Use one of the best 4 platforms to practice your vocabulary and speaking skills.

 

16. START A BLOG

Writing a blog is more for advanced language learners when you can create sentences on a topic you are interested in. But don’t worry, you don’t need to know the words.

You can start a blog and write short articles about a topic of your interest. You’ll learn the vocabulary naturally on the way. You don’t necessarily have to create a blog. Just open Word Document or some notebook, and start writing a story or thoughts that come to your mind.

I’ve done it on my own many times. I randomly started writing a text about some topic using the vocabulary I was learning. And the result? My language skills naturally improved.

 

 

17. TRAVEL TO THAT DESTINATION

Eventually, we are here to learn the language for travel. You’ve now made it through and done your best to learn new vocabulary, memorize it, and practice it.

Let’s travel to a country where the language is spoken to practice in real life. Travel is one of the biggest motivations why we want to learn the language. It’ll help us fully immerse into the language, connect with local culture, and fall in love with the language even more.

Don’t be afraid to practice what you have learned on the market, in your accommodation, at the airport, or in a coffee shop ordering your favorite things.

Use my travel itineraries to get to know European countries more in-depth and learn and practice your language while traveling. 

 

These are the effective and fun ways to learn, memorize and practice your vocabulary. Find what works best for you and start learning vocabulary on your own.

 

This article is part of my language learning method. I explain this method in my general post about how to learn a language for travel. If you are interested in learning a language for travel with me, join the community and start from the beginning. Read my article to understand my method for learning a language for travel.

If you find it difficult to stick to vocabulary learning. Or, if you don’t know how to achieve your goals, read my article about how to achieve goals when learning languages.

Check out my article about the benefits of learning foreign language for travel. I’ll give you more inspiration and encouragement to get started.