How to Learn English Vocabulary
Improve Your English Listening & Vocabulary Today!
Welcome to the first episode of the Peach Teach English Podcast! In this episode, I’m joined by Sam from English with Sam 0501 as we dive into practical ways to grow your English vocabulary—and actually remember it.
We discuss practical methods that have worked for us as language learners, how to identify the strategy that suits your personality, and ways to transform passive learning into active memory. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How can I stop forgetting what I’ve learned?”, this episode is for you.
This episode + transcript is perfect for beginner to intermediate learners who want to improve their listening skills, explore vocabulary-building strategies, and feel more confident using English in real life.
Watch & Listen to the Peach Teach English Podcast:
📝 Episode 1 Transcript:
00:00 – Introduction and Greetings
Hello, Sam. How are you?
Perfect. Very good. And you? How's everything?
I'm great. Can you tell everyone about yourself?
Of course. Hi, guys. My beautiful students. How are you today? My name is Samuel. First of all, it's a pleasure to be here. So, like I told you, my name is Samuel. I'm from Colombia. I am with English with Sam 0501.
I'm an English teacher, French teacher, Spanish teacher. I have over seven years of experience working as an English teacher, two years as a French teacher, and more three years as a Spanish teacher. Also, I have a TESOL certificate as a teacher teaching English as a second language. And I have four years experience working as an online teacher after the pandemic.
Everything changed, and I got a lot of experience working in this area. But that's who I am.
01:00 – Online vs. Classroom Teaching
And Sam, do you prefer working online or do you miss the classroom?
It's an interesting question. Every environment has the pros and cons. So, I would say what I miss about working in person, like going to the Institute or interacting with people.
It's—that's it. That's the point—having people around you and doing different, different activities with them and interacting with them constantly. But obviously working from home it's extremely comfortable, and there are advantages and disadvantages. You're a little bit more isolated from society and people, but obviously, you're in your house and it's more comfortable.
But also ,you bring work into your house, and you have to learn how to divide work from personal life.
01:51 – Background and Experience
What about you, Frankie? Which one do you prefer?
I certainly prefer working online. I do think your cons are valid, but I love the convenience of being able to work from home, not having to commute. I agree with the isolation aspect, but at the same time, our job is talking to people, communicating with people.
So I don't feel so isolated in that way. And I make sure in my free time, I hang out with my friends and family to get that social life. So my name is Frankie. I am from Savannah, Georgia, USA, but now I live in Colombia, and I actually started working as a teacher here in Colombia. I started out at a public school.
And then I started working at a private institute with Sam. That's how we met. And now we're good friends. And during the pandemic, I moved to working online, and I haven't gone back to the classroom. Like I mentioned before, I really like working from home. And working online.
03:04 – Sam’s Methods for Expanding Vocabulary
So guys, today, our topic is going to be about vocabulary, how to grow your vocabulary, and to actually make those words stick in your brain, because obviously, you don't just want to learn it.
You want to remember it. Sam, as everyone can see here, your English is excellent. You've learned English to a very high level. Could you maybe start out by sharing with us some of your personal methods for expanding your English vocabulary?
Absolutely. So basically, I started learning English when I was 16 years old.
I was obsessed with English. It was like my goal. It was the only thing that I was doing at that moment. I took some courses, and I became obsessed with vocabulary, and everything started when I had some oral exams. And I remember I had some complications finding the exact words, and I remember asking my teachers for the translation.
Oh, teacher, could you give me this word in English? Because I know it in Spanish, but I can't find the right word. My teachers would always tell me, Sam, I can't give you the word. You have to find a way to explain the word, but I was never content with that way of thinking. No, I need to know the word so I can communicate better.
I don't want to go in circles and waste time thinking and explaining what I really want to say in different words, instead of using just the vocabulary that I want to use. So, I started my personal strategy, and the way I learned and increased my vocabulary was reading. I became obsessed with reading. So, I remember my first book when I was 16 was actually Twilight.
It was my first book. I loved the Twilight book. It was really cliché, but it wasn't at that moment. It wasn't very famous at that moment. So, my strategy was pretty simple, but like obsessive. I started reading the book, and at the beginning, it was a gigantic challenge. So what I did was I bought a gigantic folder and I started writing down all the words that I didn't know, the words, expressions, grammar.
Chapter 1 was a nightmare. It was very difficult for me to learn the words. My strategy was to approach vocabulary in a very direct way. For example, I would write down all the vocabulary and I would start writing them down. Repeating the words and put them in context. This is the meaning, okay, so I would write it in Spanish and the definition in English.
So I can get both interactions. And I started repeating over and over with different stories, and I would read, and if I came across the word and I didn't know how to use it, of course, I would have to go back. I wouldn't continue reading. No, because that was a challenge. The idea was to understand the whole story and then go back if I didn't understand the meaning of the word.
So I would study the word, and then I would continue reading. That's like my process. After chapter four, it was perfect. Everything started clicking because a book it's a repetition and repetition of the same words used in different contexts. So you learned a lot. From repetition. So that's like my personal process.
06:27 – Frankie’s Approach to Learning Languages
And what about you, Frankie, learning Spanish?
I have studied Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Turkish. As a student, I can share my experience with trying to grow my vocabulary. I think I generally try to take the approach of just being fully immersed in the language as much as possible. I'm going to start trying to have conversations from day one, even if it's very difficult, I'm going to try to talk.
I'm also going to send messages to language partners. And I'm going to try to learn as much vocabulary as possible in this way. And I think what's really nice with this method is you're learning the vocabulary that you actually need to communicate your ideas and understand. The ideas of other people.
Now, I do think Sam, reading is a great way to grow your vocabulary. It's what we do as children. When we start trying to become more fluent in our native languages, we learn how to read, and we start reading higher-level books.
07:41 – Enjoyable Methods for Non-readers
So Sam, what advice would you give to someone that doesn't like reading books?
Ways to expand your vocabulary. It's pretty simple. The best way for you guys to learn vocabulary is to enjoy the method that you're going to use, no matter what it is. In my case, personally, I love reading. It was a hobby and it has been a hobby since. But you need to analyze yourself. You need to understand how you work, the things that you feel passionate about.
After you know yourself. You can start looking for the right strategy for you guys. So, for example, I think for me it's the best idea for me, but you can listen to music. You can watch series, movies. You can read, you can listen to podcasts such as this, or there are specific podcasts for specific words.
You can interact with people since day one. There are a lot of apps that can help you learn vocabulary. Also, um, it is very important, guys, that you understand how your English is, where your language is, when you're going to learn. For example, if you love reading about adventure books, or watching adventure movies, or action movies, or love stories, there's a possibility your vocabulary is going to be very strong in that area.
But if you start leaving your comfort zone, and you start maybe digging into different topics, that's going to be a little bit more complicated because you're not used to listening to that vocabulary. So when you try to change things up a little bit and move on to different topics, maybe topics you're not really used to, that's when the fun begins.
You're gonna—oh my God—I don't understand this movie because it's about action and I always watch about love. So that's a great opportunity. If you don't understand, it means there's something new there. So expand your horizons. Expand your topics.
Either listening, types of music, love stories, whatever you want, but explore more things.
It could be cooking. If you like cooking, explore recipes. That could be—if you like video games—play different video games. Obviously, subtitles in English, with audio in English. It's gonna immerse yourself—you're gonna immerse yourself in the game. You have to understand to move on. Countless strategies that you can apply according to your personality, but always remember: look for something that you really love.
That’s something—somebody tells you the best way is reading. You gotta read if you want to improve your vocabulary. That’s false. You gotta do what’s best for you and what you feel passionate about.
I agree. I agree, Sam. Now, I think you need to develop skills in listening, reading, speaking, writing. But maybe you don't love reading books.
Read shorter articles or something to develop your reading. And you can dedicate more time to the media that you truly enjoy. Like you said, music. Personally, when I was, uh, learning Portuguese, I would study a new song. Okay. And what was really cool about that is you listen to it again, and you even learn to sing it.
And so now these words are set in your brain forever. And also, I would use web series on YouTube. Basically, they would be maybe 3 to 7-minute episodes. I was just a beginner, so for me, that was even a lot. I wouldn't always understand everything. But I would make sure they had subtitles. So I would pause, I'd write down the new words, and this really helped me enjoy the study process while also growing my vocabulary at the same time.
And for French, I like to use podcasts. I usually listen and then the second time I read the transcript, and that way I get to see the new vocabulary and I write those down in a notebook so that I can come back to them another day and review them, which is basically our next topic, Sam.
11:54 – Effective Vocabulary Memorization Techniques
So we can use media to expand our vocabulary, but what can we do to actually remember those words?
There are endless methods that you can apply, and everything depends on the resources that you have and the time that you have. And, uh, obviously, the type of vocabulary that you have, for example, a very simple method that is very useful to memorize lists is a finger method. I don't know, guys, if you're familiar with the finger method, but basically, the finger method it's to memorize things that come in the list, such as days of the week, months, or even numbers.
For example, I'm going to begin with my fingers. I'm going to count again Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and this is a very good way. January, February, March, et cetera, et cetera. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This is a very simple method that can help you memorize. This is one of many strategies. There's another strategy, and everything depends on your abilities.
I'm gonna explain that a little bit later on. It's called the pictorial method. The pictorial method. It's very simple. It's picture image, so it's like a flashcard with infographics, it means with the images. So on one side of the flashcard, you have the word, let's say cat, and on the other side, instead of having the translation to your language, you're going to have the image.
So you're going to make a direct connection towards the image or representation of the word and the word. So this is another very good method. Something that I really, really like doing with my students is the story method. So basically, and I have practiced this in big classes with a lot of students and private classes.
So basically, we practice vocabulary, we're going to focus on love vocabulary, war vocabulary, or adventure vocabulary. And we're going to create a story. So I give them context, I give them the vocabulary, and I encourage them to use their imagination using the vocabulary. Obviously, we worked on the vocabulary previously to the activity, but basically it's just create a story using the vocabulary.
If you can't, it means you need to review the vocabulary, but if you start developing the story, you're going to get better at using the vocabulary, especially if you repeat the vocabulary over and over again. So this is the story method.
Those are some good methods. The main idea here, no matter what method you use, in terms of remembering, is repetition, right?
If we understand how our brains work, we don't hear something usually one time, and it's stuck in our brain. We need to tell our brain again and again, this is important information. I want you to remember this information. So, of course, if you're reading a book, you're watching a movie, and you hear, see a new word, and then you never hear or see that new word again, there's a very small chance you're going to recall that word at a later time.
That's why I often recommend instead of using a big book or like a long movie, which I think are great for overall comprehension exercises, but if you really want to focus on growing your vocabulary, I would say, start with a shorter video or article and really hyper focus on looking for those new words, writing them down and watch the video again, read the article again, make sure you really understand how it's being used in context.
And then now that you've written those words down. You need to come back to them again. Many people recommend spatial memorization. Let's say you learn the new word today, then tomorrow you should review that word again, perhaps repeat it again three days later, and then again every week. And if you can't remember this word after a month, you've probably added it into your long-term memory.
If you haven't, you probably need to keep reviewing it again.
Sam, do you have any strategies to help students review that vocabulary?
Definitely. So basically, this is a very common question we get from students. Teacher, how can I learn English through songs or through movies? And it's something that you mentioned.
It's not only listening to the song that you're going to learn vocabulary, you're going to learn English. You really have to analyze the song. Go piece by piece. Because it's not just listening. If you were to listen to a Japanese song over and over again for the entire course of your life, you're not going to speak Japanese. You really have to address it.
You have to analyze the words, analyze the structure of the song. It's called an active practice. More receptive, or if you just listen to the song, you really have to analyze it. Sit down. Open the lyrics, don't watch the video, open the lyrics, and start analyzing it. Oh, what is this word? I'm gonna sing it as well because now I understand the word.
So active practice instead of just trying to figure it out, and with time, I will get it. No, the key is repetition. But how you repeat those things is also the key to memorize it, to really hold it in your brain. There are many ways. First, you need to analyze what you like — your strategy.
For example, teacher, I'm very visual. So I need visual methods. Spatial repetition is fantastic. You can use it and apply it with different methods. For example, visual flashcards, infographics, which is the picture in the word. We have mind maps, which are very good. A mind map could be variously. If you're going to practice. I don't know, guys, if you know the meaning of light bulb.
It's the thing that creates light on the wall. Okay. So a mind map could easily be — you can write the word light bulb, and you can connect it with similar words to help you analyze. For example, electricity, darkness, light. Every time you think about the word light bulb, you're going to connect not only light bulb, but also different things connected to the word — light, darkness, the absence of darkness.
You can start remembering those new words by creating this mind map. It's one possibility.
Another one could be picture association, like you have a list with pictures and you have the word next to it. Now, if you tell me, teacher, I'm more like an auditory learner. I prefer listening. If that's what you like.
Songs, but analyze the vocabulary. We have audio flashlights, flashcards, which are listening to words, or you can record yourself and the meaning of the word. So you record the word and the meaning of the word, and you can repeat it, going to work or driving. That's another possibility if you're like more like listening.
Podcast — obviously a great idea, according to your level. Audiobooks — this is something I really recommend. I agree. Not too long if you don't have the level, but my first audiobook was The Lord of the Rings. It was incredible. I bought the book and I bought the audiobook, and I started reading the story, and I would stop every now and then when I didn't understand the word.
So I would continue after analyzing the vocabulary, after analyzing the structure. So it was pretty cool. And I enjoyed it because it's like listening to a movie, but you can stop it and analyze what you're reading about. So that's totally recommend. And rhymes.
20:29 – Rhyming Activity: Life of a Cupcake
Actually, I have an activity for you, beautiful students, beautiful Frankie.
I have a small activity for you, auditory learners. Like you like listening, learning through listening. There is a strategy called rhyming, which is when the words have similar pronunciations. Now, you can do this by just listening to music or looking for poems that rhyme. Now, I have worked this form many times with my students and they love it.
And this is a very good way to learn vocabulary with similar pronunciations. The name of the poem is Life of a Cupcake by Shelby Greer. This was published by Family Friend Poems in May—on May 2014, actually. Basically, I'm going to read it to you, and this is going to be a fantastic way of learning similar words with similar pronunciation.
So, it goes like this. Remember, The Life of a Cupcake. It goes like this:
They put me in the oven to bake.
Me. Deprived and miserable cake.
Feeling the heat, I started to bubble.
Watching the others, I knew I was in trouble.
They all opened the door, and I started my life.
Frosting me with a silver knife.
Decorating me with candy jewels.
The rest of my batch looked like fools.
Lifting me up, she took off my wrapper.
Feeling the breeze, I wanted a slapper.
Opening her mouth with shiny teeth inside.
This was the day this cupcake died.
So, I know. It's a little bit sad, but it's a very ingenious method to learn vocabulary.
It's something that you really like. If you like poetry, read poetry. You're going to make an analysis and a connection between the words that you listen. So it's pretty fun to learn vocabulary this way.
Sure, because I remember bake, cake, bubble. I don't remember after that, but I remember the first three. But if you repeat it, you would start to remember those rhymes even more, a hundred percent, which is why I think this is similar to music, right?
There's the beat and the rhyme. So it helps it stick in your brain more.
23:00 – The Importance of Active Practice
But you're a hundred percent correct that it's about actively focusing on learning, right? A lot of people just try to passively learn. Oh, I can watch a movie. Yes, but if you really are trying to grow your vocabulary, you have to sit down and say, I'm gonna learn vocabulary from this movie.
And at the end, you need to ask yourself, what vocabulary did I learn? And if you can't answer that question, it wasn't a good exercise. So we—that's why I always recommend having a notebook, write down those new words. And the coolest thing about that is you can go back to January and see all the words that you learned in January from all the way until September, because sometimes we feel like we're not making progress.
But when you write down these words, you can actually see the progress that you really have made. And I agree, Sam, flashcards are really good. But again, we need to actively use this method. It's not just passively looking at them. We need to try to create, like you said, either some kind of physical memory method with images, try to connect these words to a story or something very vivid, maybe even something funny.
But whenever you hear this word, if you can connect it with a lot of emotion or images, your brain is going to remember that a lot more easily. I actually have a few more methods here. Let me see.
Okay. So I think another good way is making yourself write examples. Like you said—the story method earlier—actually make yourself use this word. That's gonna ensure you know the meaning and are able to use it. And also that is putting an idea to that word so that you'll remember it later.
Another good method is contextual reading.
Okay. And actually, I have a blog post about this where I recommend an app you can use for flashcards and an app you can use for contextual reading. They'll give you many examples of the same word being used in different contexts, repeating the word in this way, and also using it in different contexts.
You're getting that bigger picture of the word and not just the definition. Because oftentimes a simple definition is not enough to really understand a word.
Yeah, definitely. Everything you do, just make sure you're really focusing on the goal that you have. It's not only by watching a movie that you're going to be able to understand the whole vocabulary.
You really need to take your time and analyze it. Contextual methods are great, but everything needs to be analyzed correctly. It's not only by reading—like storytelling is perfect. Having conversations, trying to use and bring up that vocabulary—it's what you're going to use to learn and practice and memorize it.
So basically I think everything depends on your likes, your dislikes, and how you engage new topics. For example, there is topic-based methods. And it's when you just focus on something very specific. Okay, today I'm going to learn about the house. Or I'm gonna go to the kitchen, and I want to be able to speak about my kitchen freely.
So that's a topic—just kitchen, the house, or love stories, or tourism, or finances. So just focus on one topic and you really dig up into that topic, and you start having conversations. You can apply that vocabulary in different methods, the methods that you prefer.
But basically, that's kind of it. You really have to enjoy the process. I think that's the best thing you can do. Enjoy what you do.
Yeah, exactly. Choose a method that you enjoy, topics that you like. You can break from that sometimes, just so you expand your vocabulary into new ideas, but regularly choose topics you like, methods that you like, and the repetition and the active focus, right? It's very important.
27:42 – Using New Vocabulary in Real Life
The next topic we have here is making sure you actually use the new word. So we talked about how to expand your vocabulary, how to review your vocabulary, and now how can we actually use it?
That's a very good question. So the importance of vocabulary it's just to expand the information and the capacity you have to express your ideas freely without having any complications to express yourself.
So, having teachers, it's a great way to increase and practice everything that you have done. I think having a teacher is the best way you can apply to learn and practice everything you have actually learned from old strategies. Put it in context. For example, something I really like it's listening to comedy in English.
And when I was a teenager, I tried to understand comedy, and it was impossible. So I sat down, very bummed down, because I didn't understand anything. People were laughing at the jokes, and I didn't. I'm not laughing—why not? This is something that I totally recommend. If you understand comedy, your level of English it's very good, because not only do you understand what he's saying in a cultural way, but you understand the slangs they use.
You understand the vocabulary, either formal or informal. This is a very good way to test your English level, or your language level, if you listen to comedy and you start laughing at jokes. Or, it doesn't have to be comedy—it could be Friends. A sitcom could be really interesting. And at the beginning, it's going to be difficult, but if you start understanding the jokes, okay, this vocabulary, everything I have done, it's actually paying off.
I understand. And keeping a conversation flowing. Teacher, I don't really have the resources to have a private teacher, or I don't like, because I'm very shy. What can I do? Sometimes finding the right teacher is difficult. I apply the method for my French. I apply self-talk. Self-talk, it's great, it's cheap, it's actually free, and it's a very good way to practice on your own.
You have to be very aware of your mistakes and the vocabulary you're going to use. You have to have a good level of English. You can have a good conversation with yourself. So this is very good. If I have to go to the store, I apply self-talk. So I just go, walk down the street, and I start having a conversation with myself about any topic that I want to improve.
If I want to improve vocabulary about family, then I'm going to describe my family while I go to the store or while driving. This is a very good way to keep your vocabulary flowing. But my recommendation is just look for websites for teachers that can help you, and you can apply it. You can have an instant correction or the best way.
Okay, this vocabulary is not the best for this context, but maybe if you apply it in a different context, such as this, it could be better for you. Oh, teacher. Okay. I understand. Thank you. And this is the key to keeping your vocabulary alive.
Yeah, those are some really great methods and I think it's good to focus on the different types of skills, right?
Listening and reading are skills that are receptive. So these are actually really great for expanding vocabulary. But if you really want to remember and use this vocabulary in your real life, you need to use the productive skills of writing and speaking. Of course, you can speak with yourself. You can write things for yourself and you can learn a lot that way, but I do think it's much more effective if you have another person to check your writing or you have another person to speak with.
Now you can make friends that speak English or the language you're learning. You can even find language partners and have an exchange where you help each other. Or you can have a teacher like me and Sam, that are trained and specialists in helping you improve your vocabulary and other skills. And I really think it's valuable to have someone you can text messages to, to use that new vocabulary. You need to write some paragraphs with that new vocabulary and have calls, or you can go to a classroom and talk to somebody.
And like we said, you need to be active about using these new words. I remember one time I was in a French class. And I wanted to say a word that I learned in the podcast, but I couldn't remember it.
And I could have used the easy word that I remembered, but instead I said, no, I'm going to go to my notebook. I'm going to look for that word that I need to use, and I'm going to use it today. And that's what we have to do. We have to actively try to use these new words and expand our vocabulary.
We'll keep speaking at a low intermediate level.
33:24 – Understanding Culture to Enhance Language
Do you have anything you want to add here, Sam?
I think understanding the culture could help you develop more skills with the vocabulary, especially when it comes to slang. Slang, it's just common expressions, colloquial expressions. If you really want to learn the language, you should get involved also with the culture of the place.
Understand the culture. That's going to help you understand expressions that are very native and impossible to get from our own language. This is what we call, for example, phrasal verbs or idioms. Sometimes we don't have them in our own language. And the only way you're going to be able to understand it is if you just get involved with the culture and you get the feeling.
I don't know if you've—I had to explain in this way, like, how do you know, teacher? It's impossible to know. I just know because it's the way it is. This is when we don't really have a real explanation for the way the language works. It's just more like cultural. And you learn it by speaking, interacting with natives, with people who know the language, or live there, or by watching comedy or movies about the place, and this is a very good way.
So, understand the culture, the language you're learning from and it's going to help you increase your vocabulary and especially native expressions.
Yeah, for sure. Appreciating the culture was a really good word, Sam, because your language and culture are so like tightly knit together, and you need to appreciate the culture and the language in its element.
I really agree with that a lot.
35:08 – Conclusion and Class Invitations
To wrap things up here, Sam, I would like to give you a chance just to talk about English with Sam and your classes.
Yep. So, I invite you to try my classes as well as Frankie's classes. Very good. We have a lot of experience working with any kind of student with any kind of level.
We understand the difficulties. Frankie had to learn Spanish. So, in different languages, me as well. I learned French. I'm learning Italian right now. So, I know the challenges learning a language can bring into your life and how difficult and frustrating that is. I welcome you guys to try our classes.
Enjoy the process. In my case, the first class is a courtesy class, so you can explore the methodology, I can get to know you guys a little bit better, you can explore like a new horizon, new possibilities of activities, and I think that's the idea, just to explore a little bit more.
Yes, guys, I highly recommend Sam, English with Sam.
Sam and his classes. As I mentioned before, we work together. As you guys can see, Sam is very fluent. He has an excellent vocabulary level, and he can really help you guys, uh, become more fluent in English. I also offer English classes. I offer a courtesy class as well, where I can identify your level. You can tell me about your goals and expectations, and we can find the right curriculum for you.
And I would love to help you guys achieve your English goals.
Okay, guys. Thank you so much for joining us. I'll let you go, Sam.
It was a pleasure, guys. Study a lot and enjoy the process. Remember. Enjoy it. See you guys next time. Bye. Bye. Bye-bye.
🧠 Vocabulary Building Study Guide
Top strategies and tips for today's episodes to help you improve your English vocabulary
💡Tips for Expanding Your Vocabulary
Choose your favorite methods because you will be more consistent when you're having fun.
📚 Read books – Choose something you enjoy (Sam started with Twilight!).
📝 Keep a notebook or folder – Write new words, definitions, and example sentences.
🔁 Use repetition – Review new vocabulary regularly using apps or your own notes.
🧠 Create stories – Use new words in fun or imaginative stories to help them stick.
🧩 Use visuals – Try flashcards with images or mind maps to connect vocabulary.
🎧 Study music & lyrics – Pick songs you like and analyze the lyrics line by line.
🔊 Recommended Methods (Based on Learning Style)
Learning styles have actually been debunked, and using a variety of learning methods will actually help you solidify information more than just using one, so try to use a few of the following strategies.
👁️ Visual
– Flashcards with pictures
– Mind maps (e.g., “light bulb” → light, darkness, electricity)
👂 Auditory
– Podcasts with transcripts
– Rhyming poems or song lyrics
– Record yourself saying words & meanings
🎮 Kinesthetic / Practical
– Self-talk in daily situations (e.g., describe your walk to the store)
– Write out example sentences or mini stories
🧘 Reflective
– Journal using new vocabulary
– Compare your vocabulary list month by month to track progress
📖 Memory-Boosting Techniques
🔢 Finger method – Use your fingers to count and remember lists (days, colors, etc.).
🎨 Pictorial method – Link words to clear images instead of translations.
🧾 Contextual reading – Use apps or articles that show words in real-life examples.
📚 Spaced repetition – Review new words today, then again in 3 days, 1 week, etc.
🎭 Use emotion or humor – Make associations with funny or emotional connections.
💬 Reflection Questions
Use these to practice speaking or journaling in English:
Which method do you think will work best for you and why?
What are your biggest challenges with learning new vocabulary?
How do you usually review or remember new words?
Could you try writing a short story using 5–10 new words?
Which vocabulary-building strategy mentioned in the episode will you try this week?
🎯 Want to Practice English with Me?
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👨🏫 Find Samuel Online
Instagram: @englishwithsam0501
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Want More Tips for Remembering English Vocabulary?
Have you ever learned a new word in English, only to forget it the next day? You're not alone. Expanding your vocabulary is crucial for improving both your speaking and comprehension skills, but it can be frustrating when those new words don't stick. To truly master new vocabulary, you need more than just exposure; you need effective strategies to help you remember and use the words confidently. In this guide, I’ll share practical methods to help you expand your vocabulary, retain those words, and put them into practice. Let’s turn that forgotten vocabulary into lasting knowledge.
