Ever had a “ahhh, what’s the word for this” moment? Story of my life. I seriously feel like since I’ve been out of school my vocabulary has gone downhill. I don’t have to write papers anymore, assigned reading no longer exists…annnd as a result, I feel like my brain is slowly dumping all those words I learned back in the day while cranking through books like Grapes of Wrath (flashback to the scene from Inside Out when the little janitors were vacuuming out pieces of memory and transferring them to the memory dump – love that movie). After doing some digging, I found there are solutions to this problem – here are 4 easy ways to expand your vocabulary:
- Read, read, read: That’s right, simple solution is to just read more. Of course, that’s easier said than done. I had to make make time for it – use iBooks to read on your phone/tablet to and from work (or get a Kindle – I have a hunch there will be a deal on these next week), set up a monthly book club with friends, do something to make it fun and also hold yourself accountable.
- Word of the day: There are plenty of resources out there that feature one new word everyday along with it’s definition. ONE word a day – you can handle that, right?! I subscribe to A.Word.A.Day, which is a daily email subscription. You can also add it to your calendar if that’s where you prefer to see it. If you’re not as tech savvy, there are a ton of calendars you can buy that serve the same purpose!
- Keep a journal or blog: Starting this blog, I’ve found myself using dictionary and thesaurus tools again. It’s a great way to keep my mind fresh and exercise my writing skills. If keeping a blog isn’t your thing (hey, it’s not for everyone!), try writing in a journal once a week just to put your writing cap back on again.
- Use Apps (there’s one for everything): Using apps has made it so much easier for me to just pop in and do some exercises when I have some free time. There are a ton of vocab builder apps out there, and many of them gamify the experience to make it more entertaining. I’ve been using the Vocabulary Builder from Magoosh, but this one gets great reviews as well.
