If you improve your IELTS Vocabulary, you will notice a significant improvement in all four sections of the test.
There are certain topics that you must be familiar with in order to improve every aspect of your score.
This article will teach you how to learn the MOST IMPORTANT vocabulary that will help you understand the Listening and Reading texts better and faster (using background knowledge), answer more accurately (e.g. spelling and pronunciation patterns), and then reproduce the vocabulary more effectively in the Writing and Speaking tests.
1. Purchase a notebook
There is some evidence that writing things down BY HAND helps you remember information better than digitally recording it.
Find a notebook that you will not lose and that you can carry with you everywhere. Choose a nice cover that will entice you to open it.
Write the new words on one side of the page so you can practice them.
2. Purchase a learner’s dictionary
Learner dictionaries are intended to use language that is simple enough for students to understand. Writing down the definitions in your notebook will help you improve your writing skills as well as your vocabulary.
These dictionaries also provide examples of common errors, ‘False Friends,’ or areas of confusion, making them worthwhile investments.
The Longman online dictionary is free and provides words in context with pronunciation of entire sentences, such as ‘pollution.’
3. Determine the meaning of the symbols and abbreviations.
Learn about word features and grammar, such as pollution (nU) – this tells you it is an uncountable noun and helps you use it in a sentence (‘Pollution is affecting the quality of life in cities’).
Write down the word FORM (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and its other forms for each word in your notebook (e.g. pollute, pollution, polluted, a pollutant).
4. Discover tools to assist you with pronunciation.
The stressed syllable is usually preceded by [‘]. This will help you emphasize the main syllable, such as pollution. You could draw a line under the stressed syllable in your notebook, as I have done here.
Learn a few key phonemic alphabet symbols. The ‘Schwa’ or ‘weak sound’ is the most important. This is how it appears /. This allows you to pronounce the first syllable of ‘pollution,’ plun, as ‘puh’ /p/ rather than ‘pow.’
5. Study spelling patterns
Many words have patterns that you can use to help you spell better. For example, educate – education, donate – donation.
There are also word groups that have irregular patterns, such as long – length – lengthen and strong – strength – strengthen.
6. Study collocations
Collocations are groups of words that always go together, for example, “heavily polluted” but NOT “strongly polluted.”
Learning fixed academic phrases like this will help you write more fluently, without having to think about the right words, such as ‘to relieve traffic congestion,’ ‘to reverse global warming,’ ‘to address climate change,’ and ‘have a negative impact on the environment.’
These phrases can be found in IELTS Practice Tests, which are a great source of vocabulary because the same words are used frequently. They are always listed at the end of Reading/Listening materials.
7. Study synonyms
However, double-check their application. For example, clear = lucid, but you can’t say “The graph lucidly shows.” Use only synonyms that you are certain you have seen in the correct context, for example, water pollution = water contamination (slightly different meaning but both can be used in the same context).
8. Study negative forms (antonyms)
What is the inverse of equal? Unequal? Inequal? Check it, make a note of it, and keep an eye on your spelling! Antonyms can be extremely useful when answering True/False/Not Given questions (when the answer is FALSE, it is often an antonym of the statement).
9. Examine the word’s style and register.
A dictionary will tell you whether a word is formal, slang, or even archaic (no longer used!). So, in a Task 2 essay, you need to know whether it is better to say ‘kids’ (informal) or ‘children’.)
10. Create your own ‘Vocabulary Bag.’
The most important aspect of my IELTS classes is the vocabulary bag.
On one side, we write new words (12 maximum per day) and on the other, we write a definition/synonym/antonym/word form/pronunciation/silent letter/false friend, etc (not all of these – it depends on the word).
As the week progresses, the ones we learned at the start of the week become ‘automatic,’ or so simple that we no longer need to think about them. My IELTS Vocabulary Lists are available for free on Quizlet.
11. Create a sentence with words that you can use.
It’s great to learn the meanings of new words to help with Reading and Listening, but to use them in Writing and Speaking, you need a simple sentence that you can memorize and repeat until it becomes automatic, such as ‘Pollution is affecting the quality of life in cities.’ (Do you remember this one from Tip 3?) Perhaps it’s already automatic!)
12. Establish a dependable review system.
Set a regular time of day aside (maybe a Monday morning or Friday before you stop for the weekend). Make this the time to go over ALL of the new words you learned this week.
Cards that you now believe are too easy for you should be discarded or separated. Keep them in their own envelope. Examine them the day before your exam.
13. Locate an IELTS-appropriate reading source.
Of course, reading what you enjoy is always a good idea, and CommonLit.org has a list of free books that you can read for pleasure.
However, IELTS reading texts are always factual, formal, and mostly academic, so you should get plenty of practice with this writing style.
My advice is to find the best IELTS Institute like Multilingua and get trained. They’re not as dull as they appear (in fact, I think most of them are fascinating!). Focusing on past papers will help you adjust to the style of texts you will encounter on the test.
14. Locate an IELTS-appropriate listening source.
You can’t listen to IELTS all day, so find a good podcast and news channel to help you improve your listening skills, or watch a daily educational YouTube video like TedTalks.
Of course, I believe my podcast is the best for IELTS. I only teach IELTS vocabulary, so you get the intensive repetition, recycling, and explanation you need. Check out the text on my website as well.
15. Improve your ability to learn on your own.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s clear that you’re dedicated to self-study and have the right motivation. You don’t require any further guidance.
Conclusion
Find a course that has MOST of the hard work done for you so that you can focus on learning.
Join the Multilingua IELTS Course and daily practices in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking, as well as worksheets, quizzes, e-books, and learning. Let’s connect for more details.