1 Hour Full IELTS Vocabulary Course
Summary
TLDRThis comprehensive guide emphasizes the critical role of vocabulary in IELTS success, debunking common myths like memorizing complex words for higher scores. It advocates for a contextual learning approach, suggesting daily reading and listening to English materials, noting down new words, and using them in sentences. The script also criticizes ineffective methods like learning from word lists and stresses the importance of understanding word usage, collocations, and topic-specific vocabulary. It offers practical techniques for vocabulary retention, including matching synonyms, categorization, and creating stories with new words, aiming to help learners genuinely improve their English proficiency and IELTS scores.
Takeaways
- 📘 Vocabulary is crucial for effective communication and understanding in English, as it directly impacts one's ability to express meaning and comprehend spoken or written text.
- 🔍 The importance of vocabulary is demonstrated by the clarity of meaning in sentences; removing key words can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
- 🙅♂️ Avoid relying on memorization of a few 'high-level' or 'magic' words to improve IELTS scores, as this approach does not reflect true language ability or vocabulary range.
- 🚫 Do not be misled by popular but misleading advice on YouTube or other platforms that suggest shortcuts to vocabulary improvement, such as memorizing long or complex words.
- 📚 To genuinely enhance vocabulary, engage in regular reading and listening practices in English, focusing on materials that interest you to maintain consistency and motivation.
- 🤔 Develop the skill of guessing word meanings from context, which is not only useful for the IELTS test but also for real-life English communication.
- 📝 Keep a dedicated vocabulary notebook to note down new words, their definitions, pronunciation, synonyms, antonyms, and example sentences.
- 🔄 Regularly review and use new vocabulary in sentences or speaking practice to reinforce memory and understanding, moving beyond mere memorization.
- 🔑 True vocabulary improvement involves learning words in context, understanding their usage, and being able to apply them effectively in various topics and situations.
- 🌐 Utilize free resources like BBC News to find topic-specific vocabulary and practice using these words in relevant contexts to demonstrate a wide-ranging vocabulary.
- 🎯 Aim for accuracy and range in vocabulary use; accuracy refers to correct spelling, meaning, and usage, while range means the ability to use a variety of words appropriate to different topics.
Q & A
Why is vocabulary important for understanding and communication in English?
-Vocabulary is crucial for expressing meaning in writing and speaking. Without understanding key words, one can struggle to grasp the meaning of sentences or texts, which is essential for effective communication and comprehension in English.
What is the main issue with focusing on memorizing a list of high-level words to improve vocabulary?
-Memorizing a list of high-level words is ineffective because it does not teach you how to use those words in context, and it ignores the importance of understanding and using a wide range of vocabulary, including topic-specific words.
What are the two main problems with popular IELTS vocabulary videos on YouTube mentioned in the script?
-The two main problems are: 1) Promising high scores with just a few high-level words, which is misleading because IELTS examiners assess a range of vocabulary usage, not just a few complex words. 2) Suggesting that memorizing a large number of words in a short time can improve vocabulary, which is not a practical or effective learning method.
What does the script suggest about the relationship between the number of high-level words and the IELTS speaking score?
-The script suggests that using a few high-level words does not guarantee a high score in the IELTS speaking test. Examiners assess the overall vocabulary usage, including topic-specific words, rather than just the presence of a few complex words.
What is the script's advice on how to effectively learn and improve vocabulary for the IELTS test?
-The script advises to focus on learning vocabulary in context, noticing new words while reading or listening, guessing their meanings from context, noting them down with detailed information, and regularly reviewing and using them in practice.
Why is it recommended to read and listen to English daily to improve vocabulary?
-Reading and listening to English daily provides continuous exposure to new vocabulary in context, which helps in natural language acquisition and better understanding of how words are used in different situations.
What is the significance of using topic-specific vocabulary in IELTS writing and speaking tasks?
-Topic-specific vocabulary is important because it demonstrates to the examiners that a candidate has a wide-ranging vocabulary and can effectively discuss various subjects, which is a key aspect of the IELTS assessment criteria.
What does the script suggest about the percentage of high-level words in high-quality English writing?
-The script suggests that in high-quality English writing, such as in The Wall Street Journal or academic articles, the percentage of high-level (C1 and C2) words is actually quite small, with the majority being A1 and A2 words.
Why is it not advisable to rely on memorized lists of words for the IELTS test?
-Relying on memorized lists of words is not advisable because it does not help in understanding the usage, pronunciation, style, grammar, and collocations of the words, which are essential for effective communication and are assessed in the IELTS test.
What is the script's view on the idea of learning vocabulary through shortcuts or magic solutions?
-The script discourages the idea of shortcuts or magic solutions for vocabulary learning, emphasizing that improving vocabulary is a gradual process that requires consistent effort, context-based learning, and practical usage.
What are some of the techniques suggested in the script for reviewing and remembering new vocabulary?
-The script suggests techniques such as matching synonyms, categorizing words by topic or word form, creating stories using new words, and getting feedback on the use of new vocabulary to ensure accurate and effective usage.
Outlines
📚 Importance of Vocabulary in Language Proficiency
The paragraph emphasizes the critical role of vocabulary in understanding and communicating effectively. It uses the analogy of removing functional words from a sentence to illustrate how essential vocabulary is for grasping meaning in both speech and writing. The speaker warns against common misconceptions regarding vocabulary improvement, such as relying on a few high-scoring words or memorizing word lists, which are ineffective strategies. Instead, the paragraph suggests that a well-rounded vocabulary is necessary for a high IELTS score and genuine language mastery.
🙅♂️ Debunking Myths About Vocabulary Learning
This paragraph dismantles the myths surrounding vocabulary acquisition, particularly the belief that memorizing a list of complex words or using a few 'magic' words can significantly boost IELTS scores. The speaker criticizes the approach of schools and online videos that promote this method, arguing that it reflects a misunderstanding of the IELTS assessment criteria. The paragraph asserts that vocabulary learning should involve understanding words in context and being able to use them appropriately, rather than mere memorization.
📈 Understanding Vocabulary Levels and Their Usage
The speaker discusses the concept of vocabulary levels, using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) as a reference point. They clarify that high-level vocabulary does not necessarily mean complex or long words, and that even advanced texts like The Wall Street Journal or academic journals use a majority of A1 and A2 level words. The paragraph aims to correct the common misconception that high IELTS scores require an excessive use of complex vocabulary, stressing the importance of appropriate word usage instead.
📝 The Key to Higher Band Scores in Vocabulary
The paragraph focuses on the strategies for achieving a higher band score in IELTS, particularly in vocabulary. It suggests that mastering basic vocabulary (A1 to B2 levels) is crucial before attempting to use more complex words. The speaker uses an example from an IELTS book to illustrate that even a band seven essay uses a majority of simple words, with only a few high-level terms. The emphasis is on using topic-specific vocabulary effectively to demonstrate a wide-ranging vocabulary.
🚀 Enhancing Vocabulary Through Contextual Learning
This paragraph advocates for the importance of learning vocabulary in context, rather than through isolated word lists. It suggests that input through reading and listening to authentic English materials is essential for vocabulary acquisition. The speaker advises against focusing on speed and instead emphasizes the need for effective learning, which includes daily exposure to English through enjoyable reading and listening activities.
🤔 Active Engagement with New Vocabulary
The speaker introduces the method of actively engaging with new vocabulary by noticing unfamiliar words while reading or listening, guessing their meanings from context, and then noting them down for later review. This paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the use, pronunciation, and common collocations of new words, as well as the value of a dedicated vocabulary notebook for recording and reviewing new terms.
🔄 The Process of Reviewing and Using New Vocabulary
This paragraph outlines the process of reviewing and effectively using new vocabulary. It suggests regular repetition and contextual use of words to enhance memory and understanding. The speaker recommends creating sentences with new words and getting feedback on their usage to ensure accuracy. The ultimate goal is to be able to use the vocabulary naturally in speaking and writing, reflecting a genuine command of the language.
🌐 Accessing Topic-Specific Vocabulary for IELTS
The speaker provides guidance on how to access topic-specific vocabulary relevant to common IELTS task two subjects, such as education, health, technology, and the environment. They recommend using BBC News as a resource for identifying and learning these words through daily news stories. The paragraph also highlights the importance of understanding and using these topic-specific words to effectively address a wide range of IELTS topics.
📚 Techniques for Memorizing and Using Vocabulary
This paragraph introduces four techniques for memorizing and using new vocabulary: matching synonyms, categorizing words by topic or word form, and creating stories with random words. The speaker emphasizes the effectiveness of these methods in helping students remember and use new vocabulary in context, which is crucial for achieving higher band scores in IELTS writing and speaking.
💡 Conclusion on Effective Vocabulary Learning
The final paragraph concludes the discussion on vocabulary learning by summarizing the key points: the importance of learning vocabulary in context, the use of topic-specific words, and the application of the four memorization techniques. The speaker reiterates that effective vocabulary learning requires active engagement, regular review, and practical use of words in context to achieve a high level of language proficiency.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vocabulary
💡IELTS
💡Functional words
💡Content words
💡Memorization
💡Context
💡Collocations
💡Band descriptors
💡Range
💡Accuracy
💡Feedback
Highlights
The importance of vocabulary in understanding and expressing meaning in English, demonstrated through the removal of functional words from a sentence.
The common misconception that learning a few high-level words can significantly improve IELTS speaking scores is debunked.
The ineffectiveness of memorizing word lists for vocabulary improvement and the importance of learning words in context.
The myth of 'magic words' for IELTS success is refuted, emphasizing the need for genuine vocabulary development.
The explanation of how IELTS examiners assess vocabulary, focusing on the use of a range of words rather than just high-level words.
The revelation that high-scoring IELTS candidates use a wide range of topic-specific words, not just complex or high-level words.
The introduction of the Cambridge English Profile Text Inspector tool for analyzing vocabulary levels in texts.
The demonstration using The Wall Street Journal article to show that high-level writing includes a majority of A1 and A2 words.
The strategy of focusing on learning and using A1 to B2 level words before attempting to use C1 and C2 level vocabulary.
The advice against trying to impress the IELTS examiner with a few high-level words and the emphasis on accurate and appropriate word usage.
The recommendation to read and listen to English daily as a means of naturally improving vocabulary.
The suggestion to read news articles related to common IELTS topics as a way of encountering and learning topic-specific vocabulary.
The method of noticing new words while reading, guessing their meanings from context, and then noting them down for later review.
The importance of reviewing and using new vocabulary in sentences to ensure they can be effectively used in speaking and writing.
The four techniques for reviewing and remembering vocabulary: matching, categorizing, using in stories, and getting feedback on usage.
The emphasis on the necessity of using vocabulary in context and thinking in English as a key to achieving a high IELTS score.
The ultimate guide to vocabulary available for free and its role in providing step-by-step guides and strategies for vocabulary improvement.
Transcripts
you've just found the Ultimate Guide to
's vocabulary we've put together
step-by-step guides on how ban n
students improve their vocabulary at
home for free plus lots more techniques
and strategies that we've only ever
shared before with our VIP students so
sit back relax and get ready to improve
your vocabulary is vocabulary important
let me demonstrate with this sentence so
if I said to you meet me at 11:00 p.m.
next to the old Cinema you should know
exactly what I mean but imagine I take
out some of the more functional words so
if I take out this I take out
preposition I take out an
article so I take out the functional the
grammar words if you like and I said
meet me 11:00 p.m. next old Cinema would
you understand what I mean if I said
those just those words to you meet me
11:00 p.m. next old Cinema sure you
would understand exactly what I mean
because these words have meaning
but let's try it the opposite way around
let's remove the the meaning words let's
remove these words and just leave the
more functional words in let's get rid
of that let's get rid of that let's get
rid of that let's just leave the
prepositions and the articles
in and if I said to you add to the would
you understand what I mean you would
have no idea because all the meaning is
gone so when I take out the words when I
take out the important words the
vocabulary then you're going to really
really struggle so this is to
demonstrate that not only is it
important uh for expressing meaning when
you're writing and speaking but if you
did not understand those words imagine
you had no idea what that meant that
meant that meant or that meant you would
have no idea how to how to understand it
if you were doing the reading and the
listening test so it's extremely
important that you are impr improving
your vocabulary every single day and
it's extremely important that you're not
doing the wrong thing if you enter I's
vocabulary into YouTube and you sort by
Page views or video views the two most
popular videos on YouTube related to I
vocabulary are these use these five
words to score high in I speaking and
memorize 1,800 words in 18 hours nearly
a million people have watched this now
first of all do not go to these videos
and be nasty to the people who made them
or leave nasty comments or say anything
negative this is not about being
negative and it's not about bashing
people it's not about that it's about
giving you guys the right information
and the two most popular videos on I's
vocabulary and YouTube perfectly
illustrate the two main problems when it
comes to learning vocabulary so let's
look at the first one use these five
words to score high in the I speaking
test so if I was speaking to the person
who made this video I would simply ask
them these questions because what they
are saying is learn five words and
you'll get a high score on the I
speaking test so what I would say to
them is number one is the examiner a
fool I don't think they are I think it's
their job to do speaking tests day in
day out and are you going to fool them
with five special words so imagine this
imagine you go into the speaking test
and your vocabulary is okay let's say
it's at a band Five band Six level and
then you say these five words is the
examiner going to be fooled into
thinking you have an amazing vocabulary
no because they're going to be basing
your vocabulary score on all of the
words you use not just the five words so
it's just a basic misunderstanding of
how the examiners are thinking about
your speaking score will you use more
than five words hopefully all right
hopefully in the I speaking test you're
going to use more than five words and
you're being judged on all of the words
you're using not five so is it a good
idea to just learn five good words no it
would be a silly idea will you be asked
about a range of different topics yes
and the examiner will be thinking and
listening for topic specific words are
you able to use topic specific words for
a range of different topics just
learning five words is not not going to
help you with that and is saying a word
evidence of a wide vocabulary no
memorizing a word just thinking about a
word and using a word is not evidence
that you have a wide ranging vocabulary
you need to know how to use a range of
different words not just five words so
2.4 million people who follow this video
and if you look at the comments
everybody is saying thank you and how
amazing it is because people are
desperate they really want some sort of
IC System that's going to mean that they
don't have to do any work and get the
score that they need and that's just BS
because there are no high level words
there are no magic words there are no
diamond words there are no golden words
bondline words or impressive words if
you are watching videos that talk about
these then just switch them off and and
they are not showing you the right way
to do things if you are at a school and
I've seen this many times where schools
will get a booklet or like like they'll
create their own textbook and call it
like diamond words or band nine words
and give it to their students it's just
a list of words um that school is is
more interested in your money than there
are in your I results there are
appropriate words there are accurate
words and that's it that's the only way
to think about it think about how you
speak in your native language think
about the last conversation you had with
someone did you go into that
conversation and think how many Diamond
words can I use or how many high LEL
words can I use no you just use the
words that were appropriate and
hopefully you use them accurately and
those are the only two things that you
think about when you're speaking in your
native language or you're writing in
your native language so why do you think
this is any different when you're doing
the IELTS test really comes from people
looking for an easy way out a shortcut
uh a magic solution because I is very
hard and it's a very high stakes test
people are pretty desperate and they
will listen to people who are basically
lying to them if somebody's talking
about these things they're lying to you
they're they're marketing to you they're
not interested in helping you and this
is a very good quote you can put
lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig
all right you might have heard of this
this quote before I can take a pig and
put lipstick on it it's still a pig I
can take a student who is at a band five
and I can give them five words and even
teach them how to use those five words
perfectly but they're still a band five
student they're not going to move from a
band five to a band seven until their
whole vocabulary moves up to that level
teaching them like five words is like
putting lipstick on a pig it's still a
pig and by the way do not again do not
go to the person who made that video and
and start saying nasty things to them
that's not what it's about um it's it's
about helping you guys as much as
possible I hope that you're enjoying
this video but YouTube can be a little
bit confusing and overwhelming so what
we've done is we've created a free iots
course called I fundamentals what IELTS
fundamentals does is it just boils
everything down into the most important
fundamental things that you need to
learn it's designed to help you remove
all of the stress and just get the score
that you need in the quickest possible
Time by just giving you the information
that you need and it covers everything
it's 100% free and it has helped
thousands of students get about 7 eight
or nine if you want to sign up for is
fundamentals for free click the link in
the description thanks very much and
let's get back to the video so that one
is nonsense all right how about this one
memorize 1800 words in 18 hours so you
can probably tell from the title that
this might not be that reliable so is
learning a list of words a good idea so
ignore the fact that this this video is
about learning 1,800 words in 18 hours
most of the advice out there most of the
schools out there are teaching I's
vocabulary in this way learning some
sort of list of words so either a list
of words with the meanings in English or
list of words with the translations in
it does this actually help so these are
the questions that I would ask those
those people making those videos number
one is it a memorization test is I a
memorization ation test are they testing
memorization no it's a language test you
cannot improve your language ability you
cannot improve your ability to produce
language and discuss Topics by
memorizing stuff it's just not a
memorization test it's like trying to
put a square peg into a round hole do
you have to use the word yes and the key
there is use there's a massive
difference between learning a list of
words and learning the meanings and
being able to use those words you have
to understand way more than that for
example spelling pronunciation style use
grammar
collocations none of these are
taught when you learn a list of words
because you're learning those words out
of context you're not actually learning
them in the way that that most people
learn new vocabulary my son is 4 years
old and I read to him every night one of
the reasons why I read him every night
is to improve his vocabulary what I
don't do is go home and say Tom here's a
list of 10 words to read please memorize
these and I've even seen this with some
kids like they some parents show their
kids these like um videos that just say
like Duck ball like trying to teach them
English like that's not really helping
them um does it take time to learn
vocabulary yes most people many many
studies academic Studies have shown most
people can only learn between 10 and 20
words a day some people even fewer than
that do you think you could learn 1,800
words in 18 hours no and why do people
believe that again they're desperate
they want a shortcut they want an easy
way of doing things and another quote a
little knowledge is a dangerous thing
like imagine that I got this camera I
could take this camera and give it to a
stranger walking past my office and say
watch one YouTube video on how to on
photography like they could get that
little bit of knowledge and would they
be able to then become a professional
photo photographer no learning lists of
words is a dangerous thing a little bit
of knowledge is a very very dangerous
thing so the top three ways to summarize
the top three ways to lower your score
if you're doing these things you are
lowering your score number one focus on
a small number of high level or band
nine or like high level words or B
Diamond words or whatever your school
calls them is a terrible idea you are
not improving your vocabulary and you're
probably using those words incorrectly
memorizing lists of words is a terrible
idea because again you're not using
those words correctly you have to use
the words not memorize them and number
three focusing on speed trying to do
things as quickly as possible try and
apply that to any other job that you're
trying to do is doing things as quickly
as possible a good way to do things not
when you're trying to learn how to do
things properly so instead of focusing
on speed focus on trying to do things
effectively what does band seven
vocabulary look like when you talk to
most students they'll say things like
big words long words complex words high
level words but when I students normally
ask me about this or when we're talking
about this and they say how can I use
more big words or how can I use more
complex words what I'll normally ask
them is well what's a small word what's
a simple word what's a low-level word
and and most students the problem is
that they have no idea what the
difference is between a high level word
and a lowlevel word so we're going to
look at that today and we're going to
look at like what is the key to getting
a b seven or above when it comes to
vocabulary so this is the
CFR a common European framework and you
can look this up just type in CFR and
you'll get the different levels of
English so you have C2 C1 B2 B1 and then
it goes down to like A2 A1 um and they
are equivalent to different levels in I
so most of you watching this video want
a b s all right so a band seven
according to this this is from Cambridge
I believe or the British Council it's
around a C1 level uh Bond 8 Bond 8.5
Bond n are around a C2 level so your
Prof efficient so P seven is advanced
level so most of you think that high
level vocabulary means long complex
words and lowlevel vocabulary means
quite simple short words and that's
actually not the case so how do you find
out you know what level a word is well
there's a really really easy way of
doing that just go to Cambridge online
dictionary so just go to Google and type
in Cambridge online dictionary and put
in any word and beside the word you'll
see C1 C2 B1 B2 A2 A1 and it'll tell you
the level of that word so so what what
does this mean well when you hear people
talking about using high level words or
using complex words they probably don't
know what they're talking about and you
should only use the real evidence the
real facts to guide you on this don't
listen to someone who says learn these
five words and you'll get a high score
that's absolute
nonsense so can we get a high score by
using lots of C1 and C2 words most of
you watching this video and I are like
hm all I have to do is just learn lots
of C1 and C2 words put them into my
essay or use them in the speaking test
and I'll get a high score right well not
so much let's have a look so what I
going to show you now is a really great
online tool that you can use and it's
produced by Cambridge English so the
people who write the the IELTS test so
you know that it's relevant and it's
reliable and if you type in um Cambridge
text inspector or Cambridge English
profile text inspector what you can do
is you can put in a text so you could
take the text from The Wall Street
Journal here just as an example put it
in and it will look at all of the words
and it will give you a bar chart or a
pie chart telling you which words are A1
A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 so you would think that
really good writing means that there are
lots of C1 and C2 words and quite a few
B1 and B B2 words and not many A1 and A2
words because they're simple right so
what I did was just take a random
article from The Wall Street Journal and
the Wall Street Journal is quite you
know it's quite highb the the vocabulary
in it it's quite specific it's quite
high level I'm put it in here and what I
found mind was and this is pretty much
the same of any good Journal article or
good
newspaper 36% of the words were A1 and
133% were A2 so 50% of the words were
what most students would say are low
level so does that mean the people at
the Wall Street Journal are like B five
um is writers I don't think so and 14%
B1 uh 10% B2 23% the the tax inspector
didn't recognize the words but here
C1 was 3% and the highest level C2 was
just 1% all right and if you go and
download or or look at some like really
really high level academic scientific
journal articles or any sort of Journal
articles and put it into that you'll
find this kind of pattern a tiny
percentage of the total words are
so-called high level and the vast
majority of the words are not and if you
showed that to most I students or and
some teachers they would say oh that the
vocabulary is not very good um it's not
high level enough so that's kind of
flawed logic and we can look at
something else what I'm going to show
you now is from IELTS 11 so I just
picked one of my official Cambridge ielt
books randomly and this is a student
sample that they give at the at the end
of the book so at the end of the
book I'm sure a lot of you have used
these they have student samples I took
part of a paragraph and one that said it
was band seven so it's probably band
seven vocabulary and let's look at this
one is it full of high level words well
let's have a look and see so as
character is concerned and there's some
grammar mistakes and everything because
that's what that's that's um what what
most b s essays would have they would
have some grammar mistakes so we have
the wearer of
clothes follower of
fashion another
aspect clean ironed
grubby very
casual
smart concerned so the vocabulary that
that they're using I wouldn't say most
people would look at that and say oh
it's really really high level some of it
actually is some of of those words um
such as
grubby iron follower of fashion is a
nice phrase most of the some of these
words are quite high level but the vast
majority of the words are not they are
A1 and A2 words so what does this tell
us about getting a band seven on the I
test to get a band seven on the I test
when it comes to
vocabulary you need to focus on the
basics first you need to be able to do
the A1 and the A2 and the B1 and the B2
stuff first before you even think about
trying to go up to the C1 and the C2
words it's not like the examiner is
going to look at your essay and you've
made a bunch of mistakes with quite
simple A1 A2 B1 B2 words and you have
you know five C2 words and you use those
correctly examiner is not going to look
at those see two words and think this
person's vocabulary is amazing they're
just going to think this person has
memorized a bunch of high level words
and put them into their essay and
they're not silly and if you look at the
vocabulary here follower of fashion
ironed grubby smart uh very casual these
are all uh wearer of clothes these are
all uh words and phrases related to one
topic which is fashion and this is what
the examiners will be looking at more
than using a couple of high level words
they'll be looking for your ability to
use topic specific words because that
will will show them that it that you
have a wide ranging vocabulary because
if you can use lots of fashion words
does that mean that you just study lots
of fashion well maybe if you really love
fashion but if you know a lot of fashion
vocabulary it's highly likely that you
know a lot of other vocabulary about
many other topics so on the speaking
test they're going to ask you about a
range of different topics why do you
think that is to test your vocabulary
for one reason cuz if you can talk about
fashion and maybe the environment and
maybe education and maybe technology and
use topic specific words for all of
those topics you're proving that you
have a very wide- ranging vocabulary not
memorizing just a few high level Words
which might not even be high level um in
the first place as we demonstrated but
learning vocabulary properly and using
it
properly so what can you do number one
don't learn lists of words they're
completely useless don't try and impress
The Examiner you're not going to fill
the examiner you're not going to trick
The Examiner into thinking that by using
you know five or six words that are high
level that your um that your vocabulary
is great walk before you can run the
number of people I see trying to use
very high level vocabulary but getting
the Basics wrong is unbelievable so
focus on the basics first you cannot
learn how to run before you can walk you
can't learn how to walk before you can
crawl um so focus on that first and then
build up and obviously improve your
vocabulary how will I actually improve
my vocabulary what will I do each day to
expand the range of my vocabulary and
improve my use of vocabulary so that I
can improve my read my speaking my uh my
writing and my listening everything on
the I test is affected by your
vocabulary level to thank you for making
it this far in the video I want to give
you 10% off our VIP course I VIP course
is the most successful I course in the
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stories than any other I course in the
entire world we do that by simplifying
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the rest of this free video so step one
if you want to improve your vocabulary
you need input you need to input some
vocabulary into your brain and the best
way to do that is either reading books
or listening doesn't have to be books
can be reading you know articles on a
website doesn't really matter but you
need some sort of input what doesn't
work is getting a list of vocabulary a
list of vocabulary with meanings or a
list of vocabulary with translations
into your own language that does not
work at all you need to learn and and
notice new words in context so that
means basically reading books or reading
any sort of material as long it's in
English if you want to improve your
English vocabulary and listening to
something again it doesn't matter just
as long as it is genuine English real
English not a list of words and if you
really want to improve your I scores you
should be reading and listening to
English every single day anyway uh the
number of people that that come to to me
and say I want to improve my reading I
want to improve my listening and they
just never read or listen to English is
is stunning and this could just be 5
minutes a day or 10 minutes a day on
your way to work or before you get go to
bed or when you get up or on your lunch
break but find some time each day to
read and listen the question that
everybody asks when we say read and
listen is what do I read and listen to
many students think that there's some
like specific books or specific podcasts
or specific shows that they could listen
to that is going to magically improve
the vocabulary number one the main thing
is just read something you enjoy reading
or listen to something you enjoy
listening to why is that because you're
going to have to do this over a long
period of time you're going to have to
do it every day or you know four or five
times a week if you're reading something
really boring are you going to do that
every day no and you're not going to
really enjoy doing it and our brains
just don't really um you know process
information and learn as quickly as when
we are enjoying something as opposed to
doing something when you're really
really bored doesn't matter if it is a
book about Cricket or gardening or
football or celebrity gossip it doesn't
really matter as long as it's as long as
it's in English and you really enjoy it
the other thing that you can do if
you're specifically trying to improve
your vocabulary for writing is is look
at some of the common task two writing
topics so doesn't have to be the BBC
News it can be any news site in English
but if you look at any news site I just
took today's BBC News you'll have a look
up here Education Health Science
technology business these are all common
topics especially Education Health
Science technology these come up on task
two all the time so what do you do click
on those and you'll find a range of
different stories that you can read
every single day um so if you just spent
5 or 10 minutes every day reading these
how much better would your vocabulary
become and how much better would your
idea generation and developing your
arguments and thinking of explanations
and examples it's going to help
everything when it comes to writing um
and again doesn't have to be the BBC
News it can be anything um but just get
reading get doing something so step two
notice and guess so let's say you you
went into here and you clicked on
technology so I clicked on here and I
find this article about SpaceX sending
their uh their capsule up to the
International Space Station all right so
it's about space exploration which is
actually a topic that comes up quite a
bit um in on task to so what I'm reading
and I'm trying to improve my vocabulary
what I'm doing is I'm noticing any new
words or words that seem a little bit
strange that I don't quite understand so
imagine I'm reading this and I see
commercial astronaut America's new
commercial astronaut capsule so that
seems a little bit strange commercial
like a TV commercial why are they
talking about a TV commercial when it
comes to that or maybe it's something
different so what I would do is I would
first underline it or if you're
listening you could just note it down
and then what I'm going to do is very
very important I'm not going to take
that and just highlight it on my phone
and immediately look at the meaning cuz
that's not going to really help us and
it's this is going to teach us a very
important skill not only for the I test
but for when you move to an English
speaking country because on the IELTS
test and when you move to an
English-speaking country you're going to
notice and hear new words all the time
that you don't understand so it's really
important that you get used to guessing
what they mean from the context all
right guessing what they mean from the
words around it from the title from the
paragraph from the words around it and
try and guess what that means doesn't
mean that you'll be able to accurately
guess every single time but you need to
to develop that skill one you'll develop
that skill which is really important but
two by guessing the meaning it's going
to help you remember the word and use
the word more effectively in the future
so what I would do is I so this is the
word might be multiple words in one
article that you don't really understand
so let's say I don't know what this word
means and I don't know what this word
means so try and guess what they mean
and then we'll move on to step three
which is note them down now there are
many ways that you can Note new
vocabulary down um you could go to a
dictionary like I have here and just
copy and paste the all the dictionary
definition and all the information you
need and you know past that into an
online document or some app on your
phone I think actually the best thing to
do is to get a notebook like a
traditional paper notebook um and
actually write this down and you'll have
a notebook that is your vocabulary
notebook like there's nothing else in it
only new words um and then you have it
in one place and you can review it um at
your leisure I think it's a nice feeling
to have a notebook of all your new words
and you can see that accom M and I'll
keep you going and keep you motivated
but what you want to do is have some
sort of either an electronic or paper
note of each word so I've taken the word
from this commercial and I figured out
that it's not a TV commercial It's
actually an adjective so they're
describing something and look at all the
information that they give you here so
this is from Cambridge online so they've
given you the type of word they've given
you the pronunciation you can listen to
the pronunciation they've given you the
level of the word they've obviously the
definition they've given you some
examples here some uh more examples some
different ways of using this word so the
use but you could also add in
importantly here synonyms antonyms
collocations more examples using it in
context you could other word forms like
when it's used as a nine because this is
the amount of information
that you need in order to remember the
word but more importantly to be able to
use the word and review all of your new
words this is why just having a list of
words with translations or meanings it's
pretty much useless because it'll go in
this ear and out this ear you're not
going to remember it you're not going to
be able to use it and that is the goal
especially in the speaking and writing
test of of the is test we want to be
able to use the vocabulary um in a
sentence correctly after all so get
yourself the best students that I've
worked with the most successful students
and any students who join my VIP course
one of the first things that we tell
them get yourself a notebook a
vocabulary notebook read every day
listen every day note your new words
done but that's not the final step
obviously the final step is review all
right so imagine you have five new words
a day or 10 new words a day after six
weeks you're going to have you know your
your vocabulary book is going to become
pretty full but you need to review these
words because again the goal is to be
able to use them in sentences and there
are a few things that we need to
consider when reviewing first of all
your repetition you're going to have to
do this regularly so you don't have to
do it every day but you could do it you
know once a week and then review them
again a week later or a month but you're
going to have to do them over and over
again that is not exciting um you're
going to be have to be disciplined but
that is how our brains are going to
remember these words and not
just looking at them not just reading
them that isn't going to help you you
have to be able to use them in context
so this
word commercial so how could I use this
how could I write a sentence or how
could I talk about this um in context
the the context that is normally used to
talk about commercial as an
itive so I would write sentences or I
would talk about it and you know you can
make up games or you can do all sorts of
things um with multiple words um in your
um in your vocabulary notebook um this
is an optional step but a very very
important step which is get feedback on
your use of those words um are the
collocations correct is your use correct
is the grammar correct um and that
feedback is really going to help you so
you can you know use get feed Fe back
just yourself by writing an essay and
trying to use as many of those words as
you can or recording yourself speaking
and then checking the grammar and the
vocabulary um or you can get a teacher
or a native English speaker or a very
high level English learner to help you
with that um but that is really the the
thing that is going to make the most
difference getting the feedback that you
need so to summarize input reading and
listening notice new words guess what
they mean note them Doge with all the
information that you need and review and
most
importantly use those words and make
this a habit all right so make it like
let's say you have 30 minutes a day to
do these spend 15 minutes for example
you don't have to do exactly this I'm
just talking theoretically but let's say
you have 30 minutes in the morning 15
minutes reading and noticing new words
and noting down new words and then 15
minutes trying to use those words and
reviewing the words that you have if you
did that every day over an extended
period of Time how great is your
vocabulary going to be much much better
than going to some school that gives you
a list of golden words or Diamond Words
which is a complete waste of time and
many of you are probably thinking is
there a faster way so you're thinking
that's that seems like a lot of work and
it seems like it's going to take a lot
of time if you think there's a faster
way let me know in the comments I don't
think there is I've I've never met a
student who got a high Bond score by for
example looking at a list of words or
memorizing you know five words and using
them um on the test but feel free to
disagree with me but if you think this
is a waste of time then that's kind of
like going to a gym and saying that you
want to build muscles but you don't want
to lift any weights and you want it
immediately things take time you need to
follow a process process there's no
magic hack there's no magic shortcut
that you can take but this is not only
going to improve your a scores but when
you move to that English speaking
country of your dreams you're going to
be able to have a a much richer life
because you'll be able to actually
communicate with people effectively
because that is what um having a wide-
ranging vocabulary will help you do so
I've added all of this information into
a free guide for you so if you go to to
I advantage.com
vocabulary so if you put that into
Google or put it into your browser
you'll go to this page scroll down click
on this button you can add in your email
and your name and you can download it
pretty much immediately range and
accuracy are the two things that the
examiner will be thinking about when
they're assessing your vocabulary on
test day and there's a huge
misconception about what range actually
means so we're going to look at what the
most popular ielt blog and the most
popular YouTube video have to say about
this and why this is totally wrong why
most students are getting this wrong and
simple free methods that you can use to
actually improve your vocabulary range
to a band S 8 or even nine so let's
start off with the difference between
range and accuracy accuracy refers to
are the words spelled correctly is the
meaning correct are the collocations
correct correct and we're not really
going to focus on that today in this
video because the biggest problem that
we see at I Advantage is students
misunderstanding range and what range
actually means and this isn't actually
the student's fault let's look at whose
fault this actually is right most online
resources most teachers not all teachers
but most of them are giving this kind of
advice all you have to do to get abandon
is learn lots of complex words put those
complex words into your essay and you
will magically get a high score well
that is not the case and what this kind
of advice does is it spawns stuff like
this so if you go on to YouTube and you
look at the most popular YouTube video
on vocabulary this video has millions
and millions of views what they tell you
is all you have to do is memorize words
like this Mesmerize dilemma plethora
recapitulate insert those into your
essay and you will magically get a high
score this is not what range means and
if your teacher is teaching you that
then they simply do not understand the
official marking criteria that the
examiners use so what do we do instead
how can we actually improve our
vocabulary to a band n level well what
I've done here is I've divided the page
into the four most common writing task
two topics education and health are very
very common technology the environment
these are not the only topics that you
might get on test day for task 2 but
they are very very common so let's
imagine that we get a question like this
many
students now learn online what are the
advantages and disadvantages so if we
just decided to say you know these days
online learning is mesmerized by
students and this poses a big dilemma
because of a plethora of resources and
to recapitulate blah blah blah blah that
is not going to work because it's not
actually using the vocabulary that we
normally use to discuss this topic if we
get this book so this is just a random
book on this topic that was on my
bookshelf and we go to the first page we
go to the introduction what I've done
here is I've underlined the the topic
specific words so what are topic
specific words these are words that we
need to use in order to discuss this
topic teaching online online education
internet online learning online courses
instructors Learners teaching online
course on the web mobile apps e-learning
all of these words are very very topic
specific but if we compare them with
these words they are actually quite
simple and a huge misunderstanding is
that range means using lots of complex
words and the more complex words you use
the higher your score and the more
simple words you use the lower your
score this is again a complete
misunderstanding of the marking criteria
because what
the people at ielt will do is in the
writing test and the speaking test they
will ask you a range of different topics
a range of different topics and what
they will be testing is do you have
enough of these topic specific words a
range of these different words in order
to answer these different types of
topics that is what range is really
referring to and if you look at these
words let's write them down here none of
these words are actually very very
complex like
learners teaching internet course these
are very very simple words but it's
impossible to write a an effective essay
without using these simple topic
specific words so at I advantage on our
VIP course we do not give students a
list of complex words what we do is we
do something completely different and
we're going to show you that at the end
of this lesson so let's look at the
topic of health and let's look at
another book called lifespan it is about
why we age and why we don't have to so
let's create a task two question so many
people
have
longer
lifespans than others what are the
causes what can we learn from this okay
so this book is by Dr David Sinclair
he's a PhD he's one of the leading
professors
at Harvard Medical School so he's not
going to be using very simple dumb D
language and this is quite a difficult
book to read but if we were to go into
this book and look for to some topic
specific vocabulary this is what we
would find active lifestyle healthy diet
quality of life stress longevity so
again even though this is a professor
from Harvard Medical School writing
about quite a complex topic most of the
vocabulary that he uses is actually
quite simple none of these words and
phrases are actually very very complex
but what they are they are completely
linked to the question it is impossible
to answer this question effectively
without using these topic specific words
it would be impossible to use these
words to answer this question
effectively you could go on this is a
book about social media and its effect
on our ability to focus and to work this
is by Kyle Newport I believe he's a
professor at MIT the leading Science and
Engineering University on the entire
planet but if we look at this book and
the vocabulary that he uses to talk
about
technology again it is not that complex
he uses words like Focus distractions
concentration notifications productivity
just like these they are not complicated
complex words they are topic specific
words do you need a whole library of
books in order to learn this vocabulary
no absolutely not let me jump into my
computer and show you where you can find
topic specific vocabulary for free and
in a place anybody can access okay so if
we go to the BBC News um and we go over
here to the little hamburger menu
sometimes the menu is at the top it
shouldn't be too difficult to figure out
but don't look at the headlines and the
headlines are normally not useful for
our purposes what we want to do is dig
in to these news topics so these are the
main news topics and as you can see
Education Health Science technology
these are the four most popular Tas two
topics
so what you can do is you can click into
any of
these let's start off with science so
we're going into science and the
environment the environment is a very
very common topic there's also some
science related topics but mostly it's
related to the environment for obvious
reasons if we have a look here at the
very first news story will I still be
able to fly in a net zero world so if we
click into this what this is talking
about is reducing our carbon emissions
to zero and the effect that this will
have on our lifestyle specifically about
flying transportation is another very
common topic so if we were to read
through this and pick out the topic
specific vocabulary so lifestyle goal of
Net Zero carbon emissions just in the
first sentence it's filled with these
topic specific words so what we get our
VIP students to do is simply simply go
to the BBC News each day find at least
one story that could be a task two
question identify the topic specific
words and then note these topic specific
words down add enough information so
that they can remember them and then
review them later and they're able to
then use those in their essays to
effectively answer the question what we
do not do is give them a list of complex
words because that simply does not work
and that is a
misinterpretation of the marking
criteria recently I asked some of our
students who got a band eight or a band
n how do they use vocabulary and one of
the key things that they do is they use
one of these four techniques for
reviewing and remembering and then using
vocabulary and these four techniques I'm
going to share them with you today and
anyone can use them just using these
easy things that all of you have okay so
the first technique that I'm going to
show you is something called matching so
get your piece of paper and write some
of the words that you have recently
discovered so here we have innovate
develop device modify breakthrough
obsolete intuitive and censorship so
this student was reading an article on
technology and they noticed these new
words so they wrote down these new words
in their vocabulary notebook and one of
the review techniques that we show them
is we get them to write synonyms of each
of these words beside the new words that
they have learned so not only are they
learning one new word they're learning a
additional new word that is a synonym
synonyms are extremely important not
only for writing and speaking but also
for reading and listening to so how we
get the students to remember these words
is we get them to cut up these new words
and make them into cards and what you
can do is you can spread these out and
what you do is you match them all right
so we have Antiquated all right which
one is
Antiquated obsolete all right and we
could check the meaning of those so the
meaning is on the back obsolete means
not in use anymore Antiquated not in use
anymore so this is correct and then we
match these
up and then we just keep going so
modify develop no breakthrough no adapt
so adapt the verb adapt and modify these
match together and then we just keep
going until we have matched all of them
together and this is really going to
help you remember these synonyms so the
second technique so we have the meaning
of these words on the back of these
cards so what you could do is put
these with the word facing down and the
meaning facing up so we'll just use a
few of them and then what you can do is
you can just read the meaning of the
word and then okay what is that word so
simple to use intuitive yay I got that
one correct not in use anymore obsolete
yeah I got that one correct using new
methods or ideas
original no Innovative okay so by doing
that I am checking the meaning and
remembering the meaning the next thing
that we can do is we can categorize
these words so there's different things
that we could categorize we could
categorize them by topic so let's say
you have some words that are related to
technology some words are related to
education some words are related to the
environment you could categorize them by
that or you could categorize them by
word form there are nouns adjectives and
verbs here so device is a noun so we're
going to put the nouns Here original is
an adjective develop is a verb obsolete
adjective uh
restriction non discovery nine as you
can see we are just categorizing them by
the
different word types the different word
forms you could even categorize by
pronunciation or number of synonyms
there's lots of different things that
you can do to categorize and
categorization really helps our brains
remember and then use these words
effectively on test day but we do always
need to remember that we are not going
to Simply remember these words
remembering the words is okay for
listening or reading but remember for
speaking and writing we actually have to
use these words so how we can do that is
we could take some of these words and
tell a story so let's take just a few of
these words randomly this was actually
done to me in a job interview once when
I was applying for a job was a lawyer
they gave me four random words and says
okay create a story so let's take four
random words so we're going to have this
one
obsolete this one
modify this one
restriction and this one innate and then
what you could do is think about the
meaning of these words and then create a
just a very short story that uses these
words effectively so you could practice
your writing doing this or you could
practice your speaking doing this and
you could actually record yourself on
your phone and listen back and think
about did I use these words effectively
or not um so what I would like you to do
in the comments pause the video can you
write a story like or one or two
paragraphs using these words effectively
I'm going to think about this for about
10 seconds and then create my own story
so I recently switched from an
iPhone
to a Google phone the reason why I did
that is lots of people said that when
you switch to a Google or an Android
phone you can do lots of modifications
you can modify many of the things within
the ecosystem is the problem with
iPhones is they put lots of restrictions
in place and they restrict the amount of
things that you can change in the
operating system however after using my
Google phone for about a week it was
pretty obsolete for me because I was so
used to iOS and the operating system
that it just made using the Google Phone
useless and I couldn't use it at all
because I've been so used to using this
operating system for so long that it is
innate and so intuitive and easy for me
to use the iPhone that I had to switch
back so as you can see what I did was
just take those four words randomly and
believe me this is random I didn't spend
you know two hours thinking of that
story as you could probably tell from
how bad the story was it doesn't matter
how good the story is it doesn't need to
be you know Hollywood Blockbuster and
level story all you're trying to do is
just understand how to use these words
in a sentence and then you'll be able to
remember them that is far more effective
than what most students do what most
students do is they get long lists of
vocabulary with the word and then maybe
the
meaning and then maybe the translation
into their native language I don't know
any other language other than English so
I'm not going to try that one but they
just read these lists of words and this
is useless uh you're not going to
remember words by just reading them and
the meaning and never use the
translation because that causes all
sorts of problems on test day you're
going to be translating rather than
actually thinking in English band 8 band
n students think in English that is a
huge difference between someone
struggling at a band five Bond six level
and someone getting a bond eight or Bond
n bond eight Bond n students do stuff
like this they don't do stuff like this
because doing stuff like this forces
your brain to think in English and use
English this is easy anything easy
doesn't help you improve this is a
little bit more difficult but as you can
see it's pretty fun you could play a
game you could play this with other
people you could play it in the
classroom if you're at a school on the
key it's going to help you remember all
these new words and if you did this once
a day you know how many words are here
there's not that many if you did this
every single day learned you know 10 new
words every day after 10 days you have
hundreds and hundreds of new words and
then you're able to play even more games
review them even more match even more
categorize even more tell more stories
you could write a whole essay just using
these words so I hope you enjoyed that
guide to vocabulary we also have
ultimate guides for speaking and
listening so if you want those click
here
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