What is the best way to improve your vocabulary?
If you ask the question to English teachers, they will tell you the same thing. They will tell you that the best way to build your vocabulary is to learn vocabulary in the context by listening and reading a lot. That is the best way to increase your vocabulary.
This is common sense. But most people don't do it. Because they spend too much time on things like social media and funny videos.
Here're two benefits* you will get from applying this habit.
The first benefit you'll get is "intuition*".
What is intuition?
Well, let's say that you come across a multiple choice question about English grammar. You look at the choices and you know immediately what the correct answer is. You don't know the grammar rule that explains it. There is no reasoning behind it. It just feels right.
That is intuition. It comes from taking in a lot of input by listening and reading.
Unfortunately, some people don't appreciate* the the power of intuition. They learn vocabulary in a very strange way. They don't learn vocabulary in context. Instead, they find a list of words and memorize the meaning of each word one by one.
This seems like a good idea. But it's stupid.
Just because we know the meaning of a word doesn't mean that we can use it. It's not enough. we also need to know how the word is used.
You already know that it's much better to learn vocabulary by listening and reading. Because when you do that, you're not only improving your vocabulary but also grammar, sentence structure, and so on.
The second benefit is an increase in brain power.
Just like how a muscle needs physical exercise to become stronger, your brain needs mental* exercise to grow as well.
Regular listening and reading is a great mental exercise. It improves so many functions of the brain.
When you listen to someone speaking, you have to stay focused. This improves your attention. And if they're speaking really fast, your're also training your brain to process information faster, which leads to better comprehension*.
Reading is great too. It improves your memory. When you read a novel, you need to remember lots of details like the names of the characters, their backgrounds, the plot*, and so on. Some books even increase your intelligence*. Reading certain types of books improves the way you think.
And these are just a few benefits. There are so many other benefits that I didn't even mention here.
So if you want to speak English well, you're going to need to have a strong, healthy brain with lots of power. By the way, if your're not living in an English-speaking country, this habit is a must.
DICTIONARY
*benefit: an advantage or profit gained from something; eg, "enjoy the benefits of being the member".
*intuition: the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning; eg, "we shall allow our intuition to guide us".
*appreciate: recognize the full worth of; eg, "she feels that he does not appreciate her ".
*mental: relating to the mind.
*comprehension: the ability to understand something; eg, "the comprehension of spoken language".
*plot: the main events of a play or a novel.
*intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
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