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Peťo Machovčák Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

How to acquire an extensive vocabulary?

So, I'm in a dilemma over whether to sit the CPE exam or not (CPE = Certificate of Proficiency in English). Even though I love English I'm not sure I'm currently at the level required to pass. The part that I'm the most worried about is writing because I'd have to produce an excellent piece of writing (actually two) using the stuff like less common lexis, less common 'adhesive devices' as they call it and so forth. The point is I just don't know where to acquire this very academic vocabulary. Lots of people swear by reading a lot but I just swear because I don't know WHAT should I read. I already read BBC news, skim through English websites every day, watch films and shows in English but I feel like I'm not improving much because I don't know what to improve. Classes in school have become too easy for me and I want to improve my English more I don't want to get stuck at this level. Please help what do I do Emotion: big smile?
Thanks for your advice.
  

Top answer

Reading the news on the BBC website is a good start. However, you can find many more such resources freely available on the Internet. For example, you can read reputable newspapers from many English-speaking countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand ...

— Teechr

  • Reading the news on the BBC website is a good start.
  • However, you can find many more such resources freely available on the Internet.
  • For example, you can read reputable newspapers from many English-speaking countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand ...
  • etc.
  • Watching films is more useful for improving your listening skills.
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4 Answers
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Reading the news on the BBC website is a good start. However, you can find many more such resources freely available on the Internet. For example, you can read reputable newspapers from many English-speaking countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand ... etc. Watching films is more useful for improving your listening skills. In fact, beware of colloquialisms in films and avoid u
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I'm afraid that you're right on these exams not testing the knowledge but only certain skills whose relevance is disputable, so to speak. And what else would you recommend apart from reading newspapers? I've been reading those quite regularly for quite a while now and, frankly, I'm getting bored of those purely factual accounts of events. Sure, you can find a variety of articles to read, but can y
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Peto MachovcákAnd what else would you recommend
You can practise writing. We do have a writing sub-forum where you can submit material for us to look at and, hopefully, help you with.
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A great way to develop your vocabulary is to work with the Academic Word list. This is a list of 570 words chosen to improve your vocabulary range and making it easier to succeed in a university environment.

Look at what some universities have said about this list -

This is a very important specialised vocabulary for learners intending to pursue academic studies in English at the
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