How To Expand your Foreign Language Vocabulary Quickly and Easily

Do you feel frustrated when trying to communicate with overseas friends, other foreign language students, or your teacher? Is your lack of vocabulary holding you back? The easy steps below will help you to increase the number of words you understand with minimum effort and maximum return.

1. Make a list of the things that you did today: taking a shower, putting on makeup, commuting to the office, doing housework, etc. Pick the ordinary, everyday things that you repeat several times a week.
2. Narrow the list to items you might want to discuss with somebody, and add some current events. For example, topics of conversation might be children, Internet sites, weird people you meet on the subway every day, inconsiderate drivers, the weather, irritation with a coworker, or an increase in oil prices.
3. Order the list with the most likely topics first and the least likely last.
4. Narrow the list to ten items. Do not discard it. You may need the topics in a few days.
5. Write your topics down on separate slips of paper and put them into a container like a coffee tin or a microwave cup with lid.
6. Shake well and draw out a slip of paper.
7. Now, give a one-minute talk based on the topic. Pretend that you are in front of a group of people, and do not allow yourself to use fillers such as 'um,' 'er,' 'uh,' 'eh,' etc.
8. Do not worry about grammar. The object is to think quickly and pick words from your existing vocabulary. If you have a problem with verb tenses, say something like, 'I go to New York on Wednesday' or 'I go to New York last Wednesday.' People will understand what you are trying to say, and that is the whole point of communicating in a foreign language.
9. Once your minute is up, write down any words that you lacked. It is important to do this immediately, while the topic is fresh in your mind.
10. Look up the words in a dictionary.
11. Make notes about gender, plural formations, etc.
12. Try the speech again.
13. Throughout the day, review the speech in your mind. New words will likely occur to you. If you can, find their foreign language equivalents too.
14. Review the words once more just before bedtime.
15. The next day, pick another topic and repeat the process. Try to incorporate some or all of the new words you learned with the previous talk(s).
16. Once you have completed all the topics, increase the time allotted to two minutes, and go through them again. Remember that repetition is the key to learning.
17. Increase the number of minutes per topic to three in the next round, or select ten new ideas.

Here are ten subjects to get you jumpstarted:

1. Internet sites I visited last month
2. What I am doing to conserve energy
3. My most irritating relative
4. The latest gossip from the office or neighborhood
5. What I like to do in my spare time
6. My favorite foods
7. My favorite movies
8. What I would like to say to a telemarketer
9. My favorite television or movie star
10. Why I do or do not believe in God

Do not allow yourself to become discouraged. How long did it take you to learn your native language? Be positive, stick with it, and before long, you will be truly be bi- or multilingual.