1. Try a new method to learn vocabulary, it's an easy way just read here how to do it!You can earn your time Learning vocabulary can be a difficult, and often boring, process. But with the right methods, you can learn twice the words – or more – in half the time, and have a lot of fun doing it!

There are actually a number of powerful ways to master lots of new English words, but I’d like to focus on just one of my favorites for this article: rapid vocabulary building with the “roots” of the English language.

The roots of English are the pieces of words that have their own meaning. They’re kind of like the atoms of the linguistic world, and you put them together in varying combinations to make complete words. Roots that come at the beginning of words are called “prefixes,” those appearing at the end are known as “suffixes,” and the same root can even appear in different positions in different words.

The words “prefix” and “suffix” even contain roots! “Pre” means “before” or “in front of.” “Fix” means “attach” or “connect.” So, the meaning of the word “prefix” is “something attached to the beginning of something else.” “Suffixes,” likewise, are things attached to the ends of something else.

Here’s another example with “bicycle,” a more common word. The root “bi” means “two,” while the root “cycle” means “wheel” or “circle.” When we really look closely, we discover that the word “bicycle” is actually an extremely short story with the meaning of “two wheels.”

I always tell students that they should master the meaning of a word by understanding its story, not by trying to memorize its translation, to really push that word deep into the brain. Short stories and mental pictures are far more memorable than lists of words.

Keep a notebook of new words you learn. Use them in sentences and try to say them at least 3 times when you speak.

Here are the full definitions of the “stories” from the words in the matrix:

biography – a life story (the history of someone’s life)

geography – the study of the physical features of land

biometrics – the science of measuring biological data

geometry – branch of mathematics concerned with measuring sizes, areas and shapes

biology – the study of life

These roots also combine to create five additional words with easy-to-understand stories of their own:

biogeology – the study of the interactions between the Earth’s biosphere and the lithosphere

graphometer – a semicircle-shaped surveying instrument used for angle measurements

graphology – the study and analysis of handwriting

Roots are easier to remember than complete words, and they give you serious learning leverage. You can find lists of them easily online, but a much better way to learn them is to take a second look at many of the words you already know. You just might find some right here in this article. 

Going forward, pay attention to the new words you learn, think of each word as its own story, and play with roots you learn to try creating original vocabulary – and fun product names – of your own!

To help you learn even more great language learning shortcuts, and build speaking confidence, please enjoy this playlist of some of my very best language learning tips. It contains over 30 videos for you to enjoy, and lots of simple examples to make learning more fun and automatic:

Finally, to learn how to meet native English speakers to practice your spoken English with, discover the 3 dangerous mistakes most English learners make and much, much more, join my totally free Power Learning video course. The course will teach you everything you need to know about how to learn like my most successful students and become a great English speaker quickly.

Remember that as long as you have tried your hardest, you have succeeded!