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Vocabulary
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Vocabulary
size |
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Find out how
many words you know at testyourvocab.com. |
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New
words |
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Are you
interested in new, creative and often playful word formations?
Then www.wordspy.com
is the site for you to visit.
The dictionary publisher Macmillan also
has its own buzzword
page.
You can first practise guessing the
words' meaning on the basis of their parts (an ability you need to develop for
translation anyway) and then
read the definitions . |
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A
word a day |
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What nicer way
to enlarge your vocabulary than by subscribing to A
word a day? This free newsletter
gives you information on the word of the day's pronunciation, meaning,
etymology and usage. |
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One word a day |
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A very nice
alternative newsletter that specifically addresses German learners of
English can be found at
www.owad.de. Here you will find not only definitions,
usage examples etc. but also German translation equivalents. |
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Academic
Word List |
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The Academic Word List
(AWL) is a list of 570 words which
frequently occur in academic texts but are less common in general writing or speech. It was created by Averil Coxhead, who analysed many academic texts from a wide range of subject areas. The AWL is divided into
10 sub-lists comprising 60 words each (except sub-list 10, which only has 30), with sub-list 1 containing the most frequent words, and sub-list 10 the least frequent ones. Each headword stands for a whole
family of related vocabulary. The list item
conclude thus implicitly evokes conclusion,
conclusive, conclusively,
inconclusive and inconclusively. |
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Vocabulary
training programs |
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PONS's Lexitrainer
is a free online vocabulary program that
tests your vocabulary knowledge in
different ways. It also remembers the
words that you look up in the online dictionary at www.pons.eu
and thus allows you to revise your own personalised vocabulary. |
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Other free electronic
vocab training programs, which were recommended to me by my
students, are WinVok
and Pauker. |
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Learn
vocabulary and save the world at the same time |
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You would like
to expand your English vocabulary and do other people good at the same
time? This is actually possible: at www.freerice.com,
a site which is supported by the United Nations. For each word that you
correctly identify as the synonym of a hard word, they will
donate 20
grains of rice to hungry people all over the world. Even though it is
questionable whether hard words are that useful for learners (actually,
the most frequent words are usually the most tricky ones), enlarging your
vocabulary on this site may still do you - and maybe others - some good. |
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A
way with words |
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The entertaining
one-hour radio show A
way with words deals with the origins
of words, curious expressions etc. You can listen to the
episodes online. |
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Reading |
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Recommended reading
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 | Berman, Michael (1996): Pizazz! Puzzles and Exercises for
Students of English. Southampton: Englang.
[The most enjoyable way to enlarge your
vocabulary.] |
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| Bulmer, A.F. and W.R. Adamson (1996): Which Words? A Fresh
Approach to Vocabulary Building for Advanced Students.
Southampton: Englang.
[Not only useful but also fun to read.] |
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| Hoffmann, Hans G. and Marion Hoffmann (2003): Großer
Lernwortschatz Englisch. 2nd ed. Ismaning: Hueber.
[If you want to learn vocabulary with German
translation equivalents, this is the book for you.] |
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| Humphrey, Richard (2001): Your Words, Your World. Stuttgart:
Klett. |
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| McCarthy, Michael and Felicity O'Dell (2002): English Vocabulary
in Use. Advanced. Cambridge: CUP. |
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| Parkes, Geoff and Alan Cornell (1989): German-English False
Friends. (3 Vols). Southampton: Englang.
[These cleverly illustrated books give you an idea of possible false
friends - but handle with care and do not let them confuse you.] |
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