6 best ways of getting vocabulary for IELTS

It is a common situation when some candidates are stuck between bands 6 and 7  because of their limited vocabulary. In order to get a high score both in IELTS Speaking and Writing you need to demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary as well as to succeed in the Listening and Reading sections of the exam. According to the assessment criteria, vocabulary covers 25% of the marks for Speaking and Writing tests, so the better your vocabulary the higher the score if you use it properly. How can one enhance his vocabulary within a short period of time? What are the ways to improve? Is it possible at all? Read this article to find out.

Tip #1. Learn phrases instead of words

It is advisable to learn not separate words but collocations, i.e. words that native speakers commonly use together. For example, let’s take the word “vocabulary”. How many collocations with it do you know? What comes to your mind when you hear it:

• limited/poor vocabulary;
• range of vocabulary;
• acquire vocabulary;
• build / enlarge  / increase vocabulary;
• active vocabulary;
• passive vocabulary;
• vocabulary item, etc.

Learning only words is not enough. In order to demonstrate your high level of English (above 7), you need to know how to connect these words with other words and how to use them in the right context. Phrases are better to learn because they create this context, thus it is easier for us to understand and remember them.

Tip # 2. Use the English-English dictionary

English-English dictionaries are a real treasure because there you can find all those phrases and collocations. There are a few good dictionaries available online, and they are absolutely free to use:

Cambridge Dictionary

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary

Free Collocation

The English-English dictionaries provide you with definitions, uses, synonyms, collocations, examples, and even idioms if there are such with the word you are learning. 

For example, we have taken the word “exam” and checked what Oxford Dictionary offers for this word:

There are a few more good reasons to use the English-English dictionary:

• They prevent you from translating, i.e. you start thinking in English and so speed up your comprehension and production of the language. You increase your use of English outside the classroom as well.
• They help you understand the words that do not translate in your own language. Sometimes the translations cannot give the same meaning as the English word.  For example, the word “stan” has no translation in Ukrainian. It appeared in the song by Eminem “Stan”. Cambridge dictionary defines it as “someone who greatly admires a singer or other famous person, to an extent that is unusual”: Lady Gaga’s devoted fans are the most visible example of stan culture. Eminem has so many stans. 
• They teach you how to explain things in English. Dictionaries explain notions with simple words. This is exactly what you need to know how to do if you, for example, can not find the word or forget it during the exam. Reading the definitions helps you learn to make your own ones when you need them. 

READ ABOUT: Top 30 words and phrases to avoid in IELTS Academic Writing

Tip #3. Learn topic vocabulary

Learning vocabulary by topic is a good idea as you will know the most important words and phrases you can come across in the Reading or Listening sections as well as what you need to use in your essay or when answering the examiner’s questions in the Speaking section of the IELTS. 

There are about 20 different topics for IELTS that you cannot change even if you do not like them or are not familiar with them. In other words, we recommend researching, learning and practicing to use the vocabulary on various topics before your exam.

Tip #4. Pay attention to the new meanings of the words you already know 

You might know many words. However, those familiar words might have different meanings. This often happens, for example, with verbs that take prepositions or adverbs, and they mean a completely different thing when they are combined. Those are phrasal verbs, the trickiest verbs for all non-native learners and the most common ones for native speakers.
For example:

put (v) – to move something or someone into the stated place, position, or direction;

up (adv) – towards a higher position; out of the ground. 

However, the phrasal verb “put up” has a completely different meaning:

put up – to stay somewhere for the night. 

For example:

• We put up at a small hotel for the night. 

If you are not sure which phrasal verb is formal, informal or neutral, we recommend that you replace it with a single verb equivalent in your IELTS Writing. Here are some common phrasal verbs with the verbs that you can use instead.

Another example when the words you might already know change their meaning is when they are used as a part of the idiom:

put all (one’s) eggs in one basket – to invest, devote, or commit all of one’s energy or resources into a single venture, opportunity, or goal, generally at the risk of losing everything in the event that that thing fails or does not come to fruition. For example:

• She has put all her eggs in one basket with this merger deal. If it doesn’t work out, I doubt her company can survive.

In the idioms, we usually cannot deduce the meaning from separate words. If you want to score higher than 7, you should use idiomatic vocabulary in the Speaking section.

READ ABOUT: 20 helpful idioms for IELTS Speaking

Tip #5. Learn different forms of the word

Being aware of the word and its meaning is good, but knowing the other word forms is more beneficial.  You can easily understand it when you hear or read it in the text whichever form it is used in. 

For example, let us check how many other word forms you can make for the word “different”:

• differ (v)
• difference (n)
• indifferent (adj)
• differently (adv)
• differentiate (v)

Most words in English have different forms for different parts of speech, but not all words have all forms. 

Some words look the same for different parts of speech:

• better (adj): Your plan is better than mine.
• better (adv): She knows it better.
• better (n): Give place to your betters.
• better (v): Bradman’s score of 96 has never been bettered. 

Some words have more than one form for the same part of speech:

• bored (adj): I am bored with reading this book.
• boring (adj): This book is boring.

The idea is to learn the root of the word and make up new words, learn and use them.

Tip #6. If you don’t use it, you will lose it

Learning the new vocabulary is half of the way. If we don’t use the words we learn, our brain tends to forget them. What you can do is to use the words and phrases you learn in sentences or even stories. This is how you will create the context for the new vocabulary, personalize it and make them meaningful to you.

As you can see, a good vocabulary increases your chances to get a higher score in IELTS. While the exam consists of four sections, there is one common thing in all of them – vocabulary. Make sure you fully take advantage of IELTS preparation before the day of the exam, and then you shine bright.