Pukman @ WinK: the community that time didn't forget

For students who want to improve their vocabulary, there are two main ways:

1. Extensive reading
2. Learning from your own wordcards (or an online flashcard service such as V-Flash or iKnow)
3. Working through vocabulary textbooks

Each has its own special characteristics and advantages. Learning through extensive reading may not feel very satisfying, because we don't know exactly what we are learning, and learning may seem very slow. On the other hand, extensive reading allows us to meet the same words many times, and we can pick up vocabulary without much effort. Also, words that we have picked up through extensive reading are not easily forgotten.

Learning from wordcards takes some determination, and for many people it seems very troublesome. However, it has the big advantage that it allows us to learn many words in a short time. Because we notice that our vocabulary is growing, this way of learning can be very satisfying. The most important thing to remember with this way of learning is that it works best if you do lots of repetitions at the beginning.

There are lots of good vocabulary books available. For serious students who want to build their vocabulary to 6000 words and beyond, however, the Vocabulary in Use series is generally recommended. The two chief attractions of this series are that the words are carefully chosen and the books also teach thoroughly the ways the words are used.