Do you know how to expand your vocabulary without word lists? Having a large and diverse knowledge of words and their meanings helps you to express your thoughts clearly and accurately. A wide vocabulary will also help you to achieve a high band score in IELTS. However, building up your IELTS speaking vocabulary can be difficult, especially if you depend on word lists, which can feel repetitive.
Let’s look at ways to expand your vocabulary for IELTS speaking. You’ll learn how to improve your fluency in English, in fun, effective ways.
1. How to expand your vocabulary through contextual learning
What is contextual learning? It means learning words and phrases naturally by coming across them in everyday situations, outside of formal study time.. For example, you might overhear a conversation in the supermarket or read an advert in English on the bus. Being exposed to unfamiliar vocabulary in context can help you to remember new words and how to use them correctly.
But how can you expand your vocabulary for IELTS Speaking through contextual learning, if you don’t live in an English-speaking country?
Podcasts, TV shows, and YouTube videos in English are all great resources, for example. By watching and listening to this kind of English-language media, you will be exposed to words and expressions that you perhaps don’t know, with context to help you understand this new vocabulary.
If you’re watching a travel channel on YouTube, you might hear the phrase off the beaten path. This means a type of journey or place that isn’t visited by many tourists. Hearing it in the context of the video will help you to understand the meaning of the phrase. You can also pause what you’re watching and look it up to check that you’re right. This will help you to feel confident about using this expression yourself.
Similarly, a chef in a cooking show might say “This dish is certainly a crowd-pleaser” – a way of expressing that everyone enjoys it. Learning this expression within the context of the show will help you remember the meaning.
For the most effective way of expanding your vocabulary, support your contextual learning with a word bank where you write down any new terms that you come across. You’ll need to add:
- where you learned the new word or expression
- what the context was
- the definition
You then have a database to pull different vocabulary from and learn new words and expressions.
Your word bank could look something like this:
Take the scenic route
From: Travel programme.
Context: The presenter recommends taking the scenic route on a train journey.
Meaning: Choose the journey with the best views (normally not the fastest route).
Step out of your comfort zone
From: Self-help podcast.
Context: An entrepreneur explains that stepping out of her comfort zone gave her
confidence to start a business.
Meaning: Doing something that is unfamiliar or challenging, normally to develop in
something.
Climb the career ladder
From: Business advice videos.
Context: The host gives tips to climb the career ladder during a recession.
Meaning: To advance to higher positions in work.
Building this kind of database for new vocabulary will help you to learn new words and expressions you come across. That way, you’ll be able to incorporate them when you’re communicating in English, helping you to sound more fluent.
Know how to expand your vocabulary and ready for your IELTS test? Book with the British Council now
2. How to expand your vocabulary through teaching
If you’re still wondering how to expand your vocabulary, there’s really no better way to learn than to teach it to someone else. It’s called ‘the protégé effect’. Explaining vocabulary to another English learner is a powerful way to strengthen your understanding of new words, retain their meaning, and remember when to use them.
Top tips:
- You could pair up with another learner for a weekly study session and challenge each other to explain two or three expressions in each session.
- You can also benefit from the protégé effect by explaining new vocabulary on camera. Research shows that ‘teaching’ a new concept to a camera brings the same benefits as teaching it to other students. So, set up your camera and film yourself explaining your favourite new expressions! You could even compile these clips and listen back to them as a study aid.
Here are some other ways of incorporating new vocabulary, which can be particularly helpful when preparing for the IELTS test.
- Write daily journal entries using new phrases. Even just 5–10 minutes a day helps reinforce how you use them.
- Practise speaking with a friend or teacher, and challenge yourself to use at least 2–3 new expressions during the conversation.
- Use flashcards, but instead of writing only definitions, create example sentences from your own life.
3. How to expand your vocabulary through topic association diagrams
Topic association diagrams are much better learning aids than word lists when it comes to boosting your vocabulary. Diagrams help with the visual representation of vocabulary networks around topics - and they’re simple to create.
Start by writing a topic in the centre of a page, and then write subtopics as branches around that. For example, if the topic is technology, you could include subheaders like trends, risks, instructions, and ethics. You then list vocabulary that relates to each subtopic. Your topic association might end up looking like this:
Technology
Trends Risks
Artificial intelligence Data privacy
Wearable technology Screen addiction
Smart home devices Cyberbullying
Ethics Instructions
Echo chamber Configure
Data bias Install
Tech monopoly Software update
Topic association diagrams help you make mental connections between new vocabulary and broader themes. It’s a fantastic way to learn and build on the most common vocabulary in English. It also enables you to recall words and expressions faster and with ease. It’s also a great strategy for visualisation, where you can form a mental picture of your topic association diagram, and easily access the vocabulary there.
Some tips to support visualisation:
- Use colour-coded branches for each sub-topic
- Add sketches or icons next to each word to trigger your memory (e.g. a house next to “smart home devices”)
- Story chains: Write a simple statement using different vocabulary for each subtopic. E.g., "Artificial intelligence powers both wearable technology and smart home devices.”
Final thoughts on how to expand your vocabulary
A broad vocabulary shows that you have diverse speaking and writing capabilities, and helps you to sound more natural and confident when speaking English. While everyone has different learning styles, you now know how to expand your vocabulary - just be sure to find the ways that suit you best. Simply experiment with the strategies listed above.
Know how to expand your vocabulary and ready for your IELTS test? Book with the British Council now