Effective ways to improve vocabulary

[shipra]

Effective Ways to Improve Vocabulary: Tip #1

      Studying lists of words is not the way. Spending time at the neighborhood Starbucks, I see plenty of university students preparing for the verbal section of the GRE with storebought word lists, fastidiously prepared flash cards, and other trappings of standardized test mania best served alongside a venti mocha. While not entirely futile, this list-based approach to vocabulary building is misguided at best. Words exist in contexts, and studying words divorced from their contexts makes those words harder to learn - and worse yet, harder to use later. (Think of it this way: if you want to improve your racquetball serve, you'll probably want to position yourself in an actual racquetball court, right?).