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Centro Colombo Americano

Here is why you need a thesaurus!

Learning about synonyms is key to upgrade your language.

It is necessary to learn more vocabulary

It is important to learn more vocabulary

It is paramount to learn more vocabulary

In the first stages of learning a language there are always some words that give us a boost of confidence to start talking in English. Some of these words are important, necessary, possible, or difficult, among others. We learn these words from the very beginning, almost instinctively, perhaps because of due to their resemblance to our native language, or because of how often we hear them used by our teachers or partners. The confidence we get from these words and the boost they give us to try to take a chance by participating in a discussion are necessary vital in the language learning journey. The problem issue is that as we evolve in our language, we continue persist in using the same group of words; this, in turn, has a negative effect on our proficiency, accuracy and even the complexity of our ideas.

Most students understand the importance of learning vocabulary, but the approach they usually follow to develop a better lexicon is neither appropriate nor consistent and they might end up feeling frustrated about their lack of a broad vocabulary. Having a wide lexicon is definitely not as easy or difficult simple or as complicated as you may think. It takes time, but it’s important to find a strategy that will keep you consistent. There is no one single strategy that works for everybody, but there is a tool that everyone can benefit from: a thesaurus. Using Employing a thesaurus is just as important as using a dictionary, as it can provide you with a great number of words that could replace the ones that you want to stop overusing.

Most thesaurus include a good variety of words provided for a specific context. It is essential to bear in mind the right function of the words we choose and get familiar with the synonyms one-by-one. Applying too many new words all at once is neither effective nor sustainable in your speech. So Thus, my advice would be to start replacing three of the words you most frequently use with a smart synonym for each one. Be sure that the word you choose is one that you find yourself comfortable using and that you can retain easily. Keep replacing words every week and you will notice that you have internalized a new lexicon and no longer need to go back to your basic vocabulary – which, by the way, you can and should continue using, but not as frequently as you one did. Hopefully, in just a few weeks of regular practice you will notice how easily smoothly you can substitute basic words for higher level vocabulary.

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