How to Remember Vocabulary From Books: 9 Proven Strategies | Chapterly Blog
How to Remember Vocabulary From Books: 9 Proven Strategies You are reading a novel and encounter the word "insouciant." The context tells you it means something like carefree or unconcerned. You appreciate the precision. Two weeks later, you cannot remember the word at all. This is one of the most common frustrations among readers. Books expose you to rich, precise vocabulary that could elevate your thinking and communication, but the words slip away almost as soon as you turn the page. The good news is that vocabulary acquisition from reading is well-studied, and there are proven methods to make new words stick. Here are nine strategies that actually work, ordered from simplest to most effective. 1. Read More (But Not Just Anything) The foundation of vocabulary building is volume. Research consistently shows that extensive reading is the single most effective way to expand your vocabulary naturally. Each encounter with an unfamiliar word in context strengthens your understanding of it. But not all reading is equally useful for vocabulary. Books written at a level slightly above your current vocabulary are most effective. If you understand 95 to 98 percent of the words on a page, the remaining 2 to 5 percent...