B1 Dialog #51 Talking about vocabulary

Today we are going to talk about vocabulary. As always you can read the text in the PDF which you can find in the description. Follow our podcasts on iTunes and Yandex Music. For more new dialogs subscribe to our channel.

How to work with the dialog?

  1. Listen to the dialog and read the PDF transcript. Turn on subtitles if necessary.
  2. Listen to the dialog again, repeating the questions and answers aloud (!!!).
  3. Come up with your own answers to the questions. Use PDF vocabulary if needed.
  4. Listen to the questions and answer them aloud (!!!), with a correct intonation, pronunciation and rhythm.
  5. Go back to the video from time to time and repeat the exercise.

Talking about vocabulary

(1) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘vocabulary’?

I think about words and phrases that we use in a conversation. It’s not only about English of course. Vocabulary is important for any language.

(2) How important do you think vocabulary is?

If we don’t know any words and phrases, we can’t speak. So vocabulary is important. 

(3) Is your teacher good at teaching vocabulary?

I had many different teachers. Some of them were good, some of them were bad. They were different. 

(4) What problems do you have with vocabulary?

The biggest problem with vocabulary is to remember new words and phrases. It takes time. We all are humans. We can’t remember new information instantly. Our brain doesn’t work like this.

(5) What advice do you have for students learning vocabulary?

Write down everything you hear and read in English. Writing is a powerful way to remember new vocabulary. When you see or hear a good phrase, just write it down.

Try to revise new words and phrases from time to time. 

Try to speak English as much as you can. When you speak a lot, you improve your active vocabulary, which is very important. 

Please watch my video about learning vocabulary. You will find a lot of useful information there.

(6) What word makes you proud of your vocabulary?

I don’t know. There are a lot of good words in English. I can’t choose only one.

(7) What’s the best way to broaden your vocabulary?

The best way to broaden your vocabulary is working with our dialogs on a constant basis! ?

(8) What’s the best way to study for a vocabulary test?

Tests are different. But if you want to study for it, you need to work more with other tests like this. I think it’s the best way to get prepared for any test.

(9) How important is slang in vocabulary learning?

It’s important if your English is already good enough and you want to sound more like a native. If you just start learning English, you don’t need to learn a lot of slang. It’s not so important in the beginning.

(10) What book can you recommend to help others learn vocabulary?

Just read one page of a new book. If you understand 80% of it and see the whole sense of what you have read, it’s a good book for you. I would recommend books from Oxford Bookworms Library. They make wonderful books, divided by different levels.

You will find the link in PDF.

Rinat —–> Anya

(1) What’s more important, grammar or vocabulary?

In order to speak confidently and not to make many mistakes we should learn both. So both are important.

(2) Do you like studying vocabulary?

Yes, of course. It makes my speech much more interesting and rich.

(3) Do you have an impressive knowledge of vocabulary in your own language?

I hope so. Reading helps people to broaden their vocabulary. I like to read a lot. 

(4) What’s the hardest thing about learning English vocabulary?

To remember new words and not to forget them after a few days.

(5) Are there words in English you still keep forgetting?

Yes,of course. But it’s OK. I know that I will remember them one day. 

(6) Do you separate your vocabulary lists into words, idioms, phrasal verbs, etc?

No, I don’t. Maybe I should. Do you think it’s a good idea?

(7) What do you know about the ‘bad’ words in the English vocabulary?

Not so much. Only two of them I think. I don’t need them.

(8) What do you think of English words becoming part of the vocabulary of your own language?

It’s a normal process. We live in a big open world, make foreign friends and read news about other countries. I think our language is developing in this way.

(9) What’s the best website for learning vocabulary?

There are so many of them. I can’t say what website is the best.

(10) Are vocabulary games a good way to remember vocabulary?

Yes, it’s a really good idea. Because we enjoy playing. And when we like something we usually do it better.