max english.tips

MASTER
VOCABULARY

How to learn the vocabulary that natives speakers use


My name is Max and I’m from Argentina. Like you, I’m a non-native English speaker. I started to learn English in 2011 (yes, that recently) when
after 2 years of very casually flirting with the idea of learning this language, I decided to get serious about it. I became fluent a couple of months
after that, and from those days until now I’ve learned a lot more.
Because I am not a native speaker, I can understand all the difficulties
and frustrations that you have or are going through. Below I’m going
to list some of the thoughts that have crossed my mind (and I’m sure
yours too!) in my efforts to reach fluency:

That’s me in the red t-shirt.

> How do I even begin?
> I can’t speak! It’s so hard!
> How the heck did they become that fluent? Will I ever reach fluency?
> OMG! I’m gonna make a fool out of myself!

> When will I ever understand movies without subtitles!
> They speak so fast I can’t understand
Fortunately, I’ve always found different ways to overcome all those difficulties and now I can’t wait to share with
you all about them. In this ocassion I will only focus on the vocabulary acquisition aspect of learning English. Perhaps another time we will get into the other many different things that go into learning English.

Enjoy!
Max

max english.tips


MASTER VOCABULARY
This guide is free and you are welcome to share it with others.

Three Vocabulary Learning Methods & Some Big Ideas:
> Introduction
> Vocabulary List
> Active Vocabulary vs Passive Vocabulary
> Key to Success: Use your English Every Day
> Method One
> Is Translating a Good Idea?
> Method Two
> What’s the Vocabulary that Natives Use?
> Method Three


METHOD
ONE

METHOD
TWO

METHOD
THREE


INTRODUCTION
Broadly speaking, vocabulary is one of the three pillars of any spoken language. We assign words to specific objects

or concepts. Then, with grammar, we organize these words in a way that makes sense. And lastly, pronunciation is
how we turn these ordered sequence (grammar) of words (vocabulary) into sounds that can be understood by the
listener. That’s how we speak.

vocabulary + grammar + pronunciation

=

language we can hear and speak
One thing is the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation you naturally and progressively learn from the day your
brain starts to absorb language. But one very different thing is the language you start to learn as a human being
who is past his or her childhood. This is when the following questions start to puzzle millions of people around the
world who have the desire to speak a second language:
1- How do I learn new words and not forget them?
2- How do I learn all these grammatical structures to speak perfectly?
3- How do I speak as fast as natives and lose my accent?
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In Master Vocabulary, I’m going to walk you through three vocabulary learning methods that tackle the first question: “How do I learn new words and not forget them?”
This works for learninig the most essential pieces of vocabulary in English, like “animal names” or “days of the
week,” but it’s specially useful for acquiring advanced vocabulary; more precisely “native speaker’s vocabulary,”
which is the vocabulary that very few non-native English speakers actually use. (why don’t they use it? Go to page
25).

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VOCABULARY LISTS
Keeping a vocabulary list is critical for a number of reasons. Three of the most important ones are:
• We can use it for reference in the future.
• We can use it for reviewing, which will further help us
consolidate the learned vocabulary.
• And most importantly, building a vocabulary list will
force us to concentrate in each individual word or
phrase because we will actively explore their key aspects of meaning. This together with the benefit of
learning just from the process of writing down said
word or phrase leads to an enhanced memory.
The three vocabulary learning techniques I will teach to
you in this guide rely on vocabulary lists. We want these
new phrases and words –or at least a portion of them–
to exist somewhere in the form of a database (i.e. in a
text file in your computer).


ACTIVE VOCABULARY VS PASSIVE VOCABULARY
Your active vocabulary is the body of vocabulary that you can use spontaneously at
any given moment. I’m sure you don’t have any problem saying something like “I love
reading books” because all these four words are at the core of your active vocabulary.
But, when you want to say something that requires a more advanced use of words, or
when you are talking about a topic you are not very familiar with, you will most likely
struggle to remember the words you want to say. When this happens, you interrumpt
your speech and utter an “uhmmmm” more often than other times. You might even
admit you are short on words and say “What is this word I’m looking for?” or even “I
don’t know how to say this in English.” Then, if someone guesses the words you’re trying to use you will say “Exactly, that one!” and you’ll feel a great relief.
This represents active vocabulary as being

–metaphorically speaking– at the front of
the brain, meaning easily available. Passive
vocabulary is at the back, and it requires a
greater memory effort to use.

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passive
vocabulary

active
vocabulary
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When you stop to retrieve the elusive words from your memory, you are trying to use
vocabulary that is in the passive vocabulary area of your brain. Your passive vocabulary is comprised of all the words and phrases that you know, but hardly ever use.
When non-native English speakers go from hardly ever using their English to using it a
lot, their speaking skills improve dramatically. One of the reasons why this happens is
because they have the opportunity to engage plenty of vocabulary they already knew
but didn’t have the chance to use.
This means that their progress is not just marked by how many new words they learn.
A key reason lies in the fact that their active vocabulary has been enlarged with formerly passive vocabulary. However, if they suddenly stop using the language on a regular basis, their active vocabulary will start to shrink, as much of it will become, once
again, passive vocabulary.
When you bump into a new word, there is a process it has to go through for it to become part of your active vocabulary. When you learn it in a significant way like in a real
life situation, this word is more likely to penetrate into your memory. If you learn new
vocabulary by reading, watching TV or listening to an audio in English, engaging with it
by going through the process of writing it down in your list will also increase the chances it will stick in your memory and be available when you need to use it.
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KEY TO SUCCESS: USE YOUR ENGLISH EVERY DAY
Nothing can beat the effectiveness of practicing what you learn, and vocabulary and second language acquisition is no exception to that. It’s only by putting your new knowledge
into practice that you will be able to build on your improving skills.
The more you engange in the production of language, whether it be speech or writing, the
more you will predispone your brain to think in English as well as to consolidate recently
learned vocabulary. Similarly, the more you engange in the reception of language by listening and reading, the more you will perdipone your brain to absorb new vocabulary.
Using English doesn’t just mean speaking it; it means getting exposure to the language as
much as you can. The amount of time you can dedicate to enganging your brain in some
kind of activity that involves the language is directly propotional to the results you can expect.
The methods and vocabulary learning techniques that this guide teaches you are intended
to maximize the natural benefits that you get from using the language on a daily basis.
Any new piece of vocabulary you learn –or anything that you learn in life for that matter– is
in the beginning a frail sprout that will only survive if you water it. In your case, the water
is the practice of using your English regularly. This is the only way you can rest assured your
English will take stronger roots and it will become better in all its different aspects.


METHOD #1
This is the simplest and less novel of the three vocabulary building meth-

cousin: primo

od you will learn in this guide, and for this reason it’s also the most widely aunt: tia
used. It’s a very plain formula: English word equals learner’s native lanuncle: tio
guage word. This method is generally used at the beginning stage of the

nephew/niece: sobrino/a


learning process, where the goal is to learn as many words as possible

grandmother: abuela

to so that the student can start speaking. To the right is what this simple

This is exemplified with Spanish equivalents

system looks like.
A beginning English student will see results from doing this activity almost immediately, and this encourages them
to keep learning vocabulary. Motivation is this method’s biggest intangible benefit.
Although it’s not essential that you do this, a lot people like arranging words by semantic groups, like this:
Farm animals

Fruits

Ways to say “see”

cow: vaca

apple: manzana

Look at: mirar

horse: caballo

orange: naranja

Peet at: espiar


pig: puerco

pear: pera

Gaze: mirar fijamente

goat: cabra

watermelon: sandia

Squint: mirar con ojos entrecerrados

roast: gallo

pineapple: pina

Behold: observar

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Many also swear by the practice of not just learning individual words, but also word groups. This is indeed a more
effective way to learn vocabulary because: a) you will become more aware of the context where the word is more
likely to appear; b) you will get an idea of the words that usually collocate with the new word; and c) the surrounding words will magnify the meaning of the term in question and this will increase the chances you will remember it.
Let’s say you stumble upon the word “aware” for the first time:

We’re fully aware of the risks.

Looking up the word “to be aware” and finding out that it translates –in Spanish– to “ser conciente” is just one part
of the puzzle. You might also want to take notice of “fully,” which is the word that collocates with “aware” to mean
“very.” You should also notice from the sentence above that it’s not to be aware “in” or “on” something, the preposition that goes with this word is “of.”
Paying attention to the way a word interplays with other words in a phrase or sentence helps us absorb more information about the the patterns and typical uses of the word. This will make our vocabulary more complete and
efficient because you will see how it’s really used in English today. Below is what a vocabulary list entry for this
example would look like:
to be fully aware of (sth): estar totalmente conciente de (algo). Ex: “We’re fully aware of the risks.”
If it’s the very first time you see this word you might miss the fact that this sentence is also telling you more about
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the usage of this word. It’s telling you that “aware” is most times used with a situation that causes us to have a negative feeling. We say to be aware of an issue, problem, danger, etc. You might miss this the first time, but by engaging with vocabulary in this way will predispone you to later realize about these details.
Looking at new vocabulary in this way will also lead you to realize about other word combinations. You have
learned “to be aware of something,” but soon you will realize that “to become aware of something” or “to be made
aware of something” imply different things. The more input you receive, the quicker you will be able to master the
full range of word combinations a word has.
We have seen that method #1 has two formats. One that is very simple and consists of equating an English word
to its corresponding word in the learner’s native language, and another that captures more information about the
surrounding words.

Format A
to be aware: ser/estar consciente
Format B
to be fully aware of: estar totalmente consciente de. Ex: We’re fully aware of the risks.
main
word
contextual
words


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equivalent of main and contextual words

example sentence

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The moment format 1 is the most effective is when a person is just starting to learn the language, but isn’t very proactive yet. Here they encounter the first hump in their efforts to speak another language, and this is not knowing
enough words to express the most basic ideas. Vocabulary lists are the obvious solution for this. Once they begin
the process they see results almost immediately, which motivates them to make a bigger commitment with their
learning and hopefully advance to a most effective system for building their vocabulary: format B or a personal version of it that does a similar job.
In the left side of the diagram below are some entry examples of format B. In the right I have included some notes
that account for the small changes these word groups have in the example sentences.

it means a lot to me: es muy importante para mi. Ex:
“It means a lot to us that people appreciates our work.”
“Your help means a lot to us.”
not belong in a place (socially): no encajar en algun
lugar/grupo. Ex: “Someone that judgmental doesn’t belong with us.” “I want to show everybody that I belong
in the first steam squad.”
it’s funny you should mention (that/sth): que curioso
que menciones (algo)... Ex: “It’s funny you would mention that place because I’m just back from it.” “It’s funny you would recommend their service because from
my experience they don’t do a good job.
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We can use different object pronouns: us, him, them, etc.
This phrase is often preceded by “it” but it’s also common

to have a phrase before it.
Extra information between parenthesis can be helpful.
These examples tell us that this expression follows a pattern. We say “with people” and “in a group.” As you receive more input you’ll realize that in some cases people
would say “belong with a group” but not “in people.”
The entry was made with “mention” but we also note
that other verbs can go in its place, like “recommend.”
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IS TRANSLATING A GOOD IDEA?
Most English teachers argue that in order to be fluent, you should think in English and never translate. This is indeed very true. But, because of this widespread sentiment in the English learning world
people have erroneously given translation a bad name and have also unecessarily given way too much
emphasis to the idea of “thinking in English.”
Thinking in English is unquestionably something learners have to strive for. However, this doesn’t
mean you can’t benefit from using translation as a learning strategy. It will not hinder your ability to
think in English and it makes no sense to fight it since it will always exist if you know more than one
language. While it’s true that it isn’t a good idea to first think what you want to say in your native language, and then translate it to English, this will actually never happen if you dedicate enough time to
using your English.
This will only and naturally happen in the early stages of a someone’s English learning. As you start to
learn more and more ways to express ideas in English, you will gradually lose the dependency to base
those thoughts in your mother tongue. So, there’s no point in forcing yourself to think in English when
it’s still too soon; it will only bring frustration.
Translation is never a disservice to your fluency or ability to “think in English.” If anything, you will
become a great translator and a fluent Englush speaker at the same time. The only thing that will keep
you from being able to think in English is not knowing enough English.
Like Method 1, Method 2 uses translation as a learning technique. You will be surprised by how much
translation as a learning strategy will improve your ability to thinking in English.


METHOD #2

In its core, this vocabulary building technique is another type of vocabulary list, but it’s also so much more than just
that. What makes this method especially effective is that you will speak and record each word you write down on
your vocabular list. You do this to later listen to yourself read each word along with its definition, equivalent and
examples. This will maximize your vocabulary acquisition by engaging all your muscle, visual and auditory memory.
But, here’s the special trick. As you record yourself reading the entry from your vocabulary list, you will purposely
leave a 3-second silent gap after the L1 equivalent (L1 means native language). The purpose of doing this is so that
you have time to say the word in English that corresponds to the L1 equivalent. Take a look at the below example.
For the sake of explanation, this entry only has its bare essentials (English word, L1 equivalent, example).
This is what an entry looks like on paper:
let go of: soltar >> Let go of the door handle, please!
new
word

L1
equivalent

example

This is how you will read it and record it:
soltar ... ... ... >> Let go of the door handle, please!
3-sec
L1
equiv. gap

example

Listen to the audio recording for this entry here.
When you go back to listen to the recording, you will listen to the equivalent first, and then the 3-second gap, which
is meant to give you some time for you to SAY the word in English as you’re listening to the recording. You might or
might not guess the correct word, you might not even recall it; either way, you will find out from your own voice

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immediately after as the recording goes on. If you can’t recall the word in English, don’t worry, next time you probably will.
This adds a gamified experience to the process, and anything that’s a game your brain will engage in a more active
way, thus making you remember more and better.
To review, when you record it, you first read the word in your native language, then you leave the 3-second gap (a
little less, a little more; it’s irrelevant) and lastly you read the example sentence. The example is what will tell you
whether or not you said the correct word in the 3-second gap, or it will make you remember it if you weren’t able
to recall it at all.

Anatomy of Defitinion Entries
The entry example in the previous page is a simplified version since it’s made up of just the English word + the L1
equivalent + one example. For some vocabulary that might be just enough. The expression “to let go of sth” probably doesn’t need to be defined in a much more thorough way. Although, if you explore this phrase on online dictionaries maybe you will realize it’s also used metaphorically, as in the example “how to let go of someone who you
deeply loved.” Therefore, a second example with this usage would have been a good way to expand the definition.
It’s up to you how brief or how complete you want an entry to be. As we will see next, these entries can become
very thorough, and when you make one of these, the word will stick with you for a very long time.
Let’s take a look in the next page at what a more complete entry looks like.
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ransack: [go hurriedly through a place stealing things and causing damage] saquear, desvalijar >> When
you ransack, you rifle through things, steal some of them, and leave a huge mess behind >> The soldiers
opened fire, ransacked houses, and killed who they killed >> Protesters ransacked an office of the Brotherhood’s political party, burning books and chairs in the street.
If we break down the format of this entry, this is what it looks like:
English word/phrase: [monolingual definition] L1 equivalent >> Example 1 >> Example 2 >> Example 3

The you read and record this following this structure:
L1 equivalent then [monolingual definition] then ...3-second gap... then Example 1, 2 & 3.
Listen to a recording of the entry on the word “ransack.”
Note: this entry has two L1 equivalents. You might include in your entry as many of them as you consider necessary.
As for the example sentences, having three of them is a good idea because in this way you will grasp more context
and collocations than if you just had one, but if you consider that less than that is enough, that’s okay.
Let’s now take a look at a word that has two meanings. How do we account for that second meaning? Here’s how
this second definition (which I’ve underlined below) fits into the entry format.

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step aside: [move to one side] moverse a un costado, hacerse a un lado / [retire from an office so someone else can take over] dar un paso al costado >> Would you step aside for my uncle and his walker?
>> We had to step aside for the people in wheelchairs to get by >> Walter stepped aside for a younger
person to take over. Listen to how this is recording here. In the recording the “/” is “also.”

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There are two sets of monolingual definitions and L1 equivalents separated by a slash “/”. We then have three sentence examples, the two first correspond to the first definition, and the last one to the second definiton.
1st monolingual and L1 equivalent

2st monolingual and L1 equivalent

step aside: [move to one side] moverse a un costado, hacerse a un lado / [retire from an office so someone else can take over] dar un paso al costado >>Would you step aside for my uncle and his walker?
>>We had to step aside for the people in wheelchairs to get by >>Walter stepped aside for a younger
person to take over.

Exploring into the Meaning of Words
Curiosity is the mother of all knowledge, and if you are interested in maximizing your vocabulary acquisition you
have to be curious. If you aren’t initially too motivated to go deep in each word you learn, I suggest you still make

the effort to do it. Like many things that bring results, this can seem tedious in the beginnig but even after a very
short period of time engaging in this practice you will see noticeable improvements, which in turn will spark your
curiosity and motivation to learn more.
Master Vocabulary is all about learning as much vocabulary as possible, and this doesn’t mean just piling new words
and phrases on top of more words and phrases. It means absorbing vocabulary in a way that you can use it like a
native English speaker. There are many things that come into play before you are able to do that, like for example
learning vocabulary in significant ways from actual life experiences and not only from dictionaries.
However, grasping the essence of words and phrases through online dictionaries is still a great place to start. Al19

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though it can’t replace real life English situations, it gets close in terms of what you can learn and how it can prepare you to respond to advanced vocabulary. When you do participate in a real English language setting, all your
vocabulary knowledge will be further consolidated.
In our efforts to absorb as much information as we can and still fit it into our entries, we can be more flexible in the
way we format said entries. Pay attention to the entries format below, especially the underlined parts. These parts
enable us to capture the “loose ends” certain words have (to play the recordings click on first word).
flick: pelicula >> I wanted to see a Bruce Willis film, but my girlfriend insisted we see a chick flick {pelicula de mujeres}” [OTHER MEANINGS: flick through: hojear / flick sth away: quitarse algo de encima con
un movimiento rápido >>the snake’s tongue flicked in and out >>she flicked her hair out of her eyes]
synomyms

slick: [sth that looks smooth and effortless in style] (>polished, skillful) impecable / [slippery] resbaloso
>>that graph you just made looks slick >> slick performance >> There’s a lot of sloppy snow, the road is
really slick [OTHER MEANINGS: oil slick: mancha de aceite / slick back: hacerse el pelo hacia atras >>He
slicks back his hair like a 1950s greaser]
compel (to do sth): [to force or drive someone to do something] forzar, obligar >> I feel compelled to say
that {me veo obligado a decir que} >> You can’t compel me to do that [OTHER MEANINGS: complelling:
convincente, persuasivo >> Compelling evidence >> His side of the argument was very compelling]
synomym


headfirst: [with the head in front] (>headlong) de cabeza / sin pensarlo, precipitadamente >> I went
headfirst down the stairs >> If a business idea comes their way Aries men they tend to plunge right in
headfirst {lanzarse de cabeza} >> Students dive headfirst into iOS7”
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How to Make a Method Two List: Step by Step
We have already seen what the entries look like in our vocabulary list and how we recorde them. Let’s now take a
look at the process behind it.
1) To discover new vocabulary you have to expose yourself to

List of words and phrases (on Evernote) to explore later

the language. The best way to do this from home is watching
TV in English, listening to music or podcasts or reading things
you enjoy. When you notice a word you are not familiar with
and because of this you can’t understand what’s being said,
that’s when you write it down. The best practice is also include
the sentence in which that word or phrase appears, so that you
can use it as an example in the definition entry. If it’s a piece of
vocabulary that you are a little familiar with, you can still benefit from making an entry on that word or phrase.
You don’t need to look it up right away. Keep a list of words
to look up later and just keep enjoying what you’re watching/
reading/listening to. If you’re on the go, write down the vocabulary in a note-taking app on your phone. If you’re on your
computer, keep a text file for this. You can use apps that sync
your cell phone and desktop computer’s notes, like Evernote.
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2) When you have some free time, look up the vocabulary you have collected in your note-taking app or text file.
You can just google these words and you will get results from the top online dictioaries. If you have a favorite dictionary, you can look up the new vocabulary directly on its website. In my opinion, the best dictionaries for our purpose are:
Vocabulary.com (American; this one provides very insightful and friendly definitions).
Collins Dictionary (American)
Oxford Dictionaries (British; the most complete one, plenty of example sentences)
Cambridge Dictionary (British)
For L1 equivalents, the best options are www.wordreference.com and www.linguee.es. The forum of Word Reference will occasionally come in handy as well.
3) Once you find a clear and concise definition, copy it and past it into your vocabulary list. Do the same with the L1
equivalent and the example sentences. I suggest you have the entry format ready on your vocabulary list, so that
you just fill in the blanks, like this:
: [] >> >> >>
: [] >> >> >>
: [] >> >> >>
: [] >> >> >>

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Remember this is the format:
English word: [monolingual defition] L1 equivalent >> example 1 >> example 2 >> example 3

You can also add synonyms between parantheses, like this: (> synonym 1, synonym 2). Place this in between the
monolingual definition and the L1 equivalent. Here’s an example of an entry.
spill: derramar, volcar >> Crude oil spilled into the ocean >> The milk spilled across the floor >> The wine
spilled onto the table” Listen to the recording of this entry here.

Like in the entry on “spill,” sometimes entries don’t need a monolingual definition. Don’t add one if you think the L1
equivalent is enough. On the other hand, keep in mind that the example sentences should be relevant and preferably add more context to the usage of the word in question.
brawl: [noisy quarrel or fight] (>melee) riña, pelea >> Fans were brawling in the streets after the game
>> the brawl broke out in the bar. Play recording.
In the above example, the first example shows that “brawl” can be used as a verb. The second one is collocated with
the phrasal verb “break out.” By doing this you learn new vocabulary that goes beyond the particular word you’re looking up, and this is how you start to make the lexical connections in your mind that make you a much more competent
speaker.
4) The fourth step is recording. You can make one audio recording per entry but I suggest you do one for every three
entries so that you don’t end up with so many audio files.
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5) Once you make recordings for the new vocabulary, save the audio files. After doing steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 you will
feel you have mastered the new vocabulary. Reviewing by playing the audio recordings will ensure the vocabulary
stays fresh in your mind. Below are more entry examples (click on first word to listen to the recordings).
smuggle: [to import illegally] contrabandear / pasar a escondidas >> They smuggled the drugs through
customs >>They smuggled immigrants across the border >>We smuggled his favorite sandwich past the
nurse.
pop into: [alternative to come into mind] se me ocurre / [enter a place to visit quickly] entrar de golpe
>>something pops into your mind and you think, “Wow, this is a REALLY great idea! >>Why don’t you
pop in and see us this afternoon? >>All I have to do on the way home is pop into the drugstore.
patch: [a piece of cloth that covers a hole in a item of clothing] parche >>She wore a sweater with
patches on the elbows >> You can download this patch from our website. >> [a bald patch >> I don’t
want to have a bald patch when I’m 40 / eye patch: parche de ojo / shoulder patch: insignia / road patch
>> Beware of the road patches on the street / rough patch on gums: fueguito]
cheapskate: (similar to stingy) poco generoso, codito >> These fucking bunch of cheapskates should provide breakfast >> You only got me a half pint - you cheapskate! >> He got his his mother a pen for 50c as
a christmas present. What a cheapskate!
heart to heart conversation/talk/chat/discussion: [conversation concerned with personal problems or

intimate feelings] conversacion intima >>a heart-to-heart talk >>he took me aside for a little heart-toheart >>to have a heart-to-heart talk with sb.

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WHAT’S THE VOCABULARY THAT ONLY NATIVES USE?
In order to get a better grasp on what “native vocabulary” actually is, let’s talk science for a little bit.
In linguistics there’s a subfield called Contrastive analysis, which studies the differences and similarities
between two languages. This science is used to explain why some features in the language you are trying to
learn are more difficult than others.
For example, mastering the sentence “what’s his name” is considerably easier than mastering “what does he
look like?” A lot of times, learners will make the mistake of saying “how does he look?” or something similar.
This is because there is a lack of correspondance between your native language and English. If your native
language is any of the Romance languages, you probably wouldn’t have any trouble asking “what kind of car
is this?” but asking “whose car is this?” is proven to be more complicated for learners. There’s a higher wordby-word correspondace in the first question than in the second.

High Correspondance (HC) vs Low Correspondance (LC)
The vocabulary that advanced non-native English speakers use is comprised of almost all the features of English that have a high correspondance value (simply, because they’re easier) and also quite a few low corresponance value features. However, even advanced non-native English speakers miss an enourmous amount
of low correspondance vocabulary that –of course– native speakers use naturally.
One of the most common low correspondance features of English are phrasal verbs. Learners apply the
avoidance strategy with phrasal verbs because they don’t fit with a pre-established linguist concept in their