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To improve your language skills, you need to improve different aspects of language, such as your knowledge of words, spelling, grammar, and composition. Knowledge of words or vocabulary is a crucial factor in determining your proficiency in language overall. Books to improve vocabulary can make you use language skillfully, to create a good impression among other people, and to contribute highly towards your professional career and social life.

The easiest method of increasing your vocabulary is the natural learning of words. This happens in everyone’s life, and from childhood onwards. However, this natural method has limitations, and the vocabulary obtained will just place you among the average, at the most. ‘Vocabulary is not explicitly taught in most language classes, and students are expected to "pick-up" vocabulary on their own without any guidance,’ (Oxford, R & Crookall, D 1990, p. 9). You have to take more dedicated efforts in acquiring vocabulary, if you want to stand out from the average.

One of the easiest ways to obtain a good knowledge of words is to use books to improve vocabulary. This method is not expensive, as it often involves cost of the books and little else. In addition to reading quality books, articles, magazines, and newspapers, there are a number of books designed specifically for the purpose of increasing your vocabulary. Visiting a good book store or library, or searching on the Internet, gives you easy access to these books.

Vocabulary books are mostly written by authors with years of experience, usually after a lot of research and analysis. These books focus on a number of important words, arranged systematically, often based on root words, for better study and comprehension. They often contain detailed additional information about the word, such as its meaning, its usage, its synonyms and antonyms, its root word, its derivates, and other information. Most books contain auxiliary resources such as exercises and games, to help you in revision and retention of the words you have studied.

You must bear in mind that no book to improve vocabulary would contain a complete list of words you would want to use. In fact, no book comes even close, in that matter. Depending on how much you want to enhance your vocabulary, you will find yourself buying from one to several books. Furthermore, many vocabulary books focus on a particular category, such as business words or academic words, so that you can adjust your purchases in accordance to your needs.

If you are really serious about building a good vocabulary, you must resort to additional means, other than the natural acquisition of words from your academic, professional, and social lives. ‘If most vocabulary is acquired outside of formal teaching, then the only opportunities to acquire new words occur when an individual is exposed to a word in written or oral language that is outside his/her current vocabulary,’ (Cunningham, A E & Stanovich, K E 2001, p. 139)

REFERENCES

Cunningham, A E & Stanovich, K E 2001, ‘What Reading Does for the Mind,’ Journal of Direct Instruction, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 137-149.

Oxford, R & Crookall, D 1990, ‘Vocabulary Learning: A Critical Analysis of Techniques,’ TESL Canada Journal, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 566-593.