Introduction

I had a vocabulary test a few days ago, which shows that I only know 6100 words. However, according to that website, to be a fluent speaker, I need more than 20000 vocabularies. So, I did a lot of research on how to improve vocabulary and made a plan for it.

Detailed plan

Estimate my actual vocabulary level

With doubts about the accuray of my vocabulary test result, I will write some python code to count the number of unique words I used in my academic papers, dissertation, business documentations, and all the GitHub repositories that I created. I believe this should provide a more accurate estimation of my vocabulary level.

Expand my vocabulary

Undoubtedly, I need to build up my vocabulary to achieve my goal of fully and freely expressing myself and communicating with excellent people all around the world. After doing some reaserch on efficient ways to improve a person’s vocabulary, I came up with the following actionable items:

Reading

Research and other people’s experiences show that extensive reading is a prerequisite to build up one’s vocabulary. The key is to find the content one is really interested in so that they can enjoy reading and keep reading. Currently, I am very interested in self-improvement, so I bought two books to start with:

  1. Think & Grow Rich: to learn the principles and set up the mindset to achieve success.
  2. How to Read a Book: to learn the techniques to read intelligently so that I can read more.

Other than books, I also plan to read articles that I am interested in on WSJ to include more topics in my reading materials.

Vocabulary tracking

I am still trying to figure out a good way to track my new vocabulary. The idea is to build a personal connection with each word by tracking when, where, and how I encouter it, and how often I use them in the futre. However, the current inputting strategy is not efficient enough. Here are some ideas to improve:

  1. For each word, I manually input the spelling, the word chunk, the sentence in which I acquired it, and the source. Use Python to write the date when I encounter and record it automatically.
  2. Using some language library in Python to get the pronounciation, the definition, and the synonums for each word.
  3. I haven’t yet decided how to input topic. Doing it manually involves some necessary thinking to deepen my understanding of the word, but this is not the most efficient and systematically way.
  4. I still need to think more about how to manage the data and present the words.

Writing

To fully grasp a word, one must use it. I have been intentionally writing more and more this year. I started writing daily journal since February, working on this repository, and documenting more often at work than before. I noticed that I am more comfortable with writing compared with two months ago, and I will keep this momentum going and incorporate new vocabularies on the go.

Looking beyond

I will desgin a system to keep track of my vocabulary level and share the progress. I am really excited about my plan to improve my vocabulary and a more confident version of myself after getting to the next level.

No. Word Words chunk Sentence Definition Synonyms Topic Source Date
1 gig hosting gig Jon Stewart is adding another hosting gig to his Daily Show plate. A job, especially a temporary one temporary job Work, Life News on Jon Stewart 2024-05-14
2 boon rating boon Jon Steward’s return has been a rating boon for the show A helpful thing benefit, blessing, godsend, bonus, help n/a ” ”
3 around-the-clock offer around-the-clock access “Our streaming channels offer around-the-clock access to award-winning news coverage. We are excited for Pluto Tv to showcase this valuable content to their audiences,” said the VP of Diginets & Original Production for NBCUniversal Local. All day and all night consecutive Time News on Media ”
4 round the clock on a deal round the clock Katherine Liu, COO of the International Market Divisions of Paramount Global, worked at an investment bank after completing her bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting. She was on a deal round the clock, working overtime and sleeping in the office every night. ” 24-7 ” From Investment Banking to SpongeBob — A Leadership Talk Katherine Liu ”
5 frayed her nervers were frayed The pressure weas intense, and her nerves were frayed       ” ”
6 fell through the deal fell through But, after all that, the deal fell through. It was crushing, but it was also the wake-up call Liu needed to change her life.       ” ”
7 went through the deal went through But the failed deal forced her to dig deep and ponder, “What if the deal went through?”       ” ”
8 timeout take a timeout Liu decided to leave the job and take a timeout to travel around Asia.       ” ”
9 piqued piqued her interest She knew she wanted to live in the Unidted States and be near her family, but her experience in Beijing and HongKong piqued her interest in working globally while still being in a “consumer-facing space.”       ” ”
10 affinity have an affinity for something Do customers want localized content, or do they have an affinity for US-produced content?       ” ”
11 Humanoid/Non-humanoid non-humanoid characters Liu explained that Japanese consumers tend to prefer non-humanoid characters such as SpongeBob and shy away from humanoids like Dora the Explorer       ” ”
12 Patriarchal In very patriarchal cultures From a professional perspective, working internationally as a woman and often times very patriarchal culture also has its interesting moments. Relating to or characteristic of a system of society, or government controlled by men     ” ”
Word Related words Related Topics How I encountered it Date
apron aprons life/grocery/cooking I suddently had the desire to buy a new apron this evening. So, I first went to TJMax, but it closed right after I got there. Then I went to a store selling kitchen stuff at Ponce City Market. It was closed as well. Since I wanted it so badly that I didn’t want to give up easily, I went to Kroger to try my luck. Thankfully, it was open. However, I couldn’t find it after checking the whole store. So I opened their app, trying to search for it online, which led me to learn and search for the word apron. I still didn’t get a new apron. But it’s okay. I will get it tomorrow. May 5, 2024
cranky crankier, crankiest, crankily, crankiness mood I watched an episode of the latest season of Young Sheldon during my dinner. Sheldon’s sister Missy described Meemaw as cranky because she was mad at her boyfriend for making jokes about her not having tornado insurance after her house was torn down. May 5, 2024