Lesson Two: Your Living Vocabulary

Vocabulary can feel like an endless puzzle, but there’s a way to make it simple, fun, and practical.

  • I believe this is one of the most useful lessons for every student regardless of their level

  • What might feel like a hard habit to build at first will soon become the most fun and rewarding way to learn new words.

  • The crazy thing is it’s also the cheapest way to grow your vocabulary!

We’ve all seen countless apps, books, and techniques that promise to teach vocabulary more efficiently — and this one isn’t here to take the spotlight away from any of them.

Whatever your main method is right now, this extra technique can fit right alongside it — and it’ll unlock your potential in ways you might not expect.
I’d only argue that this is the most fundamental one, and it’s where everything should begin.

Let’s get down to business before I try to oversell this thing any more.

Your first and most fundamental tool can be either a small notebook in your pocket or your favorite note-taking app on your phone.
It doesn’t matter whether you go physical or digital — what really matters is how you add new words, and which words you choose to learn.

“Strike while the iron is hot” — that’s my motto when it comes to this technique.
I consider this part to be the very heart of its philosophy. What we aim to do with a personal vocabulary notebook (which you should keep with you as often as possible — if it’s on your phone, make sure it’s easy to open; if it’s a notebook, keep it in your pocket) is simple:

Make use of that moment of frustration when you see a word you need but don’t fully understand. That feeling of “I wish I knew this word right now” is gold — that’s the exact moment you want to capture.

The search should always start with the words that matter most to you.
Every learner has those “ugh, I should know this word by now” moments. Don’t waste them — that’s raw learning energy.

Let’s say you’ve just started working in the financial sector — you’re likely to run into terms that belong to the economics jargon you haven’t fully mastered yet. You come across words like “liquidity” and “equity” in today’s news articles. You understand the general message, but it still bothers you that you don’t have a solid grasp of these words. That exact moment — and the frustration that comes with it — is the fuel we’re going to use to build your personal vocabulary notebook.

Here’s how you’ll make the most of your vocabulary notebook:

  1. Check that the word is worth learning.

    Before adding it to your notebook, make sure it’s actually useful for you. Quickly check the Cambridge Dictionary or ask a trusted teacher/friend if it’s common and relevant to your level.
    In our example, these are words we regularly encounter at work (liquidity and equity) so we can be confident they’re worth adding!

  2. Add the word instantly.

    Once you know it’s worth learning, jot it down in your notebook or phone notes app. That moment of curiosity is the fuel, don’t let it cool off.

  3. Note the basics — nothing more.

    Keep each entry tiny. The goal is to make your archive as accessible and easy to maintain as possible.

    • Part of speech (essential!): noun, verb, adjective, etc. Knowing this anchors the word and tells you how it behaves in a sentence.
    • Definition / equivalent: on the same line as the part of speech, keep it short.

Example:
liquidity (n): how easily something can be turned into cash
equity (n): ownership in a company or fairness
word (part of speech): short description

  1. Try using it in a sentence.

    Write a short sentence with the word to make sure you really understand it. You don’t need to do this for every word — just the ones that feel most important.

    But keep in mind: you haven’t fully mastered a word until you can use it in a sentence. You don’t need to do this for every word — just the ones that feel most important.

  2. Don’t aim for perfection.
    As I mentioned in the previous step, you don’t need to fully know every word. Some will stick, some you’ll only partially understand — and that’s completely fine. What matters is noticing, recording, and gradually using the words that are actually useful to you.

    Learning to prioritize what you need to master and what’s okay to forget is another pillar that strengthens your communication skills in a meaningful way.

This might feel like a lot of work at first. You might even think: “What’s the point of archiving words in such detail? Why write them down when they’re everywhere around us? And there are thousands of words — why devote time to each one like this?”

To that I say: “First of all, the price of excellence is eternal vigilance.” Secondly, several filters are built into this method to make sure you only spend this level of attention on words that are truly essential for your use case.

Learning the essential words in depth — noting their part of speech, understanding their definition, and even using them in a sentence — is without a doubt the fastest, most effective boost for your English and overall linguistic knowledge.

Think of your notebook as a living field, not a dictionary. The real learning happens the moment you write or use a word, not in how many pages you fill. Try to review it as often as possible — the more you interact with those words, the stronger your command of them becomes.

Starting this routine is like being a farmer planting your first crops on a huge, empty field. At first, the field may seem overwhelming, but as you follow the right steps and make this habit part of your routine, you’ll become an exceptional farmer, knowing what to plant, when to plant it, and how to get the most out of your crops.

Good luck with your linguistic journey!