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English TeacherMelanie
Study Tips

Learn a New Word Every Day!

Learn a New Word Every Day!
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
Learn a New Word Every Day!
(Photo by Calamity Meg)

There are excellent resources on the internet for learning a new word every day! I recommend the following resources for people learning English:

1. Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Merriam-Webster is an American dictionary, but it lists both American and British pronunciation. If you are studying American English, this is best dictionary to use.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com

Every day there is a new ‘word of the day’:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/lwod.php

This dictionary is great for many reasons:
a. Each definition is clear and simple to understand. There are also many example sentences to help you understand the word & how to use it.

b. You can HEAR someone say the word so you can learn the correct pronunciation. Next to each word there is a red speaker icon. If you click on that icon, you can hear someone say the verb.

c. This dictionary will also tell you how to spell the plural form of a noun, plus the spelling of the different verb forms (for example: looks, looked, looking).

d. The word of the day is tweeted: http://twitter.com/MWforLearners

e. You can like this dictionary on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/learnersdictionary

BONUS:
*The ‘Ask the Editor’ blog is a great resource for English learners! Once or twice week, one of the editors of the dictionary answers a question from an English learner. There is a form where you can send in your own question!
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/blog.php

2. Cambridge Dictionary

The Cambridge Dictionary is a British dictionary, but it lists both the British and American pronunciation and spelling. There are 6 different dictionaries at this website! Click on ‘Learner’s.’
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Every day there is a new ‘word of the day’:
http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/wordoftheday.asp
Each ‘word of the day’ is followed by the word used in a sentence.

This dictionary is great for many reasons:
a. The definitions are clear and simple, and there are many example sentences to help you understand the words.

b. There is a speaker icon next to the word so you can HEAR the word & practice the pronunciation of the word.

c. To the left of the definition, you will see a box. In the box, you can find different forms of the word (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) plus any phrasal verbs & idioms that might use this word. Try typing ‘look’ in the search box, and try to find the definition of ‘look up.’

d. This dictionary has a visual thesaurus below each definition. The visual thesaurus will tell you different synonyms for the word.

e. You can like this dictionary on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Dictionaries-Online/118775618133878

Comments

  1. hi,I would like tell to you a small things for learning English every day i’m lisitening english mini story that’s vrey great idea for study english and also can understand gramar but I would like fell improvment much faster i like studt english by audio only I hat text books. i’m study english five years in the scool but i can’t speak fluntly now only 3 monthes I fell better but i need help me to improvement vocabulary from where can get them . i’m very very thank’s see you lather

  2. Hi, Raafat!

    Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Learning English takes a lot of time, patience & effort! It’s not easy, but you are doing the right thing!

    Keep up the good work,
    Melanie
    = )

  3. Hi Melanie,
    Thank you very much to share these helpful website. But somehow I could not access in the Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. I’ve wondered if it no longer exists?

    • Hi, Troy!

      Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary is alive and well! I have checked all the MW links in this post and they all lead to the dictionary.

      Where do you live? Perhaps the website is blocked in your country?

      = )

  4. hi, Melian, i live in US since 2007, english is my second languge, i went to school and took ESL class as well but i have still a problem when i was communicate with other people ( when i was talk with other people), what do you recommende me to improve my communcation skill.

    thank you

    • Hi, Yoha!

      The best thing for you to do is find a private tutor in your town/city. You need to talk to a native speaker one-on-one to improve your communication. Do you live near a major city? Try googling “private ESL teacher ” or “private ESL tutor ” to find a teacher.

      Good luck to you,
      = )

  5. Hi Melanie,

    Good Day !!

    Since long time I was looking for on line english tutor and i think my search ends when i saw your website today.

    While going website i saw very intresting infomation and tips which will definately improve vocabulary of english. I also observe that small tips which has give for the improvment of english are definately help lot to the beginers to move forword.

    I congratulates for your initiate and wish you best luck ahead.

    Thanks and best regards

    Sunil Karwa

  6. I’ve a little bit question.
    I’m learning approx. 8 words a day.
    But I have a huge problem that I forgetting most of what I learned. So, Are there anyway to memorize new words forever or for a long time?

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