Here is a simple method that works.
Meet new words in real reading and work out their meaning from the sentence. Then use them in sentences of your own. A word you only look up fades within days, but a word you understand and use becomes yours.
Why do word lists not stick?
A word on a list is linked to nothing. It has no scene or sentence, only a definition. The brain keeps what it can connect and drops the rest.
A word met in reading comes with a sentence, a mood and a situation. Those links help it stick.
How do you guess a word from context?
When you meet an unknown word, read the whole sentence first. Ask what the word must mean for the sentence to make sense.
For example: “The room was full of detritus: old letters, broken toys, cracked plates.” The list tells you “detritus” means leftover rubbish. You worked it out, so you are more likely to remember it.
This also trains a reading-paper skill, because reading for explicit meaning often means working out a word from what surrounds it. Look up only words that keep coming back or clearly matter.
Why do you need to meet a word more than once?
One meeting is rarely enough. The first time you see “wary”, you may guess it means careful.
The next time, you notice it also suggests suspicion. After a few meetings, you know it well.
This is why wide reading works better than cramming.
If this is where marks are going missing, a trial hour with an experienced teacher can work on it one-to-one.
Why must you use new words yourself?
Understanding a word is not the same as being able to use it. Write your own sentence with it. For example: “The rain was relentless, hammering the roof until we stopped trying to talk.”
Words you have written yourself come back more easily in an exam. Your sentence also shows when the word fits, which links to building vocabulary by register. Register means how formal or informal the language is.
How do you keep a useful word book?
Keep it short. Write the word, the sentence where you found it and your own sentence. Skip copying long dictionary definitions.
Look back at recent words before you write something, and try to use one or two. A word book that gets used stays useful.
How do word families help?
Many words share roots. “Benevolent” links to “benefit” and “beneficial”, which all suggest something good. “Audible” links to “audience” and “audition”, which relate to hearing.
Ask yourself, “Does this word remind me of another?” This also helps with spelling, since related words often share patterns.
How do our teachers build vocabulary?
Reading passages for exam practice are also a great source of new words. In our reading-paper focus lessons, our teachers help students work out unfamiliar words from context. Then students use the most useful ones in their own writing, so reading skill and vocabulary grow together.
If your child’s vocabulary feels stuck, book a paid one-hour trial class. The teacher will see how your child handles unfamiliar words and suggest a plan.