Low marks in reading and listening can often be due to a lack of vocabulary knowledge rather than poor reading or listening skills. If you don’t know the missing word in a Cambridge C1 Advanced Part 2 listening test, then it’s impossible to hear it and write it down!

o, improving your vocabulary is super important when you’re preparing for a Cambridge exam.

There are three stages to expanding your vocabulary:

1. Noticing new language in context – when you read or hear a new word or phrase
2. Recording and learning it so you can understand it when you read or hear it
3. Using it in your own writing and speaking

I’m going to focus on the first two.

Stage 1

How often do you watch films or TV series in English? Once a month? Once a week? Every day?

Have you ever read an article from an English newspaper?

And how often do you do you actively listen for new words or write down new phrases you hear?

Less often? Never?

That’s normal! So, challenge yourself to keep a notebook or your phone next to you when you watch.

Then, note down three new words or phrases that you hear while you’re watching. You could even write the bit of dialogue for context.

When the film is over, look them up in the dictionary and make a note of the meaning.

Do this when you’re reading in English too. (With my Lessons you get a newspaper article to read or listen to for free)

Don’t go crazy: 3-5 new pieces of vocabulary are enough each time.

Cambridge reading and listening tests are also a great place to find new language specific to the level of your exam.

Looking for and recording new language like this turns a passive activity like watching Netflix into something active. That’s when your brain starts working and the learning happens!

Let’s recap! To expand your vocabulary your need to:

Notice new words and phrases when you’re reading and listening

Then,

Record it and learn it so you can understand it the next time you read it or hear it.

Now you are ready for stage 2.

Stage 2

To learn new vocabulary, you need to review it regularly in variety of different ways.

• Make review cards with the word or phrase on one side and the meaning on the other. Test yourself every other day.
• Quizlet is a great tool to help you learn vocabulary. Make an account then create online cards with the new words and phrases you learn. This app uses a technique called ‘spaced repetition’ to test you: it keeps showing you the words you get wrong until you get them right!
• Try out some of the games in Quizlet. You can do these on your phone while you’re sitting on the bus, on your lunchbreak or waiting for a friend.
• Make sentences with your vocabulary. Putting new vocabulary into a relevant context is the best way to make it meaningful and memorable. Choose five words or phrases you’ve noted down and write two true sentences for each one. Think about how YOU would use this word or phrase in real life (not a dictionary example). Try and remember your sentences when are doing something else.

For all these activities, the best thing is to do short amounts regularly. Do ten minutes a day and I promise you will see improvements.