Click to read transcript of introduction video
Hello and welcome to the advanced vocabulary and collocations course! I’m so glad you’re here and I’m really excited to help you expand your vocabulary and take it to a higher level.
Before we begin, let me quickly explain three things:
- the focus of this course
- the lesson format
- how to get the most benefit out of this course
The Focus Of This Course
This course aims to enrich your vocabulary by teaching you more advanced words and expressions – so you’re going to learn a total of more than 1,000 words and collocations.
I selected these words from lots of different vocabulary lists for advanced exams, including lists for native English speakers who are preparing for college and graduate studies.
Now one problem with some advanced vocabulary books or courses is that they teach you words that are too rare, like “loquacious” or “scion” or “pecuniary” – these words are really obscure, meaning that common people just don’t tend to use them outside of literature or a very specific field.
But for this course, I selected words that will enhance your vocabulary and give you lots more options for expressing yourself – but they’re words and expressions that are still used fairly often by native English speakers.
So we have vocabulary that’s actually useful and not completely out of touch with how people really speak and write.
Lesson Format
The lessons alternate between vocabulary-focused lessons and collocations-focused lessons.
For example, lesson 1 will teach you lots of vocabulary words on the topic of personality and behavior, and then lesson 2 will build on that by taking the same topic and teaching you interesting collocations, combinations of words.
Each lesson has a few parts and it’s important to do them all in order to get the full benefit!
1. WATCH THE MAIN VIDEO LESSON AND/OR READ THE TEXT
First, watch the main video lesson – that’s me presenting and explaining the vocabulary or collocations. The videos are short, but you’ll learn a LOT of words in there, so pay close attention – and of course you can pause, go back, and also check the text if there’s anything you didn’t quite understand the first time.
Underneath the video you’ll find links to download the text and audio.
2. REVIEW THE TABLE OF WORDS & PRACTICE PRONUNCIATION
At the end, there’s a table of all the words from the lesson and their quick definition. You can use this for a quick review, as well as some pronunciation practice – I’ll just say the words and you’ll repeat them after me.
It’s important to say them out loud so that you don’t just recognize these words when someone else says them, but you’re also training yourself to say them and pronounce them correctly – that’s one of the first steps towards integrating this vocabulary into your own English.
3. DO THE QUIZ
After that, try the quiz!
Don’t skip it, because practice is so important to confirm that you remember what the words mean and see if you understand where to put them in context.
You can check the quiz answers yourself by clicking “Finish quiz” and then “View questions,” or by checking the answer key in the downloadable lesson text.
4. DO THE WRITING EXERCISES
The final exercise is some short-answer questions designed to help you use these words in your own English. I suggest writing a couple of full sentences for each answer, and try to use the word itself in your answer if possible.
Type your answers in the box, then click “Send answers” to submit them. Our teaching team will evaluate them and send you any comments or corrections within a few days.
The timing depends on how much homework we’re receiving, so please be patient if we don’t get back to you right away. But you don’t need to wait, you can continue on to the next lesson and we’ll send you those corrections as soon as possible.
As you finish each activity, make sure to click “Mark Complete” to check it off!
How To Remember The Words You’re Learning
This course is intense; each lesson is packed with vocabulary and collocations, and it can be tough to remember them – especially the ones that are brand new to you!
One additional thing you can do to help reinforce these new words and expressions in your memory is to follow a very simple review schedule:
- Every day, spend a few minutes reviewing the words you learned yesterday. I recommend looking at the table of definitions and examples at the end of the lesson for this, because it’s a great way to get a quick reminder.
- Once a week, don’t study anything new – instead, spend time reviewing everything you learned in the past week.
This way, you’re seeing the new words three times – once when you first take the lesson, once the following day, and once more at the end of the week. This is a great way to establish the vocabulary better in your memory.
If you have any questions or technical problems, please send a message, and we’ll help you out as soon as possible. So, if you’re ready to get started, go ahead and take lesson 1!