Improve your vocabulary in 5 practical ways

Have you got to a certain level of grammar comprehension but your vocabulary is still limited?
Here 5 suggestions to increase it.

1)    post_it</p>
Buy a post_it block. Everyday pick up an object in your house and stick a post_it onto it with the name of this object in Italian. Focus on 2 words per day. Leave the post_it on until you know the word by heart, and then remove it. 
The visual repetition will help you to memorize without even realizing it. 
When you finish the list of objects in your house you can use the same technique but instead of writing just the name you can write down adjectives connected with that object (bello, brutto, quadrato, rosso, verde). This way the game will never end and your vocabulary will expand tremendously.</p>

2)    Audiolibri </p>
Audiobooks are a good way to get used to the sound of Italian language. You can leave the story in the background while you do your housework, you can listen to it in your car or before going to sleep. Doesn’t matter if you don’t understand a word! Focus on single words and sounds, repetition. </p>
Are you a beginner? Some publishing houses offer great books divided into levels. The book usually comes with a Cd. You can check out: Alma Edizioni, Loescher Editore, Black Cat-Cideb. Many books are on sale on Amazon. </p>
If you want more information or specific titles you can send me a message.</p>

3)    Sinonimi </p>
Do you always use the same words? Sometimes try to look up for synonymous. The same concept can be expressed with different words. I’ll give you an example:
Luigi è un ragazzo bravo.
Bravo is quite a wide concept. As an exercise we can open this idea and use other words to talk about Luigi:</p>
Luigi è un ragazzo capace</p>
colto</p>
educato</p>
simpatico</p>
responsabile</p>
intelligente</p>
We can also look up for some idiomatic expressions:</p>
Luigi è un ragazzo in gamba.</p>
Luigi è un ragazzo con la testa sulle spalle.



4)    Flashcards</p>
Flashcards are a good tool for studying. They can be used for more abstract ideas. You can prepare your set of cards and bring them with you. If you are new to the concept of flashcards, here is how you can create them:</p>
Prepare some square/rectangular pieces of paper (size like a card set). On one side of each rectangle write a word in Italian. On the other side write the definition in your language. If you want to challenge yourself more you can write the definition using Italian words.</p>
Bring the cards with you and whenever you have some spare time test yourself! When a word is familiar you can remove the card from the deck and replace it with another word.

5)    Read, listen and be exposed to the language</p>
In general, it is important that you are in contact with the language every day even if for a short amount of time. Don’t limit Italian to 2 hours or less a week. When learning a language repetition is really important. Commit at least 10 minutes of your day.
You can create a flashcard, a post_it, look up on YouTube for a recipe in Italian, read an article or listen to 10 minutes of Italian radio. 

</p>Grazie per la lettura e buona fortuna!

Linda