Whether you are a language learner or a native speaker, having a large vocabulary is always valuable. It's not fun to constantly consult a dictionary when you are watching a video or reading a book. It's spirit-taking to be at loss for words because your vocabulary is too small. Your brain is full of ideas and topics to discuss, yet you are limited by your vocabulary.
In language learning, it is near impossible to begin practising grammar if your vocabulary is smaller than 500-700 words. You will be forced to rely on the sources that your native language provides.
You can know the grammar rules perfectly, but if your vocabulary is small, it will be really challenging for foreigners to understand you. Nevertheless, someone who knows around 2000 words will be understood easily, despite his/her grammar flaws.
Passive and active vocabulary
You should be concrete about what you are trying to improve. You will not experience great growth by setting yourself a broad goal of increasing your vocabulary. Furthermore, there are two types of vocabulary.
Passive and active.
Passive vocabulary is the vocabulary that hides in the back of your skull. It consists of words you understand, but are not capable of using.
Active vocabulary is the vocabulary that hides in the front of your mind. It consists of words you understand and are capable of using (in the form of speaking or writing).
You can evaluate your active vocabulary by observing the most used words by you during a conversation or a writing session (you can't keep many words there).
Nonetheless, evaluating your passive vocabulary is a lot more difficult. It's much bigger than the active one. You don't use every word you read in the book or listen to in a lecture. There's an abundance of words that you know, yet don't use. This is what's called passive vocabulary.
Ways for increasing passive vocabulary
In my experience, the process of enhancing your passive vocabulary is not hard (compared to the process of active vocabulary). Two things have worked wonders for me. They are Anki and consumption of content.
Anki is a free flashcard program that uses spaced repetition for long-term memorization.
Spaced-repetition is a learning technique that is usually performed with flashcards. The new and strenuous flashcards are introduced more often, while the older and easier flashcards are shown less often.
If I desire to learn 20 particular words, I put them into Anki, add their definition, pictures, examples, and audio. I try to use as many senses as possible because it was proven to help memorization.
When it's time to repeat the words, I open the Notes app on my phone and type their definitions. Then, I come up with my own example (or two) for every word. Sometimes, instead of making an example, I write out an interesting fact about that word (its origin, for instance).
Every time you repeat the word, you must come up with a new example. It can be tiresome sometimes, but it's worth it.
A tiny hack: if a word has two meanings or more, add separate flashcards. It will save you some pain in the ass when you know the first meaning, yet forgot the second one.
And the best method for acquiring a large passive vocabulary (in my opinion) is consumption of content. It does magic for everyone.
All you have to do is to search for challenging content that will throw unknown words at you periodically. Advanced learners may face some difficulties here. Their level is so high that YouTube videos and TV shows rarely surprise them. I advise reading, in that case.
Beginners and especially intermediate learners are lucky. Their knowledge is not so giant and therefore YouTube and movies are perfect for them.
You don't have to look up every word you hear. Try to guess its meaning from its context. If you can't, you can continue watching the episode without guilt. If you hear it more than 3 times, then you have to google its meaning (this is the method I used).
However, if you are reading a book, then I would counsel you to look up every word.
Ways for increasing active vocabulary
If you have a desire to enrich your speech and become more fluent with the language, then you have to work on your active vocabulary. It's not easy. It will put you out of your comfort zone, but the results will warm your heart, I promise you.
Pick 10 words you wish to have in your daily speech and writing practice. And give yourself a week to practice them as much as you can. Write them out on a piece of paper and carry them everywhere. When you write, use that piece of paper as your guide. When you talk, make it your goal to use at least one of them in your conversation.
Every word must be used at least 5 times in the course of that week.
After 7 days, pick another 10 words and repeat the process. The more frequently you use the words, the better your speech active vocabulary will become.
It's OK if you forget some of them. Your goal is to retain at least 1.
Conclusion
This what has always worked for me. It doesn't mean that it will work for you.
I hope I could be of help.
Thanks for reading.
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