Nik's Daily English Activities: March 2011

Having a wide vocabulary is really important to push the level of your English. This activity shows you how to push the level of your vocabulary and revise some of the words you already know while playing a simple online game similar to Scrabble.

In this task you'll also learn how to use an online tool to help you find new words to use your letters.

Task:

Go to: http://wordsquared.com/. You don't need to register, just click on 'Start Playing'

You will see your row of letters at the bottom of the screen. Choose any letter on the board that you can join your letters onto and make a complete word.

Drag the letters onto the board the click on 'Add Word'. If the word is correct it will be added to the board and you will get a score and some new letters.

The next word you make must join onto the previous one and you can only build on the words you have added. Each word you add increases your score.

If you can't think of a word, go to Scabble helper at: http://www.wineverygame.com/ Type in your letters and in either the 'Prefix' or 'Suffix' box type in the letter that you want to join onto from the board and click on 'View words'.

You will then see a list of possible words that you can make with your letters. Add the one you want, but be sure to check the meaning of the new word if you don't already know it.

Continue with the game until you have at least 100 points. Keep a list of any new words and their meanings as you play.

Try to play the game every day and build up your score and your vocabulary.

Here you can find more games to improve your vocabulary.

Related links for teachers:

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Nik Peachey

Developing your vocabulary is one of the quickest ways of improving your English, but remembering new vocabulary can take time and effort.

In this task you find out how to use an online dictionary to find synonyms and antonyms and how to use this to create your own interactive tests to help you remember the words.

Task:

Find an article that you are interested in or that you have recently studied. Choose some 8 or 10 the newer or more difficult words from the text.

Next got to: http://www.en.wrds.eu/user/create and register (it's free). You just need to create a user name and password and give an email address.

Give your list a title (it could be the title of the text the words come from) and then type your new words into the column on the left.

Now go to: http://www.synonym.com/. Here you can type in your new words then click to find synonyms, antonyms or definitions of the words.

Once you find the antonym etc, copy it into the column next to your new word on the Wrds site.

Once you have added all the words and definitions, click on 'Save' and then click on 'Test'.

You can the choose the type of test you would like to take. The tests vary so try them all.

Each time you come back to the site you can add more word lists and revise old ones. You can even share lists you have created with friends. I hope you find this a useful way of revising your vocabulary.

Here you can find more vocabulary related activities

Nik's Daily English Activities

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Play Word Games to Improve Your Vocabulary

Create your own vocabulary tests

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