7 Fun and Exciting Ways to Review Your Vocabulary

Whether you are learning a new language or simply looking to improve your vocabulary, there are many fun activities you can do to improve your word retention and to review the vocabulary that you know. Remembering new words is one of the hardest parts of language and using them regularly in a lot of different ways exponentially increases your ability to recall words and use them correctly. With that in mind, here are seven fun and exciting ways, from using a word finder to playing scrabble, that can help you improve your vocabulary.

Play Scrabble

Perhaps the most famous word game of them all, fans of the popular board game scrabble have been competing against their friends and families since the 1930s and in that time, the basic rules of the game have barely changed. Each player gets 7 letter tiles, each with a different value, from which to make a work to put a word out on the board.

The words are connected on the board almost like a web and there are bonuses for putting tiles on special spaces which can double or triple the score of a single letter or of an entire word. Scrabble is a fantastic way to improve and review vocabulary as you are constantly arranging and rearranging your letter tiles to make different words.

Play Boggle

Similar to Scrabble, word scramble games are a really fun vocabulary tool as you make words out of randomly jumbled letters. There are many different forms of word scramble games. Boggle is a really popular game where you shake up a plastic grid of dice with letters on each face to get a random selection from which to make as many words as possible. Boggle is great because there is a time limit so the pressure is really on to think quickly. This enhances your ability to recall vocabulary as and when you need it.

Play a Word Scramble Game Online or On App

There are loads of word scramble games online and that you can download on apps meaning that you can review and practice your vocabulary anywhere. We found this great word finder program which has a whole selection of word games and activities.

Words with friends, an app for a game similar to scrabble, are really popular amongst people of all ages as they can challenge their friends to a vocabulary showdown. Adding a competitive element to vocabulary activities is a great way to make them more enjoyable.

Do the Crossword in Your Favorite Newspaper

Completing the crossword is a really great way to associate vocabulary words with their definitions. Different newspapers have crosswords with varying levels of difficulty so advancing from easier to more difficult crosswords can be a great way to gauge your progress.

The clues in crosswords, particularly in difficult, cryptic crosswords, will often have words that you may not have known before, so as well as working out the word you need to find, you will also be learning other related vocabularies. There can be a huge sense of achievement when you finish a difficult crossword, even if you had to help a friend for a little help.

Write an Acrostic Poem

Writing an acrostic poem is a really fun way to build and review related groups or categories of vocabulary. How it works is the main theme or subject is written vertically down the page and then each letter of the word is used as the first letter in a related word or to start the new line of a poem. Here is an example we found online about cats that uses some wonderful vocabulary words:

Cuddly

Acrobatic

Tenacious and terrifying

Softly purring

Play Taboo or Heads Up

Taboo is a really fun game to play with your friends and family where you are given a word on a card with a list of the most commonly related vocabulary words. You then have to describe the word to your team without saying any of the vocabulary words on the card. This is fantastic for vocabulary practice as if you are the person describing, you have to think outside the box and come up with rarer, more obscure words that relate to the word on the card.

Timed Word Cloud

Another great activity to do alone or with friends, a timed word cloud is an excellent way to practice groups of vocabulary. You put one word inside a cloud and then you have a set amount of time to surround the cloud with as many related vocabulary words as you can think of before the time runs out. Extra points can also be given for the number of letters in your words which encourages more sophisticated vocabulary.

There are so many exciting ways you can review your vocabulary. It has been proven in many studies that people learn and retain information best when they are having fun so try out some of these activities and watch your vocabulary grow!

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Interesting related article: “Tips to improve your brain activity.”