Sooner or later all my students ask me how they can learn new words, or they complain that they want to speak but they don’t have the ‘raw materials’. “What book should I read?” “Should I start with children’s books?” I always tell them the same thing – first of all get yourself a notebook with pages divided by the alphabet, and then find something you really want to read. Nothing boring, or work-orientated at first. Start small, don’t make your life difficult. I find magazines are a great tool for learning vocabulary. You can get magazines that cover every hobby, pastime or interest you can imagine (and some you won’t believe!). Magazines are great for studying because you can choose any subject, the articles are shorter than book chapters so it’s easy to dip in and out without too much effort, and the language used is usually up to date and modern.

Get a notebook with pages divided by the alphabet – this will become your personalised dictionary. Put in all new words you learn, along with a translation, the pronunciation, how the word is used and anything else that might help you remember when and where to use the word. If you are feeling artistic draw a diagram!

Every new word goes in your new personalised dictionary. Twice if necessary – once under the letter it begins with in English and once in Italian (we don’t know which one we will forget!).

It’s important to write your personalised dictionary by hand. Studies have shown that material written by hand is easier to recall at a later date. Typing everything in a digital database might be easier but you won’t remember as much.

Practice often rather than a lot…

Five minutes every day will work better than one hour once a week. It’s easier to maintain regularity and helps not get bored or fed up with studying. If you choose the right magazine (something you are interested in) then it shouldn’t be boring at all!