How should I increase my vocabulary?
How should I increase my vocabulary?
5 Answers
Read Spanish books and newspapers.
I agree with Lorenzo that in any language, reading extensively is key to building one's vocabulary and understanding of sentence structures.
Along with this, I would also recommend that you spend as much time as possible (especially early on) listening to the language (whether it be in the form of television, youtube clips, radio or live conversations) in order to develop not only an ear for the language but also a more natural understanding of how various words, phrases and expressions are used.
It might be helpful at first to get a picture dictionary or a Spanish-English dictionary to look up unfamiliar words that you come across, but as soon as you have developed enough understanding to even fight your way through a Spanish-Spanish dictionary, I would suggest that you do so because looking up words in a bilingual dictionary can become a crutch of sorts in that it forces you to translate the word, and prevents you from gaining insight into how a Spanish speaker might view the definition.
In addition to the good ideas that others have given you I suggest you use Skype and chat with native speakers. I like to use role-play I find it an invaluable way to increase my vocabulary. I create an imaginary scene eg shopping at a supermarket, having your hair cut, travelling by train, bus or plane etc...and ask the native/more advanced speaker to play the role of the assistant and we play out an imaginary scenario so I can learn vocabulary based on:
1 A correct response to the natives questions
2 Asking about words/phrases that s/he uses that I do not know/understand
3 Asking for/about words or phrases that I would like to use or think I would like to say in my native language and would therefore want to know the equivalent expression in Spanish.
I receive help ifrom natives with pronounciation and ask them to write down words and phrases that are new to me in the Skype box below.
I hope this helps 
In Spanish, I'm assuming?
Well, an excellent way would be to start doing the lessons here. Just click "Learn Spanish" in the upper left hand corner. Within each lesson, there is a flashcard set with vocabulary.
Also, try doing some flashcards. Click "Flashcards" in the upper left hand corner, next to "Learn Spanish". There are a bunch of sets, each with their own topic. They've helped me a lot.
This book is also helpful in increasing your Spanish vocabulary.
This book is really cheap and I found it indispensable building my vocabulary in the beginning.
