How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently? English words everyone should know

Language learning,

Educational process in IT

Vocabulary matters a lot. If you know the words, you understand what it’s about, even without knowing the intricacies of grammar. If you don’t know the words, you communicate like Ellochka the cannibal. Today we are talking about how to remember a lot and for a long time.

Conventional learning of words has low efficiency. For example, over 11 years of the school program, students memorize an average of 1-1.5 thousand words. To speak like a native speaker, you need to know at least 8 thousand words; the Upper-Intermediate level requires knowledge of 6 thousand words. To understand CNN news, which is created taking into account the interest of a foreign audience, you need to know at least 3 thousand words.

Using traditional methods, it is easy to learn up to 10 words in one go, but only a few can remember 30 or 50 new words in one day.

Everyone who learns a foreign language faces the following problems:

Words are quickly forgotten if they are not repeated;
- it is very difficult to learn many words at once;
- people simply don’t know how to learn words effectively;
- when a word enters short-term memory, a person stops working with it.

Why is that?

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted research on “pure” memory - memorization that is not influenced by thinking processes. To do this, the scientist proposed a method of learning meaningless syllables consisting of two consonants and a vowel between them, which do not evoke any semantic associations.

During the experiments, it was found that after the first error-free repetition of a series of such syllables, forgetting occurs very quickly. Already within the first hour, up to 60% of all information received is forgotten; 10 hours after memorization, 35% of what was learned remains in memory. Further, the process of forgetting proceeds much more slowly and after six days about 20% of the total number of initially learned syllables remains in memory, and the same amount remains in memory after a month.

After a series of experiments, Ebbinghaus developed the Forgetting Curve (also called the Ebbinghaus Curve) in 1885. Based on it, the following conclusion was made: for effective memorization, repetition of memorized material is necessary.

To remember information for a long time, after studying it, you need to repeat it at least five times:

1. 20-30 minutes after the first study;
2. after a couple of hours;
3. the next day;
4. in 1-2 weeks;
5. 2-3 months after the fourth repetition.

Using traditional methods (and repetition is one of them) it will not be easy to achieve a great effect. Effective methods are little known, so learning many words at once is very difficult.

Other traditional methods

- Learn with the help of a dictionary, in order
Boring and ineffective. The words start the same but have different meanings, making them difficult to remember. Also, you don't know in what context the word is being used.

If you want to use a dictionary, it is more convenient to make a list of words on a specific topic, for example, select the category “Clothing” or “Travel”. A community of related words is easier to remember.

- Learn using sticker cards
On one side of the card we write the word in Russian, on the other - in English. You need to spend time making cards, but you can carry them with you and repeat the words whenever you have a free minute. If you don’t want to bother with paper, you can download a special application to your smartphone.

- Learn words in context
For example, when watching TV series or movies. For beginners, it’s better to start with TV series; you can watch them with subtitles. There is no need to memorize an unfamiliar word separately. Write down or copy an entire sentence from the subtitles at once. This way you will remember in what situations it can be used.

Method of associations or “Mnemonics”

The Mnemonics method is gaining popularity.
The main principle of this technique is to remember information by building visual connections between a word and its meaning.

Facts about mnemonics:

Scientists have found that the human brain is best at creating visual connections.
- The method appeared 2.5 thousand years ago. It was used by the ancient Greeks, including the famous thinker Socrates.
- Mnemonics gives quick results. Any person, if desired, can achieve a memorization speed of 100 words per hour or higher.

Why mnemonics?

- The visual lobes, which are most involved when using this technique, are the most powerful in the human brain, since they contain the most neurons.
- Any word in a person’s head has a meaning in the form of a specific picture. By building associations, neural connections arise; they can be compared to a wire connecting a word to a picture, for example, when we hear the word “dog,” we imagine a dog.
- Associations are the shortest way to access any information. For example, you heard a familiar song, and you remember a situation in which you heard it before.
- This technique has shown really excellent results in practice - after a few training sessions you can remember 100-300 words per approach.

Algorithm

Step 1
Present a bright, concrete picture. Let's say you want to learn the word fist, you need to vividly imagine a clenched fist.

Step 2
Find an association with a similar sound to a Russian word. Fist in English fist. You can, for example, imagine a pistachio clenched in your fist. Absurd and funny associations are best remembered: the brighter the better. It is also worth creating your own associations, as they will be more vividly remembered.

Step 3
Combine the association with the picture. The picture depicting the word and the association picture must be visually connected. For example, remembering the word crown, you can imagine a crane lifting a crown. If the crane and the crown are simply next to each other in your imagination, there will be no effect; it is better to imagine that the crane is lifting the crown by the edge or on a rope. It is better to imagine a huge crown, since large objects are better remembered. You can also add a certain sound or music playing in the background, which you would associate with the crown.

Step 4
Repeat the memorized word out loud 4-5 times in English, raising your eyes slightly upward, as if looking at the bridge of your nose. Scientists have found that with this eye position, the largest number of neurons are activated. You need to keep your eyes open, if you remember with your eyes closed, then you will remember with your eyes closed.

Step 5
Repeat the words - at least after an hour or two, every other day and every month. High-quality associations are stored in memory for a month. If you do everything according to the algorithm with repetition, you will remember the words for years.

Common mistakes

- Trying to learn everything at once
Many people start studying intensively, wanting to learn English in a week or a month, and quickly give up. It is much more effective to allocate a little time, for example, half an hour, but every day. This way the brain will have time to process the information and there won’t be too much interruption that the word will be forgotten. At the same time, your memory will be in good shape, and there will be no overload.

- Immediately learn complex words that do not correspond to the level of knowledge of the language
If a word is difficult to even pronounce, there is no point in learning it. Beginners need to learn the most common words, this is about 400 words. More than half of them are verbs. Start easy and increase difficulty.

- Don't repeat what you've learned
Without repetition, new words are forgotten.

- Memorize without understanding the context
You won't be able to use new words if you don't know in what situations they are used.

- Learn incorrect pronunciation
You must first listen to the correct pronunciation, even if you know the reading rules well. A good site for listening is wooordhunt.ru.

- The more practice, the better.
Experience has shown that after 300 words learned, mistakes disappear, associations appear in the imagination very quickly and the ending of a word is well remembered, even if the association is consonant only with its beginning.
- It is important to learn quickly, without delaying.
For example, choose a thematic list, set a timer and read all the words in one minute.
- Increase the load gradually.
- Move from simple to more complex words.
Choose the simplest ones that are easiest to learn. Then take five minutes to learn them and rest for five minutes. Then learn more complex words from this list.
- Combine words into groups by topic and part of speech.
It is better to learn nouns first, then adjectives, then verbs.

And the most important thing

• Share your successes with friends to keep you motivated.
• Reward your successes to get used to the fact that learning is good.
• Develop memory in general, not only in English.
• Practice the words you've learned in conversation clubs to finally consolidate the words in context.

By the way, we just have an excellent free section on the site. In it we tried to take into account all the components of successful memorization of words. You can choose from ready-made sets of words, as well as create your own. In addition, a lot of useful things await you: from videos and a blog to conversation clubs and classes with a teacher via Skype.

Bonuses for Habr readers

Online courses

We are giving you access for a year to the English course for self-study “Online Course”.
To gain access, simply go to .

Individually via Skype

Among our students there are already students from GeekBrains, ITVDN, Softengi, Netology. Join us! And we wish you only successful interviews and career success.

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Type of software: Tutorial
Developer/Publisher: Dmitriy Zaryuta/easy team
Version: 2.1
iPhone and iPod Touch: Free (paid subscription)

Without a good vocabulary you cannot learn a foreign language. Dozens of applications are trying to make sure that we remember at least something from hundreds of useful foreign words. Easy ten- a real “luxury” among similar programs, combining a lot of functions and, which is very rare in itself, good design. There are some truly brilliant features here.

Easy ten welcomes you with an offer to complete a three-minute training session on the application’s capabilities. Three minutes is a long time, but justified: a lot of effort and ideas have been invested in the program, which simply do not fit even on five standard interface tabs. The main point is this. Easy ten stores tens of thousands of English words, divided into levels of knowledge - not impersonal "Intermediate" and so on, but the degrees of language knowledge explained in Russian. It’s interesting that the database contains words for tests TOEFL And IELTS- a “pro” orientation is visible.

Based on your level of knowledge, the application selects daily sets of cards with words. The cards are quite ordinary - with detailed translation and transcription. In the corner of each of them there is a check mark, by clicking on which you will confirm that you have learned this word and are ready to take the test.

Every day you are required to take one such test for 10 foreign words. Hence the name of the application - Easy 10 .

The tests themselves can be different - from translating into Russian to collecting a word from a set of letters. For completing a daily task, the application regularly rewards the user with achievement rewards, noting all improvements in the academic progress calendar. You can listen to all the words in the test at any time - this feature is called a “player” here and is designed accordingly. Supported and speech recognition via iPhone or iPod Touch microphone.

Of particular interest was the opportunity to look for examples of using words from each card directly on Twitter, but without leaving Easy ten. As a rule, native speakers “shine” in the results, and they know better when and how to correctly use the word we are learning.

Easy ten also has a database of custom cards. These are words prepared by other subscribers of the service. Every user can create their own collection and post it for others to see. To do this you need to register via Twitter, Facebook, In contact with or directly to Easy ten.

The application interface being Not made on the knee, it can barely withstand such a dense concentration of functions per square centimeter of the screen. On the one hand, simplification would clearly not hurt here, because without introductory help I would never have guessed that two more menus were hidden in the top panel on the left and right. On the other hand, this is the case when the interface responds to commands exactly as you expect - which means that changes in design can only do harm. You just have to figure out for yourself what's what.

To learn words with Easy ten, you don’t have to open the program - it will show you the cards of the day via Push notifications. Such a heap of opportunities cannot be free, right? The trial period lasts 7 days, and the subscription price varies from 33 rubles per month to 300 rubles per year. Expensive? For one of the best apps for expanding your English vocabulary, it's more likely a no than a yes. Only translation options in places.

English language learners often ask the question: “When will I be able to speak fluently?” How many English words do you need to know for this? Different sources give different answers on this matter, but no consensus has been reached on this issue. We decided to express an opinion based on the experience of our English teachers.

How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently: myths

How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently: 1000 or 10000? The concept of “minimum required vocabulary” is a subtle and ambiguous thing. The Oxford English Dictionary lists 500,000 words: a frightening number and not at all encouraging for those learning English. According to statistics, a native English speaker actively uses from 15,000 to 40,000 words. This is the vocabulary that a person uses in written or spoken speech - active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary (words that the native speaker recognizes when speaking or reading, but does not use in speech) reaches 100,000 words. In the article “” you can read in detail about these concepts.

The idea of ​​the “magic thousand English words” is now being actively discussed on the Internet. According to this hypothesis, a person only needs to know 1000 words of English to communicate freely on any everyday topic. Agree, it’s great: if you consider that we learn 10 new words a day, then in just over 3 months we will be able to communicate freely!

At the same time, the vocabulary of a 4-5 year old child averages from 1200 to 1500 words, and that of an 8 year old child - about 3000 words. Does 1000 words really give you freedom in speaking? We believe that 1000 words are not enough for normal communication at the adult level. Where did this figure come from then? Perhaps the whole point is in a study by British scientists: they found that any author of an average text (excluding literary masterpieces) uses a vocabulary of only 1000 words. However, no one clarifies that the composition of this 1000 is different for each author. Each person has his own vocabulary, which he uses when writing texts.

Some people advocate for 1000 words for another reason: they believe that in order to communicate fluently in English, you need to learn the thousand most commonly used words. You can even find special frequency dictionaries on the Internet. However, if you look into such a publication, it becomes clear that you won’t go far with these thousand words: about a third of them are prepositions (in, at, on), various types of pronouns (he, she, his, her), question words (where , why, what), numerals (first, second), etc. With such a set it will be difficult to compose a meaningful sentence. In addition, the authors of dictionaries, when writing irregular verbs, do not indicate all three forms at once, but arrange them in three places according to their frequency. For example, the word keep is included in the first 200 words (according to various sources, 167-169 places), kept - is in 763-765 places. This approach to irregular verbs is inconvenient: it is better to learn all three forms of the verb at once, so it is easier to remember them.

However, not all frequency publications are bad. You can use them, but choose the RIGHT words to communicate, especially verbs and nouns. In a sentence, the verb plays the main role, because in any sentence there is an action (go, break, speak) or a state (be, exist) of an object expressed by a verb. It makes sense to study lists of the most frequently used verbs in the English language. For example, beginners can be advised to master a list of 100 verbs - all of them are voiced, given in three forms at once. And those who continue can familiarize themselves with the list of the 1000 most frequent verbs, where you can also see examples of their use in various contexts.

If we “lower the bar” completely, then we can also rely on the dictionary of Ellochka the cannibal: she easily managed with 30 words. However, if you don't want to be a "cannibal" and want to speak at the level of an adult, you will need to learn more English words.

As vocabulary is reduced, so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of the things you can identify!

If your vocabulary decreases, so does the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of things you can name.

How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently: reality

Now let's put mythology aside and solve the question of how many words are needed to communicate freely in English. And let us turn again to statistics; they, like facts, are stubborn things. To understand 80-90% of the text on a general topic, it is enough to know about 3000 words; this is the figure stated by various studies by foreign scientists. You can read more details on the website lextutor.ca. Oxford learner's Dictionaries also offers 3,000 words for English language learners. However, this is not yet enough for FREE communication in English. As you read, you will guess the meaning of many words from the context. In addition, of these 3000 words, some will be in your passive dictionary, that is, you will recognize many words when speaking or reading, but not use them in speech.

To speak truly fluently, you need to “activate” your passive vocabulary: 3000 in the active vocabulary is a confident or beginning stage. At this level of knowledge, a person can speak on general topics quite fluently and confidently.

Thus, we came to the idea that 3000 words is the minimum required for a conversation on general topics. It is possible to reach this level “from scratch” in about 1.5-2.5 years (depending on the intensity of classes, the efforts of the student, etc.). To express yourself truly FREELY, you need to know about 5000-6000 words. This vocabulary corresponds to the level, and this is already 3-4 years of learning English from scratch.

Don't speak English yet? Start mastering the first 1000 words! You can calculate the time frame in another way: if you tirelessly learn 10 words a day, then a stock of 3000 words can be acquired in just a year of study. However, do not forget that memorizing words is not enough. To learn how to speak, you need to learn grammar so you understand how to construct a sentence. And most importantly, you need to speak English as often as possible. You need to be able to operate with any vocabulary, then even with 1000 words in your pocket you can, if necessary, communicate in English on a simple topic.

As you can see, to communicate freely in English you need about 3000-5000 words, your desire to speak and hard work. Do you want to make it easier for yourself to memorize so many English words? Try it with one of our teachers. You will significantly expand your vocabulary and learn how to correctly use the learned vocabulary in speech.

The first question that faces beginners learning English is how many English words do you need to know to start speaking? The fact that you will have to learn the basic words of the English language is clear to everyone, but it is not so easy for a beginner to determine the lexical minimum. Different sites and different training programs give different lexical minimums - on some sites you will find 1000 English words that you need to know, somewhere 800, somewhere 100. In this article we will give you the basic words in English that you need to know to each. There are only 100 of them, and if you are at the very beginning of your journey, this will be quite enough to compose some basic phrases and phrases.

One Hundred Basic Words of English

For ease of memorization, we divided the basic 100 words of the English language into parts of speech and groups. All English words are translated and voiced. When learning a word, listen to it several times and repeat it out loud. We recommend that you learn about 10 words per day, starting each subsequent stage by repeating a list of previously learned words. The words you learn will also help you in your further mastery of grammar.

So, let's listen to the pronunciation of English words online that everyone should know

Pronouns

	(about inanimate objects)

Verbs

	Come
	To help
	Like
	Put
	Use, use
	Work

Nouns

People

Places

- Food and drinks

Time periods

Family

Miscellaneous

	Box, box
	Thing, subject

Adjectives

Colors

Adverbs

How to teach to learn

It is very important to hear the correct pronunciation of English words, because as you hear the word, you will remember it. In order for words to be remembered well, you must use them in practice. For starters, it would be a good idea to make up phrases from words that match each other in meaning, for example, every day, go home. Sometimes basic English words are easier to remember if you come up with some funny or ridiculous phrase with them, for example - We never use money or I often see beautiful green people. The more diverse combinations of available words you can come up with, the better the words will be remembered, since in this case not only visual and auditory memory is involved, but also associative thinking. Another way to make it easier to memorize words is to group them according to a specific characteristic. In the nouns section we have already done this for you. Try this method for other parts of speech. For example, adjectives can be taught in pairs with opposite meanings - good - bad etc. In the existing adverbs, the group also clearly stands out - Today - Tomorrow - Yesterday . After carefully studying the list of English words, you can create groups for yourself that will be convenient for you.

So, you now have at your disposal the necessary vocabulary for beginners, the English language has become one step closer and clearer.

Your task is to learn them, remember the correct pronunciation and practice as often as possible, combining them with each other in various variations. Once you are sure that all the words are firmly settled in your memory, you can move on to the next level - increase your vocabulary with the help of easy texts and stories.

Online exercise for memorizing basic words

Choose an appropriate pronoun

Insert suitable verbs to make sense in the sentences

Make sentences from words

I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found ... I a box small brown Yesterday found

For breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have ... for breakfast with I usually tea sandwiches have .

Want to know even more English words? Then start learning using the Lim English online method. You will have access to exercises, each of which will expand your vocabulary by 10-20 words.

How to learn new English words without cramming and boring exercises? We offer you several interesting sites for memorizing English words, where you can expand your vocabulary for free and even... help those in need without spending a penny from your personal funds. How to do it? Read below.

Useful selection: 5 sites for learning English words

An interesting resource is a website for English learners, which contains hundreds of colorful visual thematic collections of flash cards that will be understandable even for beginners. The section for learning new words can be found at the following link.

In addition, a variety of tests are provided for English language learners. Beginners will be interested in vocabulary tests, which are also presented in the form of colorful flash cards. For higher levels, the site has exercises for finding synonyms and antonyms for words, testing knowledge of all forms of irregular verbs, as well as testing vocabulary for those who are preparing to take exams.

With this simple and beautiful resource, you can work not only with vocabulary, but also improve your grammar, listening, speaking and reading at the same time. All skills need to be developed at the same time, and you can do it on one site.

Pay attention to - a site for learning English words, extremely easy to use, but no less interesting. In the First words subsection, words for levels are divided by topic. Most of the exercises are presented in the form of a visual dictionary. The advantage is that you are not given a translation into Russian, so an association will arise in your memory: a certain picture is associated with a word in English. Many linguists believe that this way of learning vocabulary is the most productive, since in this case you give up the habit of mentally translating a word into Russian from English: a certain image will be clearly associated with a specific word.

In addition to visual exercises, you will find equally interesting developmental tasks to find synonyms and antonyms for a word, as well as question tasks that test your knowledge of vocabulary on a particular topic. There are also exercises for using prepositions, breaking words into different categories, filling in missing words in dialogues, eliminating an extra word from a group of concepts, etc. All the tasks are exciting, varied, and presented simply and clearly.

The Harder words subsection is intended for level and above. The tasks here are no less varied and interesting. There is a visual dictionary and selection of the desired word in sentences. In addition, here you will find an unusual task for finding errors when replacing one word with another that sounds similar to it (a phenomenon called malapropism).

Both subsections have special exercises aimed at developing vocabulary. In them you are given 15-20 words to study and 15 different tasks aimed at practicing these words. We advise you not to complete all 15 exercises in one sitting: “stretch” them over three days, 5 tasks each. Thus, during this time you will thoroughly consolidate the new vocabulary in your memory.

In addition to these sections, on the site you will find exercises for learning phrasal verbs, idioms and proverbs, various grammar tests and educational articles for English language learners.

Do you think that learning words using flashcards is a thing of the past? On the site you can find flash cards in electronic form and learn English words online: progressive and convenient. You are offered three stages of learning new words:

• At first you just look at the words and try to remember them by association with the picture.
• Then they show you a picture for a while, and you try to remember the word.
• At the third stage, you test your knowledge: write a word in English next to the picture.

The exercise is quite simple, but for beginners this is exactly what you need.

On the same site, in the Mistakes section, you can work on exercises with words that are often confused in English, for example, any and some, borrow and lend, etc. On the Word Games page you will find a variety of games to expand and practice vocabulary: crosswords, memory games (memory training games), unusual sea battles, etc.

In general, the resource is simple even for beginners, the graphics are somewhat outdated, but you won’t be distracted by beautiful pictures with cats while working with the dictionary. :-)

Not as colorful a resource as the previous ones, but very useful for learning English. It has several sections for learning the most commonly used words, as well as sections with colloquial phrases where you can learn new words in context. The site is suitable even for beginners: you need to mark Russian in the list of languages, then you will see instructions in your native language and translations of words and phrases. For “continuing” students, you can try using the English version of the site. In this case, you can find out the meaning of unfamiliar words in the English-English dictionary; just click on the word you need to get help.

On the site you will find a section 1500 Most Common English Words and Vocabulary. It will help you expand your vocabulary. All words are voiced by native speakers, learn them and repeat after the speaker.

After that, go to the section 1000 Most Common English Phrases. Here you can learn new words in context. All phrases are voiced by native speakers, and the recordings are presented in two versions: at normal speed and in slow motion. You can sort them by topic, for example, if you are preparing for a trip, select phrases on the desired topic and study them.

Then go to the “100 free lessons” section. It is presented in the form of short dialogues on various topics. You can take phrases from there and memorize them: they will definitely be useful to you in the future. Dialogues are also recorded in normal and slow motion: listen and repeat. You can listen to each phrase separately and try to pronounce it the same way as the announcer.

The most unusual of all resources. Let’s say right away that it is not suitable for beginners, but from the Pre-Intermediate level you can try training with it. Here you are given only one exercise: you need to indicate what a particular word means, and they offer four possible answers. That is, in fact, you need to choose a synonym for the word.

What is the “trick” of this game? The whole point lies in the so-called “reward”. For each correct answer you “earn” 10 grains of rice. At the end of the game, the site's sponsors recalculate the number of grains earned into a monetary equivalent and transfer this amount of funds to the account of the World Food Program - the largest organization providing humanitarian assistance to starving people (usually African countries). The site's motto: “Play and feed hungry people.”

Let's reveal all the cards at once: according to the calculations of foreign experts, the approximate amount of money that you can earn for the hungry in 10 minutes of the game is only... 3 cents. Yes, a little, but what if millions of people play this way?

To summarize, we can say that this is not the best resource for charity, but you can combine business with pleasure: practice your vocabulary and help those in need a little.

These are not all sites for memorizing English words. In future articles we will continue to share useful links with you. However, words can be learned not only online, but also offline. In the article “” we talked in detail about how to learn new English words. Study and hone your knowledge. And in the article “” you can learn about good tools for increasing your vocabulary.