Goal Learn high-value academic vocabulary efficiently and make it usable in TOEFL reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
Core principles
- Learn from context first, lists second.
- Store and review with SRS (spaced repetition).
- Build “word families” and collocations, not isolated definitions.
- Create personal, memorable examples to make words stick.
Part 1) Learn vocabulary through reading (the fastest “input” channel)
- Read the right texts
- Narrow academic topics that match TOEFL passages: ecology, archaeology, psychology, geology, economics, anthropology, astronomy, art history.
- Sources with TOEFL-like style:
- Scientific American, National Geographic, Smithsonian, JSTOR Daily, Aeon, BBC Future, Quanta Magazine, The Atlantic (science/ideas), The Economist (science/technology).
- University pages: “research news” or “press releases” from major universities (clear academic prose).
- Tip: Choose 1–2 topics for two weeks (e.g., ecology + archaeology). Repeated topic vocabulary recycles and consolidates faster.
- Do “intensive sampling,” not full-article grind
- Each day, intensively study just 2–4 paragraphs from one article.
- Process:
- First pass: skim for gist; underline unknown words you can’t infer.
- Guess from context; write a quick guess note.
- Check a learner-friendly dictionary (Cambridge, Longman, Oxford) for definition, part of speech, common collocations.
- Keep only high-utility words (see “What to keep” below).
- Add 5–12 new items to your SRS with context maps (Part 2).
- What to keep (80/20 selection)
- High-frequency academic words and their families: analyze, derive, constitute, inhibit, facilitate, imply, evident, significant, scarce, incentive, allocate.
- Collocations you see repeatedly: play a crucial role in; give rise to; be attributed to; be composed of; a body of evidence; in contrast to; on the other hand.
- Topic-recyclers: sediment, strata, predator, herbivore, migration, erosion, monopoly, barter, kinship.
- Avoid low-yield proper nouns, hyper-technical terms, or names unless they recur across texts.
Part 2) Context mapping: turn a word into a network Make a quick “word map” for each new term and store it in your SRS card.
Template
- Headword + part of speech
- Simple English definition (one line)
- Collocations / patterns (verbs + objects; adjectives + nouns)
- Word family (noun/verb/adj/adverb)
- Register/typical contexts (formal/informal; academic/topic)
- Synonyms/near-synonyms (with caution for nuance)
- Antonyms/contrast words
- Example from your source (1 sentence)
- Your personal examples (2–3)
- Notes (grammar, prepositions, typical errors)
Example: mitigate (verb)
- Meaning: to make something less severe or harmful.
- Collocations: mitigate risk; mitigate the impact/effects; mitigation strategies; climate-change mitigation.
- Word family: mitigation (n), mitigative/mitigatory (adj), mitigator (n).
- Register: formal, academic, policy/science.
- Synonyms: alleviate, reduce, moderate, ease, temper. Antonyms: exacerbate, aggravate.
- Grammar: usually takes a direct object (mitigate damage/effects). Avoid “mitigate against.”
- Source example: The policy aims to mitigate the effects of drought on crop yields.
- Personal examples:
- I closed the blinds to mitigate the afternoon heat in my apartment.
- Diversifying revenue streams can mitigate risk for small businesses.
- TOEFL-style: Planting trees can mitigate urban air pollution, though it cannot eliminate it.
- Note: Often paired with of/on: mitigate the effects of X on Y.
Part 3) Use SRS (spaced repetition) correctly
- Tools
- Anki (free, customizable), Mochi, RemNote, Memrise, Quizlet (with spaced repetition mode).
- Add audio (TTS or dictionary), and keep cards short.
- Card types
- Recognition: definition → word; word → simple definition.
- Cloze deletion from your source: The policy aims to the effects of drought.
- Collocation cloze: mitigate + risk/impact/effects; climate-change .
- Form-family: mitigate → mitigation (noun), mitigative (adj) with example.
- Production (for speaking/writing): prompt with a scenario and ask for a sentence using the target word.
- Intervals and load
- Start with ~10–15 new words/day; grow to 20 if reviews stay under 20–30 minutes/day.
- A simple schedule: 0d → 1d → 3d → 7d → 16d → 35d.
- Tag cards by topic (ecology, archaeology) and function (cause–effect, contrast).
- Quality control
- One idea per card; delete or fix “leeches” (cards you fail repeatedly).
- Keep examples short and concrete.
- Avoid bilingual translations for advanced words; use English definitions and contexts.
Part 4) Create personal examples that you’ll actually say and write Personalization makes words retrievable in speaking and writing.
Use the 2–2–1 rule for each new word
- Two personal sentences from your life or interests.
- Two academic-style sentences you could use on TOEFL.
- One micro-story (2–3 sentences) using the word in a mini-narrative.
Example with inhibit
- Personal: Late-night screen time inhibits my ability to fall asleep quickly.
- Personal: Fear of failure inhibited me from applying last year.
- Academic: High salinity can inhibit seed germination in coastal ecosystems.
- Academic: Social norms may inhibit innovation when deviation is discouraged.
- Micro-story: I wanted to present my idea, but the professor’s rapid pace inhibited me. After class, I emailed her instead.
Part 5) High-value word lists for TOEFL-level English Use lists as guides, not as the primary learning source. Prioritize overlap across lists.
Core academic/frequency lists
- Academic Word List (AWL, Coxhead): 570 word families common in academic texts; excellent for TOEFL.
- Academic Vocabulary List (AVL, Gardner & Davies): data-driven and broader than AWL.
- New Academic Word List (NAWL): complements NGSL; strong for academic reading.
- New General Service List (NGSL): top 2,800 general words; ensure you know them in all forms and collocations.
- Oxford 5000: frequency + usefulness; good for coverage.
TOEFL-focused resources
- Barron’s Essential Words for the TOEFL (practical collocations).
- Magoosh TOEFL Vocabulary (200–300 high-impact items).
- Princeton Review TOEFL vocab, ETS Official Guide glossaries.
- Public Anki decks: AWL by sublists; NGSL + NAWL. Edit cards to add your own examples.
Collocation and usage tools
- Cambridge/Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (collocations and grammar notes).
- SkELL (Sketch Engine for Language Learners) or Ludwig.guru for authentic examples.
- COCA or iWeb (for advanced users) to check frequency and patterns.
- YouGlish to hear pronunciation and prosody.
Part 6) Activities that align with the TOEFL Reading
- Paragraph paraphrase: After reading a paragraph, paraphrase 2 key sentences using 2–3 target words.
- Context cloze: Make a 5–8 blank cloze from a TOEFL passage; fill with the right collocations.
- Signal words hunt: Collect connectors (however, moreover, consequently). Make a mini-deck of discourse markers with example sentences.
Listening
- Lecture note-linking: While listening to a TOEFL-style lecture, write key nouns/verbs and add one paraphrase for each (e.g., “derive = come from”).
- Post-listening retell using 3 target words.
Speaking
- 60-second response drills: Pick 3 target words, answer a common prompt (agree/disagree; preference). Record and self-check for accurate collocations.
- Substitution practice: Replace basic words with academic ones (big → substantial; help → facilitate; show → demonstrate/illustrate).
Writing
- Collocation banks: Build small banks by function—cause–effect (give rise to, lead to