When I went to school we were always given lists of vocabulary which we had to learn by heart. Quite often these were words we would never come across again and after nine years of English lessons at school my knowledge of the language was still very limited.
When I moved to England I had no choice but to improve my English as much and as fast as I could. Apart from talking to people on a daily basis the following helped me quite a lot:
I read newspapers, magazines and books, basically anything printed I could lay my hands on. In addition to this I listened a lot to BBC Radio 4 and I still do. My favourite programs are "Just a Minute", "I'am sorry, I haven't a clue", "The News Quiz", "The Now Show" and of course Radio 4's "Today" and "PM".
On TV I liked "Open all Hours", "The two Ronnies", "Yes Minister", "Porridge", "Steptoe & Son", "Dinner Ladies", "Only Fools and Horses", "Fawlty Towers", "Allo!Allo!", "Dad's Army", "The Good Life", "Blackadder", "One Foot in the Grave", "Have I Got News for You", "Goodness Gracious Me", and a few others I can't think of at the moment.
You will find that most of the above are comedy programs and that is with a good reason. First, there is not too much action, but people talk a lot instead. And second, when you are having a laugh it is much easier to learn new words. Because you are enjoying yourself remembering new words comes natural and does not feel like work at all.
Another option to increase your vocabulary would be to ask yourself what you are interested in (apart from learning English) and then try to find a web forum in English which covers this topic. You will find that, when a subject really tickles your fancy, learning new words will not at all feel like a chore.
For example I searched for the following:
- Training for a pilot's licence
- General travel tips
- How to safe money
- Model railways
- Travelling to Thailand / Living in Thailand
- Playing the piano / music in general
For each subject I found at least one forum in English. So don't be shy, just go out there and have a look for yourself.
TomUK