How to read news AND increase your active vocabulary ✨

News is a vast source of new and relevant vocabulary, however the articles are usually quite long and there’s a high possibility that you’ll see more than a few new vocabulary units. So how to be effective about it?

Checking every unfamiliar word in the dictionary can be interesting if you’re in the mood to be meticulous, but this will be more about word-hunting and less about actually reading. There is a simpler way that will not impede your reading of a piece that you found interesting and help you gain a few more words to raise your level. 

1. Set a limit. 3-4 phrases would be perfect. This way you will just naturally read and only get to learn what has really struck you. So pick up 3-4 phrases while you read and then stop highlighting/writing the words out - keep reading for pleasure/whichever other goal you’ve got. Don’t see yourself as unproductive languagewise – all the other unfamiliar vocabulary in the text will also help you develop your reading skills – it’s important to be able to read and understand new texts even if not every word is known to you. These unfamiliar words will find their way into your passive vocabulary even if you don’t focus on them – you’ll understand them easier in the new context. 
2. How to pick the 3-4 phrases? If you don’t know where to start: try looking at the beginning and the ending of the article - these are often the most meaningful parts of the text. Another good approach is to look for the words that will suit your style: ones that make you feel “wow, I love how that sounds”, “this phrase looks impressive”, “oh, I know just the context to use it in”, “this is something I haven’t thought existed in English” or “this is something I wish I knew how to say in English”.
3. As an example let’s take the article about Hollywood writers protesting against the use of the AI in their work.

I was interested in the subject of the article and picked just three phrases that struck me as worth remembering 

tumultuous atmosphere – накаленная атмосфера – I just love how it sounds and it’s a really relevant phrase these days.

(outside/beyond/within) the realm of the possibility – границы возможного –this is good synonym for other phrases I know + with the word “realm” it does sound more powerful.

get a handle on sth – взять что-то под контроль – this is a useful phrase for students in my business courses, something I’d like to share with them.

4. After you’ve selected the 3-4 phrases and read the text, use all of them to give a brief summary of the article. The main goal here is not to cover all the points, but to use all of the phrases. 

There’s a tumultuous atmosphere in Hollywood now with the Writers Guild protests. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) are not sure they can get a handle on it any time soon since the writers are demanding to limit the use of AI in their area of work which may well be outside the realm of the possibility. 

Here it is, two sentences and I’ve used all the phrases. You don’t have to write it down, just create the sentences in your mind after you read the article.

5. Now find the context for these phrases within your own experience. It doesn’t have to be the same context for all of them, but it can be. 

E.g.:

There’s quite a tumultuous atmosphere in our office since it’s a week before the deadline. I wish to find myself in the future when all of this is finished and I’m on vacation.

Finishing the tasks for all three of the projects is outside the realm of the possibility for me this week. I should get a handle on the number of things I’m involved in. 

Again: you can write them, you can say them, you can just construct them in your mind – choose what works best for you. This way adding new words to your vocabulary will take you just a couple of minutes more than simply reading the article💫