We see a lot of children struggling with the 'it' section in their English paper. More surprisingly, even children who speak English at home and have adopted the Queen's language as their mother tongue, find their vocabulary severely limited. The case for children from different ethnic backgrounds who speak a different language at home, or whose parents cannot speak English is different, but there is no doubt that there is a great need and a cause of great worry among the parents all over the world. English is pretty much the language of the world, and a good command over it is hence very important. The contention on this matter can be appreciated by understanding the far reaching applications of the language. Adjunct to the essence of language, carries the importance of the need for a rich vocabulary in its wake. Improving Vocabulary Skills What is the need to improve vocabulary anyway? After all, most people know 20,000 words, which is a lot of words anyway to go about their lives without too many problems; however, not on professional grounds. In today's globalized world, you might encounter someone who has a better vocabulary, or a lot with better vocabulary skills than you presently possess. In such cases, it can be really difficult to cope with people when the pace of comprehension is not at par. People from different ethnic backgrounds may face problems with a deficit in vocabulary, which in turn can hinder their progress in schools, colleges, or whichever field of work they are delved into. Read More Fiction and comic books is helpful at elementary level, change in selection of reading tastes should be a desirable attribute cultivated by will or natural selection. Reading those boring looking biblical-sized novels if you are to make any headway. If that seems too tedious, get a copy of a better newspaper. Sump that sensational tabloid and invest in a better paper. Reading not only helps you learn more words, it also helps you gain a command over the language. Keep a Dictionary and Thesaurus Just reading more isn't good enough. You may come across a lot of words you do not know, so you need to keep a dictionary at hand. Otherwise, you'll simply gloss over the words and without any value addition. A thesaurus will further boost your vocabulary, as it will provide synonyms for all the words you do not know already. Speak So now if you have learned a few new words from a recent book you read, start using them more and more regularly. Not all new words you learn will be contextual, some of them may also have day-to-day utility. Encourage your friends too to use those words more often. Building a good peer group around you boosts learning, and moreover, makes it a fun activity. Specialized Books Then again, you also get these word builder books for those who are looking to improve vocabulary fast. These word builder books are a quick fix, and great to improve your vocabulary in the short term. Linguistic roots of words can be grasped by using them. 'Word Power Made Easy' by Norman Lewis, in particular, is one such book that has sold like hotcakes all over the world. So these were some solutions to your quandary of improving vocabulary. Use all the tips and techniques specified in this article, and see your vocabulary improve in no time!