So I'm familiar with different methods of adding Japanese words such as Rikaichan, ipod dictionaries, and so forth but are any such resources available to English learning? I'm interested in broadening my English vocabulary. Anyone SRS English too? I'm just looking for a quick means to add words.

I understand this has little to do with japanese but in a way, one can't learn new words in Japanese without understanding the English equivalent, in some cases. Well, Remembering the Kanji had that problem lol. Maybe we can all relate?

I'm going to srs grammar soon (english). Because that's what a lot of people around me say to do. Or at least just read up on it. Although for words srsing , all you pretty much have to do is add anything that troubles you/provide a back definition of it.

I'm looking for a way to add many words with less effort, granted, that such a thing is possible

Hmm, English for native speakers or English as a second language (I don't know many ESL resources...)?
Either way, I've found http://www.freerice.com helpful for broadening my vocabulary, and it's great for all levels of English speakers. (http://www.happyrice.com is the same thing, only with Kanken questions, if you want to do something similar with Japanese) The best way I've found to learn new words is to read a lot, and have a dictionary handy in case you need it (Since I like to keep a dictionary handy when I read English, my native language, it wasn't too hard to get used to using Japanese ones when I started reading novels, I still think dictionaries, especially in an electronic format, are very helpful in broadening vocabulary).

You could try Stardict. I know it saves vocabulary, not sure about definition though.

There are tons of 'improve your vocabulary' books, calendars, and more aimed at English speakers.

Edit: I got my massive vocabulary by just reading. I never had to go out of my way to find more. I rarely come across a new word, and when I do, it's rarely useful.

I'm definitely a native, but I was going for more along words that aren't typically given in most books. Words maybe saved from a dictionary app or words from a English class vocab list. It'd be amazing if there was a good import list from a dictionary or something along those lines.

I also feel like if we're able to dominate a new language so quickly with SRS, why not put a little juice into making a stronger English vocabulary, even if its just for self-interest.

@Bokusenou I've seen Freerice before. I had to use it for some computer class in highschool. lol. thanks. I'll look into it again though

@astendra I downloaded Stardict, but at this point I'm pretty much toying with it. Its a pretty confusing interface

@wccrawford I've been squeezing into some novels between the constant japanese immersion thing, but its a little difficult. I agree with you though, its great. I just wish there was a simple way to insure memory of those words through SRS

I wrote this post a little while ago and already I have relies. Its really great how awesome this community is! I appreciate it.

astendra Wrote:You could try Stardict. I know it saves vocabulary, not sure about definition though.

Yeah you can select 'just words' or not (which means definitions) when saving to a text file. I always just used the words only. Now I'd be more likely to use cb4960's background typing tool since it lets you copy/paste into the target text editor without switching windows, via hotkeys.

StarDict has a nice English dictionary, Merriam-Webster Collegiate. It's on code.google.com somewhere if you Google it. Abbreviated filename is mwc or something. Of course there's more at TPB since they took down the other good Stardict files from sourceforge ages ago. Lingoes also works nicely and lets you more easily copy definitions from the pop-up (with Stardict it's a matter of clicking the Save button or hitting the space bar or somesuch when focus is on the Save button, or right-clicking and copying but then you'd need Clipboard Fusion/etc. to scrub the html and leave just the definition), but I haven't seen the same ability to send to a text file in Lingoes.

I'm sure there are some GRE/SAT vocab decks on Anki...

*absconds quickly from this thread*

I used an anki list that contained about 4000 words from Barron's GRE list. If you want to learn some obscure words I'd say that's the way to go...

I'm aware of the list from Anki. I have it, but premade decks usually aren't my thing, and theres alot of words not included in it for sure. I'll try to see if I can figure out Stardict somehow. thanks for the replies

@nest0r I'll give it a shot later today hopefully to acquire more dictionaries and get it running

Tolerence91 Wrote:@wccrawford I've been squeezing into some novels between the constant japanese immersion thing, but its a little difficult. I agree with you though, its great. I just wish there was a simple way to insure memory of those words through SRS

My take on that is that the SRS is necessary for a second language because your reading speed is inevitably slower, so it's much harder to get the reinforcement you want just by reading. For reading in your native language, it's much easier to just read a lot, which is much more fun than ploughing through words in an SRS...

Tolerence91 Wrote:I'm aware of the list from Anki. I have it, but premade decks usually aren't my thing, and theres alot of words not included in it for sure. I'll try to see if I can figure out Stardict somehow. thanks for the replies

a lot of words not included? what are you trying to accomplish? i think 4000 words of advanced vocabulary that hardly anyone uses on a daily basis would help anyone trying to get better.

i don't use premade decks for Japanese, but if i were making English decks, it's fine because it makes a great base (because it'll have the words, and dictionaries are available online), and if i wanted example sentences i can even make up my own because i'm a native English speaker.

@pm215: i think that advanced english vocabulary is rare to the point that unless you specifically target it, you will have trouble finding it commonly in reading. i think reading helps for second language because it helps you grasp the nuances of many words all at once, but unless you're reading a book that was specifically written with advanced vocabulary, then reading doesn't help that much. plus, if your focus is to use vocabulary, you need to practice putting it in sentences. there are many advanced words that i know but can't pull out of my head if i wanted to use them.

One of my favorite classes in High School was called "What are words worth" or something like that, we learned Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and whatnot. Very useful things to learn in general. I wonder if I still have my book for the class around here somewhere.

Greek and Latin root words are probably a good place to start for expanding your vocabulary.

That's my next task after Japanese; expand my English vocabulary using Anki. As it is I just have way too many damn sentence and Kanji reviews to be bothered fitting in anything else. I encounter more obscure words all the time reading good quality academic books/ internet articles, so you can learn quite a few through immersion alone.

I'm actually doing this for English these days! I read a lot of science/tech related articles and find there's quite a few words that come up that I don't know. So I started a vocab deck. I'm just using the free dictionary. It takes time and isn't nearly as quick as rikaichan or stardict but I don't have to put in ~30 words a day so it's not that much of a problem.

So far I'm finding it really interesting learning new English vocab!