How many English vocabularies can be enough to read newspaper and most conversations ?

Question

I am Singaporean , I am improving my English and building my Vocabulary recently . I can understand 90%over with I talking with Singaporeans in Singlish ( Singaporean English ) , I think my English isn't good enough , I have read a ( Holy Bible English ) recently , there are several words and more I don't understand on each page . I can understand completely what do the English newspaper written . I had watched NEW YORK TV NEWS too , I am not really understand all what did those reporters said and I rely English subtitles too .
I am building my vocabulary with a book as 7000 VOCABULARY , that book was written these 7000 words all for American primary schools , OMG ! I think I just know 3000 vocabulary nearby and I am studying at Per-university right now . Was that represent my English degree lower than the all of primary school students of America ? Is my English poor ? I have study English always and I feeling that is being better too , but I don't know why I think my English always not good enough ?

Answer 1

by what i read,i suggest you to concentrate in the grammar and english idioms

Answer 2

Having a broad vocabulary in English is something that even native speakers (like myself) find difficult to achieve! Your English seems quite decent right now, what you can do is just watch a lot of English tv and read English books all the time and when you find a word you don't understand, write it down, look up the meaning and practice using it in a sentence! English is a language that has a huge vocabulary and nearly every word of it can be used from day to day.



The amount of words needed to understand most English goes like this.



1500 words - 80%

2000 words - 90%

2500 words - 95%

Answer 3

My recommendation would be to read more, and use vocabulary trainers less.



Learning a language is not just about learning all of the words in the language. For each word you learn, you also need to learn when to use it, to get a real sense for it, by seeing it used in different contexts. Memorizing "this word in my language" = "that word in their language" is almost useless, because there aren't that many words that translate exactly.



If you're ready to start reading English, but you're not quite ready for the newspaper, my recommendation would be to try and find some children's novels or "chapter books" -- books for early readers, that have a fair amount of text in them (much more than a children's book that's 90% pictures), but that keep the language simple so young children can read the book on their own.



I'm not really sure what to recommend from that genre...I don't really remember the real "chapter books" that I read. "Young adult" literature might be an option too, perhaps something from Beverly Cleary, like "The Mouse on the Motorcycle", I seem to remember enjoying that book a lot.

Answer 4

How Much Vocabulary Is Enough

Answer 5

Your writing is not all that bad but it certainly needs improvement.When you say you understand 90% that would be 9 out of every 10 words then you are telling me that you can not adequately converse in English.It is not so much the quantity of words you know.English may have about 1,000,000 words and I doubt if I know or use more than 50,000 or 5%.It is also a fact that in daily speech a person seldom uses more than about 3,000 or less than half a percent.I have used English since I was a child and I am pretty good at it.Keep at it.

Answer 6

Actually, broadening/improving one's language skills is a very broad concept, it should be done in more than one ways at the same time which is highly recommended. One can NOT become better ONLY in one area, say, vocabulary, one MUST improve skills in ALL dimensions of the language!



Learning language well requires being as active as possible and making the learning as FUN for oneself as possible. Taking lessons is always important, but equally important are these:



1) Listen/watch: Keep listening to internet radio stations like BBC, watch TV shows in English (use only subtitles, NOT voice dubbing in case you are not a native English speaker!), etc.



2) Write/communicate: Try to find discussion forums from the web about things that you find interesting and FUN (music/various artists, hobbies, etc.) and start communicating there with other people using only English. Start using instant messaging systems in case you find some new friends or start emailing them. Please do NOT be afraid of making mistakes or hesitating, because even native speakers do make mistakes and do hesitate at times! The more you enjoy communicating, the better!



3) Buy yourself a proper dictionary, and each time when you see a strange word that you do not understand, look it up. Putting words into their CONTEXT is one of the best ways to broaden one's vocabulary and grammar knowledge, the more you read and write the better. Memorising is NOT the best way to go with learning vocabulary, grammar or any other language areas! For idioms, you should buy an all-English dictionary which explains the words in English and shows you examples of how to use the words.



The main point in ANY language learning is to make it as fun as possible for yourself. Try to find topics that INTEREST you, read online newspapers (Times, Guardian, Independent...), listen to BBC/NBC and other radio stations online, if you find a discussion forum for e.g. your favourite hobby or your idols in music do participate there, etc. The key word here is CONTEXT, which means that it is easier to learn new words and their usage as well as grammar when you use/see them in their real CONTEXT. The more you see and hear the new words in their context and the more you use them in your speech & writing, the easier it becomes to remember their meanings and correct spelling. Do NOT be afraid of making mistakes though, because even native speakers do make mistakes and do hesitate at times!



I'm sorry there is NO EASY WAY out with this, one really must develop language skills in ALL these language "levels" or dimensions in order to reach better language skills!!



Last but not least: NEVER EVER use ANY online translators, they are nothing but utter rubbish!! English is practically EVERYWHERE in the online world these days, you just have to use your imagination to find it! Learning pace is always personal, it takes the time it takes so there is no reason to hurry it up too much. If you do, you will not learn so well. Also, please learn the basics of the standard English first before advancing to finer details like dialects/accents. A word of warning though: Do stay well away from overrated, overpriced and overhyped language "gimmicks" such as Rosetta Stone, they really are NOT worth for checking out!



Good luck!

Answer 7

Most papers are written on 8th grade level, so believe a 2000 word vocabulary is all you need to read most general newspapers.

Answer 8

I think you should start with things with simpler vocabulary like watching children's TV and reading children's books. When you have mastered these then you could start reading more challenging vocabulary like newspapers.

Answer 9

The more English words you know is much better. In order to read and understands most of the words in a sentence you got to have at least 80% of vocabularies. Even though most of the English newspaper have a middle school or high school level words, but there are some technical or special words you need to know in order to comprehend what they are talking about. So the more words you know the better to read a novel, magazine and newspapers of different kind. Good luck!!!