How did you get used to using new words? My advice is to learn the way natives learn. A five year old will have a very small vocabulary but they sound native. Learn how to say a small number of things really well (natively). Once you have that base, adding words because you need to is easy. Don’t waste your time adding words that you don’t need.

[links in comments] In my experience, the majority of spoken English doesn't use very many words. This is a fact of language and is constantly harped on in a lot of language learning discussions[1]. That said, there exist an absurd amount of words in the English language and you will never learn them all. BUT, if you actually want to learn more words, I really think the only solution, for anyone, is to read. This doesn't just mean books on paper, you could also listen to audiobooks. Either way, the full richness of English (or any language) will only come through reading. This will sound arrogant, but I have a significantly better vocabulary than the rest of my family. I routinely drop words that they don't know. Which is a good feeling because I remember vividly often having to ask my parents growing up what new words meant. Now they ask me. The reason for this? I read. A lot. You also don't only have to limit yourself to books. Periodicals, especially high level ones, are a huge boon to my vocabulary. Two I recommend enthusiastically are The New Yorker and The Economist. Both are written with high-level vocabularies. They are sometimes difficult for native English speakers (see the link at [2] for a discussion on Hacker News about the question of New Yorker's reading level in relation to CEFR levels). If you are not ready to read The New Yorker or The Economist, do not worry. Just read. Whatever you want. Sci-fi is my favorite go-to guilty pleasure and it's perfect for starting out in French (for me). But any pulp genre work will work just as well. All that matters is that you read. As you read, you will naturally gravitate toward books that interest you, which will likely be where your level is. The result is, as you grow, you will read higher level material. Eventually, you'll want to read Shakespeare, or Tolstoy, or Joyce. See this video discussing The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen, a beloved language acquisition expert in the polyglot community.[3]

Hi Layana. Great question and you’re totally not alone. A lot of my students have this same problem. There is no quick fix, naturally you’re producing the vocabulary that you’re familiar with and that’s okay. However, to overcome this problem I recommend trying the following: 1) Improve your vocabulary by investing in a good vocabulary book or flash cards. Ensure they are appropriate for your age and level. 2) Increase the amount of reading and listening you’re doing. I find TED Talks, podcasts and magazines are best for this. Whenever you hear or read new words and expressions that interest you, make a note of them. Then challenge yourself to use them the next time you are writing or speaking. Find a way to keep track of this. You can even turn it into a game! 3) Use a thesarus. A thesarus is a great way to expand your vocabulary, and the internet has great resources for learning new phrases and idioms as well as just new words. You can encorporate them into both your speech and written English. NOTE: Always be cautious when self-studying. Ensure that you fully understand meaning before using new language. I recommend using an English coach and discussing new language with them before trying to use it. Hope this helps! 😀👌