What does knowing a new word mean?

• It is no enough just to know the meaning of a word. You also need to know:
  a) what words it is usually associated wit; b) whether it has any particular grammatical characteristics; c) how it is pronounced
• Try to learn new words not in isolation but in phrases.
• Write down adjectives together with nouns they are often associated with and vice versa, e.g. royal family; rich vocabulary.
• Write down verbs with the structure and nouns associated woth them, e.g. to add to our knowledge of the subject; to express an oppinion.
• Write down nouns in phrases, e.g. in contact with; a train set; shades of oppinion.
• Write down words woth their propositions, e.g. at a high level; thanks to your help.
• Note any grammatical characteristics of the words you are studying. For example, note when a verb is reggular and when a noun is uncountable or is only used in plural.
• Make a note of any special pronounciation problems with the words you're learning.
  

What do you need to learn?

1. How many words are there in English? At least:
a. 10.000 b. 100.000 c. 250.000 d. 500.000
2. Winston Churchill was famous for his particularly large vocabulary. How many words did he use in his writing?
a. 10.000 b. 60.000 c, 100.000 d. 120.000
3. How many words does the average native English speaker use in his/her everyday speech?
a. 2.500 b. 5.000 c. 7.500 d. 10.000
4. How many words make up 45% of everything written in English?
a. 50 b. 250 c. 1.000 d. 2.500

To sum up, there are many words you don't need at all and there are other words that you simply need to understand when you read or hear them.Finally, there are words which you need to be able to use yourself. Clearly you need to spend most time learning this last group.

In the text below calculates the words you'd like to be able to use.

English vocabulary has a remarkable range, flexibility and adaptability. Thanks to the periods of contact with foreign languages and its readiness to coin new words ut of old elements, English seems to have far more words in its core vocabulary than other languages. For example, alongside kingly (from Anglo-Saxon) we find royal (from French) and regal (from Latin). There are many such sets of words which add greatly to our opportunities to express subtle shades of meaning at various levels of style.

You probably marked many words that you would like to be able to use. You probably ned only to understand, rather than to use, the verb 'coin' as used in the context above.