Open your bilingual dictionary. Choose a word in your native language. Make sure it is a word that you know well and one for which you know at least one synonym.
Look for the word in your second language. If your first language is French and the word you are using is "manteau," you will see the translation to English is "coat."
Write "coat" on the top of the page on your paper. Set a goal for how many new words you will get from it, keeping it to two or three.
Open your English dictionary. Look up "coat." You will see the first definition will probably be similar to the one you know in your native language. In this case, "coat" is a noun for something you wear over your clothes to protect yourself against the weather. You will also see that coat can be used as a verb, meaning to paint something. There may be a few other meanings to the word. Jot down two or three of these other meanings on your paper. Do this only in your new language so you do not rely on your native language.
Open your thesaurus. Look up "coat." Jot one or two the synonyms for coat, both as a noun and a verb. You will find words such as as garment, jacket, anorak, wrap, windbreaker and shawl, all things that you can wear as a top layer of clothing to protect you against the weather.
Jot down one or two synonyms for "coat" as a verb. You will find cover, paint, soak, smother, smear and spread.
Review the words you have on your paper. You started in French with "manteau." Based on this exercise, you could learn "anorak," "garment," "smother" and "smear."