Tips for remembering vocabulary
 

has anyone got any tips for trying to remember new words.

i tend to try and get a list of words (maybe 10 or so) and then every so often throughout the day try and rewrite the list from memory. It works quite well but you have to be fairly motivated to do it.
Flashcards are also pretty good but i'm too lazy to carry real ones around so i use the virtual ones on studyspanish.com

what does everyone else do ??

Re: tips for remembering vocabulary
 

There's a really good book on Memory techniques concerning foreign language vocabulary. I can't recall what it's called, but one of the authors names is Harry Lorraine. I'll look it up.

Re: tips for remembering vocabulary
 

I try to make a picture in my mind to remember the vocabulary.

Re: tips for remembering vocabulary
 

I like to record an audo file on my computer and play it a couple times a day on my ipod.

Re: tips for remembering vocabulary
 

Good idea, you could probably find some podcasts of news in Spanish to listen too as well.

Re: tips for remembering vocabulary
 

iTunes has a list of nice Spanish learning podcasts, free too.

Hello everyone,

Nice thread, thanks for the tips.

Ever heard of the sentence method (http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com...-sentences-why - doesn't matter it's Japanese, learning a language is learning a language)? I came to the conclusion that learning loose words is just a waste of time. In high school I had to memorize hundreds of words (all out of context) for French and German. I can only understand German because it's relatively close to my native tongue (Dutch). None of the words stick.

Learning out of context (especially vocabulary) will give a too big work-load. Some months ago I read a paper about the memory load an average language learner has. It said that a learner either concentrates on vocabulary (while making loads of grammatical error) or on grammar (while not knowing a lot of words). Simply concentrating on everything in the beginning will generate a too big memory-load. But the funny thing is that it shouldn't be like that.

I've been studying Spanish for about a year now, and I never encountered such thing as 'memory-overload'. Why? Because I use a Spaced Repetition System. I use flash cards. Spanish sentence on the question side, Dutch translation on the answer side. That's the way I test myself. This way I've become so good at Spanish that I now can handle Spanish - Spanish sentences. So; a Spanish sentence on the question side, and an explanation of difficult words in that sentence.... in Spanish. I just look up the definition in the RAE dictionary or write an explanation myself.

I have a pretty big vocabulary and a good understanding of grammar, and I never had to work for it so far. Just sentences with my SRS and massive input like music, books, audiobooks, etc. This proves that the sentence method works two ways: learning vocabulary AND grammar (maybe you can't explain the grammar, but you know how it works and that it's correct).

Just my two cents.

:twocents:
Over the years, I´ve learnt that in language learning, what works for one person doesn´t neccesarily work for another, so, I always say that every individual should identify how best he or she learns and work with it. Of course, there is always room for discovering better methods and improvement.
Grammar for some people is not the first step towards learning a language, but I´ve come across people who from the beginner´s course never stop asking question about the grammatical structure of every simple sentence. And according to them, it doesn´t make sense to them if they can´t identify and understand the structure.

Yeah, but I strongly believe that there's a general path someone can (or should) walk in order to become fluent. When you speak English, do you think about grammar all the time? Maybe once in a while, with complex sentences, but not in general. Learning a language is all about growing an intuition. People who say they *need* to understand *each and every* piece of grammar before they can be fluent are talking BS. You can't be fluent when you think about stuff like grammar all the time. Natives just rule regarding their native tongue because they don't think about the correctness of their language.

They grammar-loving people you've come across: are they near-native fluent? I guess not, because that impossible. Sure, you can be a grammar lover, but please only be one when you're already fluent at the language in question (concentrate on the hows first, the whys will come later).

Recuerdo cuando aprendí manejar una bicicleta. Al principio tuve que
recordar como aplica los frenos, como mantener veloclidad, como balancear, como diirgir. Ahora, ni tengo que pensar nada cuando uso una bicicleta. Iqualmente recuerdo cuando tenia que concentrar comunicar en el español. Not tiene que saber todos los detailles fastidiosos gramátcas pero el conocimiento de la gramática basica me ayudaba y todavía me ayuda o sea menos.

Vale, saber la base de la gramática está bien, pero no es fundamental para poder hablar una lengua. Mira: ¡LA BASE! Mucha gente estudia la gramática profundamente, pero no puede hablar bien. ¿Por qué? Porque concentra demasiado en la gramática.

En mi clase de Español la mayoría prefiere estudiar gramática para aprender Español, pero no puede hablar bien. Yo no concentro en la gramática y puedo hablar bastante bien.

Note that I said; Everyone must not learn the way you do..., at least from my experiences as a language teacher.
And, to answer your question,.
Yes, some of them are quite good, infact, very good! Nothing is impossible.:)

I do agree with you here. We all try at times to impose our own methods, but I've always said there is no perfect teacher and that it's good for students to have different teachers to get different approaches.
I often tell my students they have to learn to love English their own way, through the things they like, whether those are songs or racing car magazines I don't care. Anything will do.

Very true. I think learning depends a lot more on the student than on the teacher.

I think both have a certain responsibility.
The teacher has to guide the students and be there for them, and also should make the subject sound fun, practical and interesting.He should awaken their curiosity.He should let them create and cooperate.If a student gets bored he's not going to learn.
Of course sometimes you do your best and still fail. We are not miracle workers...
I guess it's easier for me because my students are mostly adults.
Then again, a keen student will learn even from the most atrocious of teachers.:)

I've always thought that a good teacher works as a catalyst who motivates students to learn, but ultimately it is up to the student to learn, and as María José said if the student is truly motivated they will learn
even if the teacher doesn't do a good job. It sure helps to have a good teacher, though.

I think I'll try the sentence technique. Trying to remember a list of vocabulary is very boring and maybe counter-productive for me. I've been listening to reggaeton, salsa, bachata, and latin hip-hop for over a year now. I've also found that reading parallel text books (English on one page and Spanish on the opposite page) can be very helpful.

Thanks for the tip Ramses!

Good for you! Everything helps, but the best thing (they say) is to find yourself a Mexican, Colombian.... Spanish boyfriend...Just kidding!;) But not completely, even if you don't speak very fluently (you say you are a beginner), jump head on and use your Spanish whenever you can.
Si quieres yo te escribo en español.:) No es lo mismo que hablar con Antonio Banderas, pero ayuda.

Flash cards* work really well and for more difficult words or words that I just cant get into my head...I write the word on several pieces of paper and stick them all over the house (on the fridge, on the front door, inside my wardrobe door, on mirrors etc) so that Im constantly reminded and eventually learn the word! ;-)

FLASH CARDS = on a small piece of card write the Spanish word on one side and your language on the other. Hold all the cards in your hand, Spanish side face up. Look at each Spanish word in turn and try to say it in your language. Check the other side of the card to see if your are correct. If yes, place the card to one side (because you know it now) and if no, place the card to the bottom of the rest of the cards in your hand (so that you will have another chance to guess it). Keep doing this until all the cards are to one side. NEXT!....the harder way....repeat the exercise with YOUR language face up and try to guess the Spanish word. Once all the cards are to one side - you know the words very well!!! ;-)
(This is a very powerful method for learning anything!)

Anna

Anna your method is of great useful because, leave me tell you something, you have had a great idea about, how you can learn the words, and any language, I'll do the pieces of papers and I'll stick where I see them over all day, and might I can learn the words faster, thanks for your counsel.

Good point Anna, but I prefer using an SRS, software based. Because I score myself, the software eventually knows what sentences to show more than others. Very effective.

Closed caption subtitles are also a good option. This is a program set up for people with hearing disabilities, but it's a great help for foreign language students. Watch a Spanish language movie with Spanish subtitles. This is good for advanced students. Sometimes accents are hard to understand, but if what the actors say is subtitled in their own language you will get better understanding. When idioms (sayings) are used that you don't understand, present them to the forum for translation. If you can't figure out some vocabulary words, jot them down and look them up.

I agree with you Poli....

:) Vas bien con tu inglés.

Eso es un modo tambien, pero para los estudiantes avanzados, es mejor
mirar una película en español con subtitulos en español. Así el estudiante
puede leer las mismas palabras dichas. A veces los accentos confunden, pero si lee la palabra se entiende mejor.

Hago esto a menudo, pero quiero aprender mas de escucho.

I do this often, but I want to learn more by listening. (How close am I? :))

Very close. Good job.

You can also say, "... pero quiero aprender más escuchando."

El mejor modo de escuchar es hablar con alguien en español. Así aprendes
más rápido, pero si usas closed captioning y escuchar cantantes de canciones tradicionales puedes agudizar su accento y después vas a poder platicar en español mejor.

Hi, something that I've found usefull and also seems to help my students in class is to create a "mindmap" of asscociated words, this helps to strengthen your brains concept of how the words are related. If you google for MINDMAPS or WORDWEBS you will get an idea of this. You can draw them by hand but there is also software available to create them on the computer. Unfortunately I use Linux on my laptop so I can't advise on any Windows programs for this.
I hope this helps.

Don't apologize for using Linux. That's not unfortunate at all, IMO. :)

Mindmaps are a good idea, they help you associate related works.

:DPerhaps my use of "Unfortunately" was unfortunate:D, I used it that way just in case I had lots of questions from Windows users. But it appears there are quite a few mindmapping programs for windows too.

I have never been very good with my memory, but since moving to Spain in January I have struggled with the language. On the plus side, all my neighboroughs are Spanish and so I try to speak to them even it is just to say hello. Each day my confidence builds but my memory still fails me !!! Instead of words I am now using sentances, for various situations I find myself in and can picture the sentance and the situation in my head. It seems to be working a lot better than 'una palabra - una dia'. I am trying to concentrate on conversational spanish and pronunciation, hopefully the many verbs and verb endings will come later !!:thinking:

There's a whole school of thought that believes that's the best way to learn a language. After all, that's how children learn to speak, but I like to know what each word means. I think using both methods gets most motivated adults on the track, but everbody works differently. Good luck in your learning experience. What an adventure it must be to be submerged in an environment where the language and culture are a little different!

podcasts of news in spanish is a great way to learn, you put them on your ipod and away you go, plus you've always got them on hand.

I have been studing spanish a while now and what has made me move up a big step is going through the Practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses book and doing the exercises. I found doing the sentences after each part I read made me remember more. It is a very interesting book and it also helps greatly with the subjunctive tense.

¡Hola!

I agree with ramses that a software based "spaced repetition" program is the way to go. There are many options and alternatives when it comes to programs, but the basic idea is that the program keeps track of how well you remember each of your words or expressions individually, and then asks you about them when it's time. My experience was that I looked up words many times before I even tried to remember them. And then... I still couldn't come up with their proper meaning after a while.

So now, when I encounter a new word, I write it into the program, while I try to think of a creative way of remembering it. Lights, action.. and some memorable scene, please, while I say the word out loud. But even so, I'm glad that I'll be asked by the computer to explain (to myself) the meaning of the word when the time comes. If I fail, the program will bug me more on that word later. Since I'm on a roll, here's what it's asking me today (of 53 words total):

facha f <- I put the f there to tell myself that it is a female noun. Hmmm... now, what was that...

facade, face? Something like that, right? Let's see.

I had put in "a look, face", as the answer. Great. Now I'll grade myself "good" (not "bright", really). If I look at the statistics, I'll see that this word was last asked 164 days ago, and after I press "good", it will come again in 289 days. So this is a word that I know well, the program won't bother me with it for a long time. The next word is:

impugnar v <- yes, a verb.

well, I already have this in my brain, because I failed a few days ago and beat myself up about it. It's to challenge, impugn, defy, or something.. an argument, for example. Let's see.

to contest, challenge, impugn.

Fine. I'll give myself "good" again on that one. This is now going to be asked again in 7 days, because of my previous record, but the number of days will quickly rise if I don't fail again. Note that since I'm Norwegian, I didn't know about the English "impugn" either, so that's a bonus for me.

This system actually works, and especially when it comes to words that are not really in daily use. The words you already know will hardly come up, and the ones you struggle with will hit you again and again until you learn them.

Hope that this is helpful!

Saludos :)

I believe that the best method for learning vocabulary is to use it. In classroom settings it is very hard to allocate enough time for students to speak using a diverse vocabulary, but if you are dedicated to learning a language you can do it on your own time.

I like to write out sentences I say a lot in English, use an English to Spanish dictionary to find vocabulary that I do not know, and translate the sentence. After I have learned the new vocabulary I just say it aloud to myself during the day. You don't need another person to practice with to learn new vocabulary (although it helps to have one).

I think that focusing on obscure methods of memorization make the problem more complex than it should be. The human brain is an amazing piece of machinery; simple and natural practice often leads to the best results. I believe that this is why full immersion in a language is often the quickest way to learn it.

If you use vocabulary on a regular basis, your brain is not going to forget it.

you can practice it with your friends
you can also make notecards - cards for definition and cards for the vocab. Then you can play a game and match them.

Yes, you can to practice with your friends, or you also can to practice with people speaker native Spanish, I feel that is more effective if you practice with people of Mexico or Spain, good, I wish you the best in your learning.

Correct way: Yes, you can practice it with your friends, or you can practice it with native speakers of Spanish. I feel that it is more effective if you practice with people of Mexico or Spain. I wish you the best in your learning.
;) overall very good! Not many mistakes :)

Yeah.

also you can do this - make some notecards with the vocabulary word on the front and definiton and/or translation in English and/or Spanish on the back. When you write down all the words, you can play a game. you can either do it yourself, or have a friend or family member do it. Here's how:
You, a friend, or family member take a card from the pile. Ask what is the translation in English and/or Spanish of the word and/or the definition. If you get it right, put the card in one pile. If wrong, put it in another.
Do you understand? :) Good luck with remembering your new vocab!

To help me out with learning vocabulary in Spanish I bought an activity book with rather basic translation activities. I generally photocopy some pages out of this book and give a friend of family member 5-6 copies of the same page and tell them to readminister this activity sheet at random intervals and at random times so I can become familiar with the vocab and make sure I remember the vocab so I don't screw up on an activity sheet. I currently have very limited Spanish vocab but this strategy was quite helpful for me when I learned French. (Je suis billangue maintenant ^.^)

I recommend you, if you can chat with someone at the internet, I tell you, because I have learnt so much with my friends here at this forum.

The best way for me is to use the words in sentences, or just as much as you can. I've been on this forum for a few days now and can say that I've already learned many new words and sayings. I will remember them because I use them when I am in my spanish class in school.

To me, is to copy a book by hand in the language of choice. As you do it, translate it too. I can assure you that by the end of the book you'll know what you are reading, writing and talking about. :-)

But. It has to be a book (theme) that you really like. If you already read a book that you really, reeeeaaally loved, then look for it in Spanish, and start doing.

Hernan

Ooh, excellent thread! I just got so many great ideas to fight stagnation and boredom with my learning tools of choice. ¡Muchos gracias todos!