Tips for remembering vocabulary - Page 2

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.