Experts Reveal Favorite Methods for Learning Vocabulary. Learning more words: experts share their favorite strategy. Aaahhhh, learning vocabulary! It must be the sexiest element of learning a language. And perhaps the most controversial. It’s not for nothing that polyglots call it the Kim Kardashian of the language-learning community. (Actually, I made that up. ;-)) To add fuel to the discussion, and most importantly, to bring you fantastically useful advice on learning vocabulary in your target language, I asked a bunch of experts, authors, translators and bloggers the following question: If there was one method for learning vocabulary that you’d recommend to the world, which one would it be?
The response was nothing short of overwhelming. Almost 40 replies flooded my inbox — creating a bomb of extremely balanced advice and giving you the opportunity to judge for yourself how to best go about learning more words in your target language. So, without further ado, let’s get comfortable and dive in! What a mammoth of a post! That’s it! Foreign languages: how to memorise vocabulary. Cluster Those one-word-a-day language learning apps may feel convenient, but thematically, they’re all over the place, delivering a chain of unrelated words: envelope, tired, January, receive, onion. Focus on a single theme each week.
The mind naturally clusters connected words together, so learning, say, types of weather in one lesson, and parts of the body the next, works in tune with your brain’s natural system for classifying information. However... Avoid opposites It might seem logical to study opposites together: hot/cold, expensive/cheap. Dissect new words When encountering a new word, take a look at its structure. Read, read, read Reading helps you revisit learned vocabulary, and see those words in new sentences and contexts. Visualise One mnemonic learning trick for new vocabulary is the Keyword Method. Focus on phrases Linguist Michael Lewis encourages language learning in lexical chunks, rather than on a word-by-word basis. Review often Foreign languages: the 10 easiest to learn. How to learn the vocabulary of foreign languages. Once you have got to grips with the fundamentals of a language (pronunciation, orthography and basic grammar), you can concentrate on learning vocabulary.
This is probably the most important and time-consuming part of learning a language. Associate the familiar with the unfamiliar Try to find word or phrases in your L1 which sound like and if possible have a similar meaning to words in your L2. Build mental images or draw pictures based on the connections. For example, the Spanish for "ice" is hielo (m), which sounds like yellow. To remember this word imagine yellow ice. Genders To remember genders try picturing a Spanish-speaking region, divide it into two and place masculine nouns on one side and feminine words on the other. If your L2 has many genders, imagine a large building with many floors, assign a different gender to each floor and place words on the appropriate floor according to their gender. Avoiding language mix ups Testing and revision Learn related words & phrases Links.
Ten Best Vocabulary Learning Tips. The Ten Best Vocabulary Learning Tips Vocabulary Learning Tip One: Read, Read, Read! Most vocabulary words are learned from context. The more words you're exposed to, the better vocabulary you will have. While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up. Go Play Our Vocabulary Games Vocabulary Learning Tip Ten: Get excited about words! How to learn vocabulary. Introduction Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language. The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing.
Which words to learn Every day you hear or read many new English words. Learn the words that are important to the subjects you are studying learn the words that you read or hear again and again learn the words that you know you will often want to use yourself do not learn words that are rare or not useful (your teacher can help you with this) How to learn words Once you have chosen which words to learn, you next have to decide how you are going to learn them. Some students put a tick or cross in their dictionary next to every word they look up. In all of the above ways, you are doing something with the words. Learning for vocabulary tests Learning vocabulary by reading More on the importance of reading. More information about learning words.