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My 20 Suggestions for Learning a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7006 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes  Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 9 of 22 05 July 2009 at 11:40am | IP Logged | |||||
Me too.
No, it's called playing the field. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5823 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 10 of 22 05 July 2009 at 2:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
Only if you marry multiple speakers of your target languages. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| icing_death Senior Member United States Joined 5852 days ago 296 posts - 302 votes Speaks: English* | Message 11 of 22 06 July 2009 at 2:51am | IP Logged | |||||
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Isn't anyone else going to add to the list?
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| LtM Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5851 days ago 130 posts - 223 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 12 of 22 06 July 2009 at 5:35am | IP Logged | |||||
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I know a lot of people don't like/use flashcards, but for those of us who swear by them:
22. Always carry a small pack of flashcards with you, to flip through while you're waiting in line or have a few minutes free. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| TheElvenLord Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6071 days ago 915 posts - 927 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Cornish, English* Studies: Spanish, French, German Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 15 of 22 06 July 2009 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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@ fanatic
What is this "Fun word list method" that you talk about?? It would be interesting to hear, and im sure beneficial TEL 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7137 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 16 of 22 07 July 2009 at 3:28am | IP Logged | |||||
I answer your question in this quote from my new book called Speed Learning, Two Hours' Study in Ten Minutes. This excerpt is from the chapter on learning languages. This is the method I used as a student when I was tested on vocabulary. Using Links to Learn Vocabulary There is a saying in Europe that you have to learn a word and forget it seven times before you have learnt it properly. We can eliminate most of the effort and frustration of learning a foreign vocabulary. We can use the linking method to enable us to learn a useful vocabulary in record time. Here are some examples. When I say to make a mental picture, actually do it. Don't just agree with the picture - see it in your mind. This forces a high degree of concentration. This forces active learning instead of passive learning. French Cochon is pig in English. How do we remember that? Cochon sounds like cushion. We join the sound alike, cushion, to the meaning, pig. I picture having small pigs on my lounge instead of cushions and I tell my visitors, pull up a pig and take a seat. That reminds me of the meaning of cochon. It tells me that cochon is French for pig. Livre is French for book. I picture that I always leave my book behind at mealtime. I always forget to take it with me. I join livre with leave. Make a mental picture of leaving your book behind and someone running after you to give it to you, and you have it memorised. Voudrais is an important word to learn. Je voudrais means I would like. Voudrais sounds like food tray. If you are hungry you can picture yourself saying, I would like a food tray. And it is a phrase you would use often so it will quickly go into your permanent memory. There are a lot of words that are similar in French and English so you will find many words are close enough to remind you of the meanings. German English is a Germanic language so German is not too difficult for English speakers. Many words sound the same or similar, like Hand, Fuss (foot) Haus (house) and even Strasse for street is not far removed. Verbs like gehen, (go) kommen, (come) and sagen, (say). Komm hier means Come here. We have a head start but we still have a large vocabulary to learn. Hemd is German for shirt. The hems on all of my shirts are frayed. Picture your shirts with frayed hems and you have it. Tisch means table. Imagine a huge dish with legs and you use it as your kitchen table. Picture it. Kissen means pillow. Picture kissing your pillow. (Kuessen means to kiss; close enough that you don’t need a reminder. Just don’t mix it with Kissen.) Teller means plate. Your bank teller always hands you your money on a plate. See yourself at the bank and the teller is handing you your money on a plate. Indonesian Here are some Indonesian words to show the method doesn’t only work for European languages. Sudah means already. Sudah sounds like Sue ta or Sudan. Your mother says, Say ta (thank you) to Sue and you reply, I already said it. Makan means to eat. I am hungry so I will make an omelette. Make an sounds like makan. It is a bit weak but we will only need to remember this for a couple of minutes. We should revise our memorised list within five minutes of committing it to memory. Boleh means to be able. I am able to dance ballet. See yourself dancing ballet and saying to someone you are able to dance ballet. Baik (pronounced bike) means good. I simply picture I am a good bike rider or I have just received a good bike worth thousands of dollars as a present. Let’s see if this method has worked for you. What is French for pig? What is French for book? What is French for I would like? What is German for shirt? What is German for table? What is German for pillow? What is Indonesian for can or to be able? What is Indonesian for already? What is Indonesian for the verb to eat? What is Indonesian for good? The fact that you could translate from English to the foreign language means the words have passed to your active vocabulary. If you just recognised the foreign words when you heard them or saw them it means the words are in your passive vocabulary. That is good but you need the words to be in your active vocabulary. The fact that you could call out the foreign word means it is already in your active vocabulary. That is more impressive. It usually takes time for the words to enter your passive vocabulary and then, with use, pass into your active vocabulary. To put the words into your long-term memory, just keep revising your lists, making the mental pictures as you need them. After a while you won't need the reminders any more. This is great if you are studying for an exam. Edited by fanatic on 07 July 2009 at 3:41am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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