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Feeling overwhelmed by vocab!

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10 messages over 2 pages: 1
Tyrion101
Senior Member
United States
Joined 3702 days ago

153 posts - 174 votes 
Speaks: French

 
 Message 9 of 10
10 February 2015 at 4:05am | IP Logged 
French for me, was/is hard to continue to learn new words, as the words don't seem to repeat very much, and it can be very frustrating when you are trying to burn words into your memory. I will think some days that gee I stink at this, because look at all these words in a row I've never seen or heard before. However, what helped me was learning how to piece together things I do not know, from things I do. That way even if you do not know words, you can guess at a meaning and be reasonably accurate. I'm not so sure you can do it in the character based languages like Chinese, but if you're learning a Romance language, then this is a very useful skillset to have. An example I like to use is: Something with a long body, no legs and a forked tongue. I do not know about you, but I go straight to snake with this. Sometimes you can even do it with less information if you understand the grammar well enough. So don't worry! Keep at it!

Edited by Tyrion101 on 10 February 2015 at 4:06am

1 person has voted this message useful



shk00design
Triglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4233 days ago

747 posts - 1123 votes 
Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin
Studies: French

 
 Message 10 of 10
10 February 2015 at 4:25pm | IP Logged 
Your brain is only able to absorb so much at a time. I normally find audio materials and repeat listening to the
same things over and over dozens of times. At first, a word / phrase would sound foreign but after doing it 10x
you just get it into your head naturally (absorb the material like a sponge).

A lot of English words came from French with the same / similar spelling. The problem is the way phrases are
put together like the difference between "Il est" and "c'est". In English both are translated as "it is". When
talking about the weather we'd say "it is hot" but in French we'd use "il fait chaud" with "il fait". It is not a 1 to
1 translation and the only way to get it is to use it frequently.

Most people including myself can read reasonably well. But when listening to a conversation we get into
trouble. In the beginning you'd rely on movies & programs with captions and just read along with the dialogue.
My other hobby is playing piano. When I learn a new song, I don't expect to get it the first time. I'd do a bit
more of the song each day and just keep repeating sections until they stick in my head.

Edited by shk00design on 10 February 2015 at 4:36pm

1 person has voted this message useful



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