Hi everyone, I’m Abbe from MosaLingua!
One of the very first steps you need to take when you start learning a new language is to memorize
words and expressions.
The thing is that there are so many words to memorize that it can sometimes get discouraging
and difficult… but no worries, because today I’ll be sharing a very effective strategy
to learn vocab faster.
Let’s jump right in.
I’m going to give you my 7 very best tips to speed up the vocab memorization process
in any foreign language!
#1 - Learn the Most Commonly Used Words and Expressions First
There are over 170,000 words in the English language.
But if you know just 900 of them, you’ll be able to understand about three quarters of everyday,
general conversations!
So selecting the right words and expressions is key for several reasons.
If you focus on the most common words and phrases:
You’ll be able to get by with what you know faster
You will have more opportunities to use what you know
And you’ll be more motivated since you’ll actually be able to understand and use the language quicker.
But how can you identify the most important vocab to learn?
You can use what are called frequency lists, which rank words and phrases by how often
they are used (in books or TV series, for example).
By the way, frequency lists are one of the sources we use to select content for our vocab apps.
Depending on your reasons behind learning a language, these lists will
probably be a little different for everybody, so feel free to customize them as needed.
#2 - Use It or Lose It
My second tip is linked to the previous one: make sure you actually use the words you memorize.
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “use it or lose it” before.
And it makes perfect sense here: if you focus on the most common words and phrases,
you’ll be more likely to actually use them.
And the more you use a word in natural situations, the more it will stick with you,
and the faster you’ll memorize it.
So once you memorize a word, try to use it as much as possible.
If you don’t feel comfortable having a conversation with a native speaker quite yet, you can write
the word down in a journal or an email, or even say it out loud to yourself.
You might feel a little silly talking to yourself at first, but you’ll be surprised at how effective it is!
#3 - Create mental images
There are tons of memory techniques out there, but one of my favorites is to create a mental image.
A good mental picture should make use of exaggeration, movement,
some sort of emotional attachment, and a creative association.
For example, let‘s say you want to memorize the word “vino” which is Spanish for "wine."
To memorize this word more quickly, you could visualize a gigantic bottle of wine (exaggeration),
Picture someone struggling to pick up and pour this giant bottle of wine (movement), or you could think about
a time when you drank some good wine with someone who means a lot to you
(which would be an emotional attachment).
#4 - Break It Down
Another good memory trick is to break down long and complex words (just like how phone
numbers or credit card numbers are broken down into smaller sections).
If you learn to recognize compound words, you’ll see that it’s not as hard as it
seems, even for languages that can seem scary at first, like German.
Think about the word eselsbrücke → if you can figure out that it is made up of two other
words that you might already know, esel (donkey) and brücke (bridge), you can figure out
its meaning easily: a bridge for donkeys.
It also happens to be the word that German speakers use for mnemonic device,
another handy memorization technique!
#5 - Three Is Better than One: Combine Your Memories
Some people would say that they are “visual learners.”
Others learn best by writing things down or building models.
In addition to visual memory and auditory memory (which I don’t think you need me
to explain), we also have what is called kinesthetic memory, which is associated with movement.
This is the memory you use when you write down a new word, for example.
Studies have even shown that writing words down by hand instead of typing them helps you recall
them more easily.
When you combine all three types of memory — visual, auditory, and kinesthetic — you’ll
learn new vocab faster and more efficiently
because your brain will have made more connections to that word.
Next time you learn a new word, don’t just read it.
Say it out loud, associate some movement or gesture with it, and write it down.
#6 - Context Is Key
Learning new vocab with no context or information about how to use it is one of the major mistakes
that many language learners make.
It’s always better to learn words or expressions in context than it is to isolate them.
To leverage the power of context, you can: Make sure you associate a sentence to every
word you memorize Learn words while you’re reading books, articles,
song lyrics, etc.
And force yourself to use the words you learn. For example, by repeating them out loud
in a sentence you make up.
And lucky #7 - Rely on Spaced Repetition
At MosaLingua, one of our favorite (and arguably the fastest) techniques to making sure we
never forget the vocab we learn is called spaced repetition.
Just like context, repetition is king when it comes to vocab memorization.
A spaced repetition system is an organized system for reviewing vocab you’ve learned,
right before you forget it.
Basically, with this type of system, you review words and phrases you’ve learned at optimal times,
with decreasing frequency, until they’re harder to forget than they are to remember!
You’ll practice actively recalling words right before you forget them, so you won’t
waste any time reviewing when you don’t really need to.
So those are just a few of my tips on how to learn vocab fast.
For more tips and hacks, check out the more complete article we’ve written for you on
this topic (you’ll find the link in the video description).
See you soon!
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