Choose Wisely

When you’re deeply interested in a language or you urgently need be able to communicate, it’s tempting to collect any and all words that seem like they might be useful. Unfortunately, it’s easy to overwhelm yourself this way because you’re spreading your time and attention so thin. It’s better to choose seven words a day and get them down pat than choose 20 and only really remember five.

Try to focus on the words that are absolutely essential to communication until you have a vocabulary of around 400 words or so. Included in the book Faster Foreign Language Learning is a “Phrasebook Starter” that consists of the most common phrases you’ll need to communicate and this is a great place to start building your vocab.

Mnemonics

No matter what your learning style, there are dozens of “memory tricks” you can apply to make sure the words you want to learn stick in your memory. An example would be the “method of loci” or “journey method.” With this technique you envision a path you know well, such as from your house to the grocery store, and attach vocabulary words to objects along that path.

Keep in mind that you won’t need these “tricks” for the long term. You’ll only need them to retain new words in your short term memory so that you can use them enough times to shift them into your long-term memory. That’s a good thing, too, because these techniques can usually only help with around 100 words at a time.

To reach the point where you no long need mnemonics you need…

Lots of Varied Practice

To keep your momentum going, you’ll need daily practice and review. But to avoid boredom and get more “true to life” practice, you’ll need as wide a variety of ways to practice as possible. Pick up some crossword puzzles in your target language. Write words on scraps of paper and scatter them over the table. Pick out two at random and try to make a sentence using both. Create mind maps to review thematically related vocabulary. And don’t forget modern study tools like interactive language learning software and audio flashcards.

Faster Foreign Language Learning includes dozens of ways to practice not only vocab, but also grammar, as well as improve your speaking fluency and listening skills.

Related posts:

1. How to Learn Foreign Language Vocabulary When You Have No Time to Study
2. Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: A More Efficient Way to Use Vocabulary Lists
3. Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: Which Words to Learn First