Have you ever wondered how to memorize vocabulary more effectively? I've been asked a lot about it, so I decided to talk to you about it today.
For me personally, what works best for me to learn new vocabulary is to associate the new vocabulary with the reality it represents, not with the translation into my language. In this way, I am able to learn in a more natural way, as I did with my mother tongue when I was little.
I also have a notebook where I group different vocabulary by subject. I don't write the translation of the words, but I explain them in the language I'm learning or draw a picture next to them, so that when I check I can remember their meaning. Another thing that helps me a lot is not making vocabulary lists, but rather lists of phrases that use that vocabulary. Learning vocabulary in context is best, avoid learning isolated words by heart. Put them next to other words you already know, see how they work together with other words in a meaningful sentence.
That's what works best for me, now I'm going to talk to you about other strategies that experts always recommend:
- Get a monolingual Spanish dictionary, that is, one that does not include translations into your language.
- If you prefer online dictionaries, don't look for translations of complete sentences, search word by word, individually and, if possible, try an online dictionary where you can hear the pronunciation of each word.
- Change your phone to Spanish for total immersion. If you play video games, you can try changing the language to Spanish as well.
- Read something that interests you in Spanish, such as a magazine, a novel, the newspaper... You don't have to understand everything. Read first, highlight the words you don't understand. Don't look for them directly in the dictionary/translator.
I hope this can help you, perhaps, by applying one or two of the things mentioned above, you will see that you will improve in retaining vocabulary. With time and patience, you can do it!
