best ways to learn foreign language vocab

[Halcyon]

I need some help here. what are done ways that have helped type child learn new vocab words in a foreign language. I always preferred flash cards, or writing out the words numerous times, but that isn't working for my older.he does best when learning new words in context whole to parts but sometimes there is just a list if words he NEEDS to learn.

 

Ideas?

[regentrude]

We always had to keep a vocabulary notebook with two columns: one for the word in the foreign, one for the word in the native language. Handwrite words, don't type. The columns would be covered individually for quizzing from one to other language, and it was easy to switch direction. The notebook had to be a small format so it is easily portable. It served me well.

[Miss Tick]

Another idea that might work for you is the one that Rivka talks about here for her dd using Lively Latin.

[Roadrunner]

We also kept a notebook with two columns. You wouldn't really study them any different than you would study flash cards. The key to learing a foreign language is momorization. Vocab should be reviewed out loud on a daily basis. I also have my kids memorize passages so the language can "soak in" in their heads.

[unsinkable]

How about orally?

 

Chant the word pairs 5 or 10 times each.

 

Monday-lunes... Times 10.

 

And make tapes/recordings to listen to with using the words in sentences.

[Ailey]

We use both flashcards and a two-column notebook. For trouble words, we write a paragraph using that word as many times as possible. Ds finds this more helpful than just writing the word out multiple times, although we do that if it's a spelling issue.

[Ariston]

Does he know enough in the language to write a sentence or few sentences with the word? I know for myself I don't usually remember a word until I have used it in conversation or writing.

[Wendy Inman]

:lurk5:

 

I have a 10 year old boy and I am having this exact problem with latin... we just need some way of reviewing the massive amounts of vocabulary we've learned.

 

So thanks for this thread!!

[Mnemosyne]

I always used a somewhat different method - a book (article, paragraph, etc) and a dictionary or word list. I'd read the passage, looking up words I couldn't remember, and then do it again. A couple days later, I'd return to that passage and do it again. It helped me get the words in context and it was much easier to learn how each word was used.

 

The problem I've found with flashcards is that you can put only one or two definitions on them, when one word can be used in so many different ways.

 

One way I've gotten them to work was to use the target language only. I'd have the word and maybe a sentence on one side, and a monolingual definition (in the target language) on the other side. It always helped me get much more into the language, rather than switching between languages as I studied.

[Vera]

We use memrise.com. It has been much easier than managing huge amounts of flash cards.

[5wolfcubs]

One way I've gotten them to work was to use the target language only. I'd have the word and maybe a sentence on one side, and a monolingual definition (in the target language) on the other side. It always helped me get much more into the language, rather than switching between languages as I studied.

Can you give examples of this? Am I understanding that you don't have the definition in English on the other side? So, for the word cibus in Latin it would say on one side:

 

CIBUS

Grumio cibum gustat.

 

And then on the other side:

 

CENA

 

If you aren't studying Latin, this would say on one side:

 

FOOD

Grumio tastes the food.

 

And on the other:

 

DINNER

 

In one sense, I don't think we (my co-op students or I) know enough Latin to have definitions in Latin, on the other hand, the book I'm using for teaching Latin at co-op is Cambridge, a immersion/translation book, not a grammar book. Endless source of frustration for me, but that is a different topic. :)

 

Anyway, just wanted to make sure I was understanding your technique and how I could use it for Latin.

[5wolfcubs]

The key to learning a foreign language is momorization.

:laugh: Oh, so true.

 

I wish I had the answer. My 10 is struggling w/ remembering the non-nouns & verbs that don't (seem to) have an English derivative.

[Nan in Mass]

Your problem could be one of timing, as well as needing to see words in context. When we (my children seem to be wired the same as me for this) are learning a language, we have to work with the language more than once a day, especially if it involves flashcards. Flashcards are great (or a two column notebook) but for them to work for us, we have to memorize them a few at a time (often using some sort of trick to make them stick) and review at increasing intervals, starting with an interval of about 5 minutes. In other words, it is very laborious. We can't sit down with a pack of 20 and memorize them all at once and then put them away and not look at them until the next day. We would have to rememorize them again and that would go on for days before something stuck. To keep something memorized without the context part, we would have to review the whole year's pack of flashcards every few days, so your thought about context is a very good one. Reviewing in context is much more pleasant and works much better - the old saying "use it or lose it" describes us really well. For Latin, perhaps you could get old used copy of Ecce Romani, Cambridge Latin, or Lingua Latina from the alibris site. Those have stories in beginning Latin in them. Just have him keep looking up any word he doesn't know every time he reads the story, and have him read one story multiple times so it sinks in. This would make good evening work, making it so he touched the language at less than 24 hour intervals (probably 24hrs is too long). For Spanish, I would do the same thing but with children's books from alibris or the library. If they are Spanish translations of books he knows from when he was little (or the reverse), so much the better. Reading right before he goes to sleep at night will help, too.

 

Good luck!

Nan

 

ETA - A way to make the flashcards work better would be to put the word on one side and the definition and a short sentence in the foreign language in which the word is used on the other. Say (aloud) the English word and the foreign sentence together. And another possibly useful idea (or possibly not) - I learn flashcards astonishingly much faster if I never see the words. This is a nuisance because it means somebody has to drill me while I am doing the initial learning of the words. Then I can review them on my own. Somehow, seeing the words messes up my ability to learn them easily.

[Halcyon]

These are all fantastic suggesitons. I have some time to myself this afternoonso i am going to sit down and go over them all. Thanks!

[Mnemosyne]

Can you give examples of this? Am I understanding that you don't have the definition in English on the other side?

...

If you aren't studying Latin, this would say on one side:

 

FOOD

Grumio tastes the food.

 

And on the other:

 

DINNER

 

 

Yes, that's pretty much what I was getting at. The purpose is to eliminate the native language from your studying - having to switch in between languages always stalled me because I'd have to "switch my brain" to the other language, KWIM?

 

You can start with really simple words/definitions (such as the definition being DINNER), and then make them more complex as your knowledge increases. The basic idea is for the definition to be made up of words that are already known, and then as your knowledge increases, these definitions can get more complicated. My goal was always to have the definitions be at the same level of a monolingual dictionary in the target language.

 

The sentence is there to show how the word is used in a sentence. If you have a word such as BACK, there are several different definitions - as a body part, a direction of movement, etc - so the sentence clarifies how the word is used. You may have several flashcards for the same word, so the sentence would specify which use of that word you're studying.

 

So, for example, if I was just starting out with English and learning the word APPLE:

 

Front:

APPLE

Max ate an apple.

 

Back:

A fruit.

 

If I had a bit more knowledge in the language, both my sentence and my definition may get more complicated, so I am further challenged.

 

Front:

APPLE

Max grabbed an apple from the table.

 

Back:

A round fruit from a tree of the rose family, which typically has green or red skin and a crisp flesh.

 

The idea being that I would know the words in the definition/sentence already.

 

I don't make flashcards for every word I'm studying, just the ones I have more difficulty with. I also do it virtually, using a program called Anki, so it's extremely easy to change the flashcard to change my needs as I get more or less advanced. If a flashcard isn't helping me remember a particular word, I just change it!

 

It's worked very well for me in the past (I speak Dutch, Russian, and Spanish), but most of my language studying was done in my later teens as well - I'm not sure quite how well this method would translate to younger children.

[Kathy in Richmond]

My daughter is a big picture whole-to-parts learner, too, and not a natural memorizer at all. My son and I were able to use the two-column notebook method regentrude described earlier, but it didn't work well for her.

 

The two methods that worked best over the years for dd were:

 

1) Handwriting vocab cards herself with liberal use of colored stock paper & colored pens to classify words by parts of speech and to note anything special about each word. The act of making the cards was just as important as flipping through the stack of cards later. I think she could picture the cards in her mind when she made them this way, and recall the picture later when she needed it.

(Typing the cards or purchasing sets of vocab cards didn't work nearly as well)

 

We use memrise.com. It has been much easier than managing huge amounts of flash cards.

 

 

2) This is what she uses now in college Latin (too busy any more to make cards herself these days).

[Halcyon]

We use memrise.com. It has been much easier than managing huge amounts of flash cards.

 

This looks amazing. Thank you!

[Mnemosyne]

1) Handwriting vocab cards herself with liberal use of colored stock paper & colored pens to classify words by parts of speech and to note anything special about each word. The act of making the cards was just as important as flipping through the stack of cards later. I think she could picture the cards in her mind when she made them this way, and recall the picture later when she needed it.

 

 

 

That reminds me of something else I've done when I'm just starting a language and feel the need for flashcards - word on one side, a picture of said word on the other side.

 

For example, for the word APPLE there would be an picture of an apple on the opposite side.

 

This is particularly useful for words with just one definition... and is probably easier for younger learners.

[Roadrunner]

Well you already mentioned flashcards, but for me flashcards are pretty effective. Of course they would only help me memorize them for a test and then I'd probably forget them.

 

Ideally one would find an outlet for using the words or hearing them used, but I realize that might not be possible.

 

 

A textbook should be building on the vocabulary, so whatever you learned in the beginning should be used over and over again in subsequent chapters. By the time you are in the middle of the textbook, you should be able to translate vocab learned in the beginning in your sleep. I also think it is extremely useful to memorize entire sentences, not just words in isolation. That's the way I learned 3 languages.

[Dmmetler]

What works for my "hates to memorize" kid is to put what she has to memorize on the back of the car seat and to go over it every time we get in the car, just reading the list out loud. It usually ends up being multiple short practice sessions in a given day, and by the end of the week, she has them down.

[HejKatt]

My ds's Chinese course has them drill the new words from the week's lesson daily, and practice reading a passage with those words after drilling.

 

For drilling, I use Anki which allows me to layout both the front side (prompt) and the back of the flashcard. For example, I enter the Chinese character on the first side. On the other side, it displays the pronunciation (PinYin) and plays an audio recording of that word. I could also embed pictures or sentences if it helped him. Anki also helps with scheduling so that we don't get overwhelmed by reviewing every single word we've learned.

[mumto2]

Dd's favorite is Quizlet. She can make her own Quiz but lots of Quiz material already there.