Comments on: 38 Language-Learning Experts Reveal Their Favorite Methods for Learning Vocabulary

By: Cyndi

Cyndi — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 14:57:07 +0000

I get bored with just one method….and I have to admit I enjoyed attending Arabic classes where I was learning alonside others. To reinforce my vocab I would enter every new word into a spreadsheet…then upload my new words into Memrise…that way I would be reinforcing the words used in the course I was taking and have it for reference later. Because I was writing each word out as well this would help reinforce. Finally I also entered all of the sentences and phrases used during the course in English and repeatedly practiced translating them using Arabic script. As far as speaking Arabic..the best tool that helped me was the course offered using the pimsleur method….within minutes I was learning and able to use phrases with others in conversation. I loved the way it used SRS and challenging one to remember words and answer questions…

By: Kamila

Kamila — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 21:48:04 +0000

In reply to maria.

I can recommend you the channel called “English Notes” on youtube.com (an example video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1GNwy5lDNc). However, I suppose they have just started so they are developing it and there are’t many videos yet.

By: Manohar Veera

Manohar Veera — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 15:05:29 +0000

Learn only a few words daily. Anything higher than 6 words per day wont be serving the purpose as you may not be recall the meanings and usage of those words again.

Here is one such youtube course gives daily 5-6 words with examples and meaning.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxJNbXGrHdcWe4PMHJLQ7RZP8SRBrJOr4

By: eduardo

eduardo — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 02:34:48 +0000

In reply to Wiktor.

I will outline a method i use:

1. Stick to a single piece of reproductible media (cartoons, films, songs, etc.)
2. Watch it once writing down any new words you hear or read (at this point don’t look up their meaning).
3. Look up their meanings and write them down (wiktionary is a nice tool for this)
4. Free memorization method, if you do mechanical listing, don’t write the translations but try remembering them. Just write the words in the new language.
5. Watch/read/listen to the same the movie/article/song trying to understand the whole picture.

By: Noel van Vliet

Noel van Vliet — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 22:41:03 +0000

In reply to Sven Fisher.

Hi Sven,

Thanks for your comment.

Yes I’ve tested Anthony’s method in a case study. I was quite fun to learn words that way.

You can find the case study here:

https://www.smartlanguagelearner.com/case-studies/how-to-learn-and-memorize-the-vocabulary-of-any-language/

All the best,
Noel

By: Sven Fisher

Sven Fisher — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 12:04:23 +0000

In reply to English vocabulary.

I probably tripled my English vocabulary ‘memorizing.”
But, I believe the efficiency (and fun) depends on the exact “how”.

May I ask you how you’ve worked with memorizing lists?

I was stuck with rote learning in the beginning — and you can imagine how much ‘fun’ that can be (and terribly slow). Honestly, I almost gave up learning English when the system of Memory Palaces popped into my life (introduced by Anthony Metivier and his Magnetic Memory Method).

It’s like creating a mental store room where you can file away all new words you come across (plus its meaning and pronunciation). In the beginning you’ll have to do some preparation to set up your mind-dictionary, but on the long run, you’ll probably triple your learning speed. (I’ve got it through Marko’s review on unchainmybrain.com/memorize-vocabulary )

Sure, this is not for people without imagination and creativity but if you enjoy visualizing and honing your imagination skills, you’ll have a blast learning new words every day.

By: Rocío Valero

Rocío Valero — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 09:35:13 +0000

In reply to Noel van Vliet. I read your link and you're absolutely right. Thank you.

By: Noel van Vliet

Noel van Vliet — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 01:46:39 +0000

In reply to Rocío Valero.

Possibly for intermediate-advanced learners, yes. However the best method is probably a mixture of back-end and front-end work.

Read this to see what I mean:

https://www.smartlanguagelearner.com/biggest-language-learning-lesson-learned/

By: Rocío Valero

Rocío Valero — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 14:35:42 +0000

That was really useful. I have not found the best way to learn vocabulary from my experience, but I know that the best way, by far, to come across a wide range of vocabulary is reading. The best way to get it to stick into your mind is using it in conversation with other people. So I guess the very best way of learning vocabulary would be having conversations with cultured native people who use far more than the 1.500-2.000 words (or something like that) of average people. That would be advisable for intermediate-advanced learners though, I think.

By: NN Denila

NN Denila — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 22:09:01 +0000

Thank you so much for this collection of ideas. This is helping me so much in learning my third language. Learning another language using only one method is almost impossible, but with this list of ideas and their corresponding websites/blogs, you are almost sure to find a combination that will really suit your style and restraints.

If I can add another method that helps which is only a concrete combination of the ideas already presented (context, association with pictures, stories) is by reading comics in physical and/or web forms in your target language. There are tons of multi-language webtoons/webcomics available online and it really helps a lot. Vivid pictures and interesting storylines help not only in learning the language but also in learning the culture of the country, not to mention the boost in motivation in wanting to learn what will happen next in the story!