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I'd like to hear about other people's vocabulary building tricks. (The word of the day email is not working out too well.)

My current favorite technique is to set the password on my work computer to a new word and change it after the new word is hammered into my memory.

Anyone else have a stupid vocabulary building trick?

I have my cellphone set on Turkish and also make all my shopping lists in the language.

If I can find one, I'll find a restaurant near work & ask that they only talk to me from now on in (Arabic, Spanish, etc). I never get very far with this, but I at least get some greetings and basic accents down. That, and I get to irritate other people in line.

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Originally posted by Haci Richard:
I have my cellphone set on Turkish and also make all my shopping lists in the language.

Good one, HR. I've changed my phone.

In normal, everyday situations, I often ask myself, "how do I say that in ..." Then I look it up. Sometimes it's a word, sometimes a phrase. Simple, yes. But it's effective because it shows you what words/phrases you need to know (because you are using them in everyday convo) and because you're learning each word/phrase in context, which helps memorization.

Of course, this really only works if I have quick access to a translator, which is why it works best for me at work. I use a very good online dictionary/translator for French & Spanish. It only take a few seconds, and then I'm right back to work. It also helps to carry a dictionary in the car, so you're never too far away from looking something up.

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In normal, everyday situations, I often ask myself, "how do I say that in ..."

I do that daily but it just does not stick. More desperate measures are required to trick my feeble mind into learning new words!

For Spanish or French, turn on the subtitles of your DVD to that language. Keep the spoken part in English, and read the Spanish/French along with it.

This supposes that you can read the language already, and somewhat have the accent down.

I tried this last night, and can now speak Spanish like Tony Soprano. Sort of.

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Originally posted by Michael C:
For Spanish or French, turn on the subtitles of your DVD to that language. Keep the spoken part in English, and read the Spanish/French along with it.

This supposes that you can read the language already, and somewhat have the accent down.

I tried this last night, and can now speak Spanish like Tony Soprano. Sort of.

then try the opposite...change the audio to be Spanish/French with English subtitles, but try NOT to read them

That's pretty much the same as renting a French or Spanish movie, yeah? Which I do, of course. I'm a visual learner, so for me it actually helps more to hear the English and read the other language.

Of course, even better would be to hear the French & have French subtitles to read ... I guess I need to try that next!

I find it useful to read a lot in the language, as well as listen to songs (while looking up the lyrics), and ditto with watching DVDs or the news. When I was studying French I used to chat a lot on French forums like these; my French was awkward, but a lot of people would chat with me anyway just because it wasn't every day you got a non French/Quebecois person on there, and that really helped. It was easier to chat with a dictionary open on my lap that it was to actually speak in person, and that helped me build my vocabulary. It's easier to remember words you actually use.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael C:
For Spanish or French, turn on the subtitles of your DVD to that language. Keep the spoken part in English, and read the Spanish/French along with it.

I've been doing that with Dutch. Most TV in Holland is American or British, and they don't dub, they subtitle. So I read along. I'm also a visual learner... I don't understand a word until I know how it's spelled.

You're right about the Word-a-Day emails. Not really working. Other tricks were mentioned... my phone has been in Spanish for a couple years. Google has been in Dutch since moving here. Whenever I write something like a list I try to do it in Dutch. If a machine like ATM or ticket machine or whatever has a language option, I go for Dutch or Spanish. I also go to coffeeshops and read a lot. I free associate a lot when stoned, so I make more mnemonic associations to remember new words.

For German, I decided to take the advice of many around here and have been using the pillow method.

I like silly phrases to remind me. For example- spell socks. S-O-C-K-S. Es oh si que es- translates to "thats what it is" in Spanish

Last time I was learning a language, I bought a label printer and labeled everything in the house with the portuguese name for the item. It did help, in that after saying the name for that item every time I picked it up, I remembered it, but it wasn't really that useful for USING the language in day to day conversation, becuase I still wasn't learning many phrases.

If you already have the grammar down, and just need to learn a few extra words, then it might work.

Hmmm...good ones, nerokerr and etali. Specifically, the website and label machine ideas.

That said, I am careful about doing important things in English--ATMs, e-Banking, medical, etc are off limits for now. More than one expensive mistake has been made in the past because of linguistic misunderstandings by myself.

As for coffee shops and grass, I just tend to get paranoid and stupid these days. (Hence why I stopped smoking.) So that idea is out too.

etali: I'm a visual learner first, then kinetic, and followed by a very weak auditory learner. So, my current goal is to be able to read and understand the 90% of local tabloid. Once I have the vocab down then the hearing will follow...and finally speaking. At least that is how things have gone so far.

Hello!
I remember learning somewhere that one needs to come across a new word 7 times (on average) in order to remember it well enough to use it... (That's why "A Word A Day" doesn't work...)

* Use flash cards: buy index cards; write the words in English on one side and in the other language on the other side; Study! Go through your set of cards often, frequency is important... By adding A FEW new cards every once in a while, you'll build your vocab.

*Copy the words: Copy e.g. 5 new words 5 times. Repeat daily or every second day. When you know a word, replace it. (The replaced word needs to be written again every once in a while or else it could be forgotten again)

*Write different sentences using a new word e.g. once a day for a week...

* Make stupid word/sound association: e.g.
I use to teach my French-speaking ESL learners
CLOCK: instead of thinking that the clock goes "Tic tac" "Tic tac", imagine the hands going "Click clock" "Click clock"!...
WINDOWS: You clean windows with windex etc.

Labelling: Very good if you label a few things at a time only, and if you can remember to look at the labels and not just walk by...

Those tricks are just to build vocab. They don't help you to use the words...Of course the more you'll read, listen and talk the language, the better you'll get.
Imersion is always the best teacher.

When teaching, we need to follow the rule INPUT + 1
Meaning WHATERVER YOU ALREADY KNOW + one new element
That's just how the brain works when learning languages. Trying to learn too much at the same time won't work

Good Luck!

I learn by looking at and writing down words (which is why my accent remains crap: I feel embarrassed saying them aloud...)

In Denmark I came across a computer 'game' that required you to type words correctly to score points, and me and my mate would compete with each other. We had a big vocabulary down quickly (needed for reading the school books), but it took a lot longer with the spoken language.

I think Berlitz uses similar methods (photo-quizzes etc) nowadays, so I'm going to check out Ebay for Latin American Spanish.

The labelling method didn't really work for me, but buying a few cheap, simple books (comics or young adult fiction) and scribbling the translations of difficult words above the text was useful. (I did that with the school books too )

There are some words which I simply never learn, no matter how often I look them up in the dictionary. After 20 years of speaking English, this just tells me that I should keep my language simple.

I tend to remember things through repetition. On my rtw one of my goals is to learn more of the local language than I have in the past. I plan on carring a notebook just for writing down the basics. I don't know if it will work yet though. However, I know that I won't remember it unless I am in a possition to practice it.

Watching a movie in a foreign language with subtitles in that language is really helpful to me; it can be hard to find, but some DVDs have a setting for "hearing impaired," which will pop up subtitles for you. Also just watching foreign movies without any subtitles is a good listening exercise - if it's a movie you've seen before, you don't have to worry so much about getting every little detail and can focus more on what you're understanding.

Other tips - listening to the same learning CDs over and over again, using flash cards (as noted above, replacing words once you "know" them), getting computer games... The computer game I have for Italian is by LINC and it's really quite good. They've got more than one level, so it's not just "traveler's Italian." This is all good for vocab building, but if you're talking more about really learning to use said vocab in everyday speech, that requires speaking. My Italian conversation group has been invaluable in helping me feel like I'm getting better and better at speaking and hearing Italian. Finding friends or other people who are learning the same language to interact with is a great tool. You're all learning, so you're less embarrassed about making mistakes, and it puts what you're studying into practice.

Stoo - I presume you are talking about learning German - Schwitzer Deutsh in particular. Find someone who only speaks that language and buddy up. I've found the best candidates to be in the 60+ age bracket, usually a neighbour or relative of a friend. Ask them to correct you. They are usually glad to have someone different to talk to.

I found that local friends younger than that just won't quit talking english to me or will always switch to english the moment I hestitate which frustrates me to buggery. When you know that with a certain person your only option is to speak their language then it makes you focus. You will be amazed at just how much you can say and understand after just a couple of 'sessions'.

Funny you mention that, Mim! Seems like the only folks around here that will put up with my terrible Zürideutsch are 50 to 60 year-old women. E.g.: The lady at the post office, and the woman who sells me vegetables on Saturday.

At this point, I'm just trying to build up the vocabulary. Once I can read the local tabloid well enough I'll then shift gears and work on the speaking bit.

Too old and linguistically challenged, that's what I am.