ASK A QUESTION Is it better to increase one's vocabulary by reading or by memorizing word lists?
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Many sites, including this one, have a learn a word a day feature. Is it more effective to acquire vocabulary by reading or by memorizing word lists.
I can see benefit in both approaches. For instance, if one is reading an article about computers aknowledge of many words associated with computers would aid in comprehension.
However, some instructors advocate trying to guess the meaning of words you don't know from the context of the article and only looking up those words which are used repeatedly.
Some courses stress that one learn key words,for example 150 of the most frequently used Spanish words and acquire other words as needed. What are your thoughts? Thanks - George Knudsen
6 Answers
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Welcome to the forum!
You've asked a good question, and for the most part I agree with Julian. If you read out loud it will help you get the vocab through two senses - sight and hearing.
Sometimes memorizing lists can be just fine, however. Make yourself flashcards or write the words several times, saying them out loud as you do.
Experiment and see what seems to work best for you. In an ideal world, you could read and make lists!
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Read read read!!! By doing this you will learn new words, and also you'll be able to guess at them by the context. People told me I should read children's books, but I'm going to tell you, please don't! You will be bored of Spanish in no time at all if you do this. The best way to go (for me at least) is magazines, ones you would normally read in English. You'll find you understand a lot more than you expect to because so many words are similar in English. Also watch films, lots and lots of films, and you wil begin to recognise words you have read and understand better pronunciation. At the end of the day, nothing compensates for having conversations in Spanish, and I don't mean on messenger!
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Unless you have a photographic memory, which most of us don't, reading is by far the best way to learn new words. Not only do add to your vocabulary, but you experience the actual usage, meaning, and feeling of the word. Reading is the next best thing to partaking in a real conversation.
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The most immediate benefits will result from attention to the vocabulary that relates to your particular interests (some sort of "tailored" vocabulary). However, as your knowledge of Spanish improves, you are likely to find new topics of interest. The "word of the day" approach is something of a crap-shoot (they are probably words/phrases that can be "nice to know" but may have little to do with the subject matters "near and dear" to you at the moment).
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My vote goes with reading.I like to do my best with with contextual interpretation.Trying to relate the word to words similar to Englsih words is fallible but I use it on the first brush a lot.I write many sentences so frequent the games a lot on this site. I try to write sentences that have something to do with what I may want to discuss at a later time.
When I was learning medical terms in school I never had flashcards of meanings, but the new vocabulary was immediately placed in context of implementation of the knowledge.
If I were a student in a school setting I would probably use flashcards more.
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