What is your system for building and maintaining your personal vocabulary?

Question

It could be very useful to learn from each other here since learning words is easy to systemize, but it's still difficult since there are like 10k+ words out there to learn.

Or perhaps you don't need a system and your memory is good enough that you're ready to use it after just having heard it once

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For me, I try to add around 10 new Spanish words to a Word file every day, which I then try to memorize and repeat after 30 minutes, after 1 day, after 1 week, after 1 month, after 6 months, after 1 year. After 1 year I assume that I won't forget it anymore. If at one point I fail to produce a word, it will be moved back to 'new words'.

On top of that I create 50-word flashcards of them. Of these I practice like 2 or 3 per week, because if you only learn from lists it's possible that the location of a word in the list gives you too many hints (hints that you don't have in real life).

I also have a 2nd Word file with Spanish words that I only want to be able to recognize. Practically every word that I hear or see goes there. I repeat those too, but much less extensively and only Spanish -> Dutch.

Answer 1

I use a spaced repetition program. Yes, it's boring, and yes, it works. I started after a couple of years of being frustrated about not remembering new vocabulary. Every day I get around 60 words to repeat (out of the 5400 I've put in there), and they're always challenging - the program knows that they are words I'm about to forget.

• Nice! Such software might be able to help me a lot. It's quite similar to my method, but since I'm doing this manually it requires a lot of administration. - S1r_Wakka Aug 3, 2011
• Exactly. :) From your question I assumed that this may just be the thing for you. - Vikingo Aug 3, 2011

Answer 2

Perhaps you don't need a system and your memory is good enough that you're ready to use it after just having heard it once

Part of that applies to me. I have a good memory. Every time that I read a book in Spanish and have to look up the same word for the 100th time, I can rememeber that I have looked that same word up 99 times before. Unfortunately, that doesn't help to remember what the words means. And then when I do manage to remember the meaning of the word that I looked up 100 times before, that devilish author goes and uses it in a different context with a new meaning. Here we go again! I'll be looking it another 100 times to remember its meaning in that context. And to make things worse, I still remember looking the word up the 100 times before to learn the meaning that is rather "meaningless" to me now.

• Yup :) There's a number of words that I keep forgetting despite going over them 1000 times. Encountering them in books tends to trigger annoyance rather than the meaning of the word. - S1r_Wakka Aug 3, 2011
• I have a similarly frustrating experience with certain words - Birdland Aug 3, 2011
• For me, it's the various conjugations...of even rather common verbs like decir or dar. - webdunce Aug 3, 2011
• I don't have to look them up when reading so much as when writing. - webdunce Aug 3, 2011
• I find myself forgetting my English vocabulary and spelling. I've been taking a new approch to recognizing concepts and images without always having to translate or catagorize. - LaloLoco Aug 3, 2011
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Answer 3

LingQ

Have you ever tried this site? It has a lot of reading exercises and an accounting sytems of how many words you know, don't know, are having trouble with, etc. I haven't used it in quite a while, but as I recall it has mouseover definitions of words, etc. It is a great site for learning vocabulary in context.

It's a free site. Give it a lookover.

• Yes, I used it for a while, mostly for the reading/listening material. Flashcard system is great too and quite addictive. A major downside is that only paying members can have it contain more than 100 words. - S1r_Wakka Aug 3, 2011

Answer 4

I look up words that I don't know that I encounter while reading, listening to the radio, or talking to people. I look at the definitions of listed synonyms to try to get a feel for different ways of expressing the same thing as well as using the same word to mean different things. I am slowly transitioning to using a Spanish dictionary instead of a Spanish-English one, but I have a long way to go.

I don't see any point in memorizing random words without context.

• I just can't make myself do flashcards except at the very beginning when I'm trying to establish a very basic vocabulary a new language. - webdunce Aug 3, 2011

Answer 5

I put out my tentacles, and I stay in absorption mode at all times. Also, I don't just do the pictures to make my post look cool. Images help me to remember. Different types of media affect different parts of the brain creating multiple reference points to the same words.

• Excellent point!! Let those neurons make as many connections as possible with other neurons! Talk about an ability to recall!! - territurtle Aug 3, 2011
• You look thinner on tv. - Jraider Aug 4, 2011

Answer 6

I just read books and let the vocabulary learning come naturally. It seems to be doing alright for me. I'm by no means fluent, but if I read more often I probably would be. I think, also, if you find a book you particularly like, it may be helpful to re-read it as for Spanish books I've managed to go through, when I go read the first few pages again, although I don't know all the words, I somehow remember what was being said, and then i can go through and figure out which words are which.

Obviously when you start out you'll have to look up nearly every word, but after a while you won't need to figure out what the conjugations are, you'll just need to look up the infinitive, and after that it will only be the really strange words that you'll need to look up.

• Great advice, Fred. Repetition is a great ally in learning a language. - Izanoni1 Dec 10, 2011

Answer 7

I have created 31 flash card sets with 50 words each. Each set is numbered from 1-31, and corresponds to a day of the current month(In short months I will do two sets to catch up). I populate the flashcards with words I encounter in reading or watching telenovelas. Each day, I review the corresponding flashcard(For instance #10 for the 10th of the month). I will test my self at the end of the set, and If I get less than 85%, I will repeat it until I reach that percentage. The words will stay in the flashcards until I am sure I have learned them. Then I will take them out and replace them with new words. I have forced myself to do one set a day, and I believe the results to be very good. My vocbulary has grown considerably. The process is not as complicated as it sounds. Usually, when having coffee in the morning, or in the evening in a quiet moment, I will do the flashcard set for that day.

This is just my way, it works for me.

• Sounds good. You're right. It takes around 8-10 minutes to go through one set (depending on loading time) so can even be done during a commercial break - S1r_Wakka Aug 4, 2011
• Hey, I might try this. Thanks for sharing :) - Goldie_Miel Aug 4, 2011

Answer 8

Use it, use it, and use it. Especially with spaced learning.

My husband is learning his fifth language. And every time he hears a new word or phrase, you can bet the next way he will find a way to include it in some conversation. It may be quite amusing at times, but I've never known him to forget a new word

The brain permanently encodes what it believes you will need to use quite often (and with very little time to reflect). So force it into believing each new word is essential for your active vocabulary. It simply works.

• Wow, his 5th?! What other languages does he speak? - SonrisaDelSo Aug 3, 2011
• Russian (native), French (advanced), German (advanced), English (fluent with complete PhD+ mastery [writes op eds for NYT]), and now he's starting to learn Spanish! - territurtle Aug 3, 2011

Answer 9

Thanks much. I'm going to try that spaced repetition program. Or at least look into it. Good question tho.

Answer 10

Anki flashcards is such a spaced repetition program, once you learn how to add facts, models, etc. it becomes really useful and versatile.

• It's the one I use. Indeed, it is versatile. - territurtle Aug 3, 2011

Answer 11

About once a week I find a Spanish-language newspaper on line and try to read an article on a topic of interest to me.

I translate the headline and the first couple of paragraphs. Generally, in every sentence is at least one word that is new to me.

If I have time, I create a flash card set of the new vocabulary.

I have also done this with Spanish-language TV. I sit in front of the TV with a notebook and write down the new words. Some of these words I can figure out based upon context, but I have actually never heard them. Again, creating a flash card set is a good way to review these words and build vocabulary.

I also try to do the "Palabra del Dia" here on Spanishdict.com every day. As my vocabulary builds, I find that this is easier to do. It has gone from being impossible, to difficult, to fun and challenging. Still, it takes time.

Of course, I still make mistakes, but trying to use my vocabulary is a way that I can use what I know to construct sentences, while continuing to build new vocabulary every day.

• Yes, it's amazing what these exercises have done for me, too! - territurtle Aug 3, 2011

Answer 12

Once I have a new interesting word I try to figure out, using various means, how many different ways it can be used. Once you have a few sentences in your head which use the word in different contexts it takes on an "identity" and you will usually remember it.

• I believe you've really hit on the best method!! - territurtle Aug 3, 2011
• Not sure if there is 1 best method. There are several good ways, including some of the ones mentioned here, and which one will vary per person. - S1r_Wakka Aug 4, 2011

Answer 13

Thanks for all the answers. It's always good to evaluate your methods by comparing it with those of others. The spacial repetition software should be a great asset, while I shouldn't forget to always pay attention to the meaning of words their context.

I hope it will contribute to the convenience and efficiency of our study time and eliminate sources of frustration as much as possible.

Answer 14

I'm in the "learn what you need" camp. I've tried flashcards but I get bored with them very quickly. My favorite thing about conversation based Spanish class is that the vocabulary come from what you need. People in the class converse and when someone gets stuck on a word - voilå (is there a Spanish equivalent to this?) it's a new vocabulary word, and since the conversation tends to continue to use that word, it's easier to remember.

Also during my immersion program in Mexico we were required to carry a little notebook and "collect" 20 words per day. Most of the words were collected during the 2 hour walking around with my guide as we discussed what we were seeing, or discussing any other topic. We had to write the definition in Spanish (no English was allowed in the program) I just started something similar at home. When reading or speaking to someone and I need a translation of a word, it gets written in my notebook with a definition (in Spanish of course), and possibly the sentence that it come from.

• Sounds great, such an immersion program. Yea, this is also how I try to fill my flashcards. Little use to flood the brain with words you'd never use - S1r_Wakka Aug 4, 2011

Answer 15

Great Question.

I watch alot of programmes on TV with spanish sub-titles and keep my notebook ready to record any new vocabulary I come across. I do the same with online news articles. Nothing beats total immersion in the language though. I hope to be able to travel to a spanish speaking country for a few weeks to really put to use all that I have learnt.