Tips needed to improve my vocabulary
Hi, i am not so good at my spanish vocabular and want some tips to study and improve on them. I also would like a few tips on formatting sentences in spanish, since i do tend to make mistakes, when writing them. Thank you
6 Answers
Hi Zoya
I see having joined today you have started making and using flash cards on the site which I am sure will help you increasing your vocabulary.
As you can see two of the moderators - the people who put a lot of effort into making the site work have suggested you correct your post.
We had a discussion about the use of language in posts only yesterday on the forum.
The general view is we do not want to put people off, but the way we message friends is too informal for a language learning site where people are trying to learn the correct way to structure sentences. Obviously in everything once you learn to do it properly you take short cuts.
Why not change your heading to " tips needed to improve my vocabulary". You may be motivated by an exam, but your main wish is to learn more vocabulary.
Do rejig your question so you are not using text speak. I am learning Spanish and know some text speak in Spanish, but you are cutting yourself off from people on this site learning English.
I can provide some tips but will wait until you have amended your question.
If you want really good advice it will help if you add your level of English and Spanish on to your profile and the type of exam that had pushed you into asking for help.
Buena suerte
Really, the best thing is to start BEFORE you have an exam looming. I'm sorry if this is a bit obvious, but I'm sure you know it already, really , in your heart of hearts. There are no quick fixes.
Thank you for reading what we have written.
Can you add your language level to your profile? The first sentence of your question is a little awkward and I do not know if that is because you were in a rush to write it or because English is not your first language. I assume you are not a complete beginner in Spanish but I do not know your level.
As to improving your vocabulary, one basic way is to label everything in your home. Then you read the labels out loud, then make phrases or sentences. Eg my comfortable bed/ my new red jumper with the turtle neck etc. You can change your devices so the instructions are in Spanish. Listen to Spanish music, radio and if available TV.
Consider writing a poem or an article about something eg your first pet or the first day of spring. Look up the words you need and write something. Read it out loud.
Here is a glossary of linking words which you need to write or speak sentences:
Reading - anything - helps your vocabulary and getting a feel for sentence structure - perhaps instructions on a packet. I read articles in papers and I also read some blogs. You can target your learning by reading an article on a subject that interests you in several papers. I know Spain better than other countries and El País has a different style to ABC and to 20 minutos. Note down new words then listen to a video on the subject in 20 minutos or on rtve. If that is too much work go to the website ver taal and they have exercises some of which include news items.
People learn in different ways for example if you are a visual learner picturing the words may help. It is also a good idea to learn phrases and many people like to learn a new word as part of a sentence. I find despite using a laptop and the internet I learn better if I physically write something on paper - I do keep typed words I want to learn on a computer. You need to use the words either by speaking or writing or both otherwise you forget them. use them 5 or 6 times in the first few weeks then read them once a week until you know them. In your reading you will come across unusual words or words you are sure you will never need. Don't make an effort to learn them you have more important things to do. Some may still stick.
I had a teacher who had a good inclusive method. She gave us a list of definitions for 15 words, we would use in the lesson with the words and we had to match the word and the definition. We then watched a short video using some of the vocabulary Each lesson we started with filling gaps in sentences using a mixture of vocabulary from the previous 4 lessons and any grammar exercises we did used the same vocabulary. We also discussed the topics and wrote articles. I don't know what level you are at, but basically we used new vocabulary.
We also would be given some words and have to write the related words eg noun/adverb/verb/ adjective - you get used to patterns.
Here is a link where you click on the cheat sheet and it lists lots of words in Spanish and their relationship to English. It is an easy way to pad out your vocabulary. You need to improve your guessing of new words.
There used to be a better link to the above but it is still useful. It used to be on the Pueblo Institute website. Their website has lots of very good links though some links are dead. For example they have a list of the 100 most used verbs. sipuebla
click on others
This rambles a little as I do not know your level nor what vocabulary you need to concentrate on. If you have a teacher ask them for advice. Unless they are bilingual from birth they will have acquired a second language and they will have noticed how you learn
Finally there are games - word of the day/ verbs etc and flash cards on this site.
However busy you are spend time each day on Spanish 10 to 30 minutes would be great.
These are all marvelous suggestions, however, Most Spanish tests are based on the vocabulary in the textbook.
As you progress lesson by lesson good vocabulary is presented. These words should be practiced orally. Make up little sentences using them as an aid to learning them. I had to do this while learning English.
Then besides learning the required assigned vocabulary I began to expand by reading newspapers and magazines and doing the other things as suggested here. As a little girl I found comic books to be quite educative. They are great because the drawings give some hints to the meanings of the words.
It may seem silly, but nursery rhymes, childrens books and cartoons. This is how children learn vocabulary and since they all eventually talk (maybe too much) it must be effective.
Hi there I recommend you to read story books ( they are one of the proven ways that can help you so much). Good luck!
