Learning Vocabulary

…can be at the bottom of your list …

…and you can’t do it on the bus!

…just staring at the words won’t help… …very few people have a photographic memory so you will have to do some writing!

Here are a few tricks and tips to help!

The traditional method…

das Haus H- a - u - s Haus 1.Look2.Say 3. Cover 4.Write 5. Check

and some variations…

Fold a piece of A3 paper in half lengthways. Write 7 words in the first column and the English meanings in the second column. Use your book to check you get it right. Fold over the 1 st column so that only the English meanings are visible. Write the German words as best you can from memory in column 3. Open it up and check your answers. Now fold over columns 1 and 2 to practise the English meanings in column 4. Check your answers. And so on. The sheet is proof that you have done your learning homework. ich habe du hast er/sie/es hat Bart hat wir haben ihr habt sie/Sie haben I have you have he/she/it has Bart has we have you (pl) have they/you(pol) have

Collect a learning grid from your teacher!

The pyramid method la nutricíonl la la n la nu la nut la nutr la nutri la nutric la nutricí la nutricío la nutricíon Write the word out at the top of a piece of paper. Underneath write the word out adding a letter each time until the word is complete again… Then test yourself!

Buy lots of highlighter pens… Traffic light your vocab list… No idea what it means or how to spell it Sort of know it but can’t spell it Can spell 100% accurately and know the meaning

OR… colour code into masculine feminine neuter plural

Get your vocab list… 1.der Hund 2.die Katze 3.le chien 4.le chat 5.el perro 6.el gato 7.los animales On a new piece of paper get rid of the vowels. 1.d_r H_nd 2.d_ _ K_tz_ 3.l_ ch_ _n 4.l_ch_t 5._l p_rr_ 6._l g_t_ 7.l_s _n_m_l_s Fill in the gaps. Check your work or get a friend to…. Re –do the dodgy ones.

Take it further… Get your vocab list… 1.der Hund 2.die Katze 3.le chien 4.le chat 5.el perro 6.el gato 7.los animales On a new piece of paper get rid of everything but the first letter. 1.d_ _ H_ _ _ 2.d_ _ K_ _ _ _ 3.l_ c _ _ _ _ 4.l_ c _ _ _ 5.e_ p_ _ _ _ 6.e_ g_ _ _ 7.l_ _ a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fill in the gaps. Check your work or get a friend to…. Re –do the dodgy ones.

Print off the next slide and get a friend to fill in a group of words on the topic you are studying… Then check them in the dictionary/classwork book/ text book.

Look at the following words/phrases and award them a number (1 – 5) according to the criteria below. (Write the number in the word box.) 1. I can spell this word/phrase and I know what it means. 2. I know what it means. 3. I think I know what it means. 4. I know I have learnt this word/phrase but I can’t remember what it means. 5. I have never seen that word/phrase before. a)b)c)d) e)f)g)h) i)j)k)l) m)n)o)p) Activity 2 Now look up any you didn’t know using a dictionary and write the English meaning in the box under the French/German/Spanish word.

der Mann die Frau das Kind Colour coded post it notes… … stuck around your room, … on your cereal packet, … in the loo!

der Mann die Frau das Kind Colour coded post it notes… …double them up and put the English underneath. Flip to check your answer.

Make a shape you can remember with them on the back of your door…

Record yourself saying groups of 7 or 14 words (you learn best in 7’s apparently!)… Step 1 Say the word Spell the word Say the English Repeat until first group of 7 complete Step 2 Say the word Spell the word Pause for 3 secs Repeat until first group of 7 complete Step 3 Say the word Pause for 6 secs Repeat until first group of 7 complete Step 4 Say the English word Pause for 6 secs Repeat until first group of 7 complete Step 5 Playback 1 st pause – give the English meaning 2 nd pause – spell the word and give the meaning 3 rd pause – give the German/French meaning and spell the word. Repeat until confident !

Visual Learner? Make flashcards or a memory game. If you write the word on the bottom you can fold it over to test yourself.

Masculine words Fem words Opinions Group types of words and stick them around your room. Visualise your room and the words. i.e opinions stuck to wardrobe

Get a good visual image…. like Marge for example…. Write all the words on one topic in blue for example, past particples. Opinions words could be in orange… …and reasons could be in green. Now when you think of Marge you should be able to visualise your word groups… … and it should all come flooding back!

Home Learning… 1. You are being given a group of 21 words. In groups of 7 words you need to try a minimum of 3 different vocabulary learning styles. You will evaluate the styles and feed back to the rest of the class in the next lesson and there may be a vocab test. 2. Can you think of any other ways to learn vocabulary? 3. In what other subject areas/tasks could you use these skills? Give three examples with reasons for your answers.