Learning Spanish / French Vocabulary Yvette Claeys World Language Instructor

Vocabulary forms the building blocks of language

FYI  The number of words in a language can be staggering — from 20,000 to more than 100,000 depending on the language.  100 words can be sufficient for basic conversation.  2,000 are enough for fairly normal conversation.

Memory/Study Aids  Mnemonic Devices  Acronyms  Acrostics  Rhymes and songs  Word associations  Visual clues  Flashcards

Mnemonic Devices  Acronyms  Acrostics  Rhymes and songs  Method of Loci  Word associations — logical or illogical  Visual Clues

Mnemonic Devices  Mnemonic  Mnemonic (ni-'man-ik) devices  “Tricks” to help you memorize and recall information  long lists  speeches  basic concepts  definitions  Tools for rote memorization only

Acronyms  An acronym is an invented combination of letters where each letter is a cue to an idea you need to remember.  BRASS is an acronym for how to shoot a rifle--Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze.

How could you use Acronyms to help you learn Spanish or French?

 An acrostic is an invented sentence where the first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.  “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” (E, G, B, D, F)—musical notes of the lines of the treble clef staff  “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” (parenthesis, exponent, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction)—order of operations Acrostics

How could you use Acrostics to help you learn Spanish or French?

Rhymes and Songs  Songs and rhymes help to burn information in your memory  To this day, many people softly sing their ABC’s when trying to alphabetize a list.  Rhymes often teach basic facts, such as, “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”

How could you use Rhymes and Songs to help you learn Spanish or French?

Word Associations. First, select a key word in English that sounds like the foreign word.. Next, imagine an image which uses the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word.. Can be illogical or logical

Logical Association  The French word for backpack is sac à dos [pronounced SOCK A DOE] Imagine a robber stealing money and getting away with a sack of dough.  The Spanish word for rice is arroz. [pronounced ARROSS] Imagine someone shooting ARROWS into a plate of RICE.

 The illogical approach might say sac à dos sounds like sock a doe (such as a female deer)  Try to link sac à dos and backpack in the most vivid way possible — the crazier, the better. Imagine the hitting a deer with a backpack. Illogical Association

 The illogical approach might say sac à dos sounds like coach (such as a basketball coach)  Try to link coach and car in the most vivid way possible — the crazier, the better.  Remember that el coche is masculine by having a male coach. Imagine the BASKETBALL COACH lifting your CAR above his head, then throwing it at a basketball hoop or through a wall.

How could you use Word Associations to help you learn Spanish or French?

Visual Clues  Drawings, pictures, diagrams  Physically create visual elements  Use drawings or pictures of definitions of words  Make crazy visual associations Perro El perro está bajo la mesa. The dog is under the table. Chien Le chien est sous la table. The dog is under the table.

Visual Clues  Charts, diagrams  Diagram the different words.

Flashcards Chien

Flashcards—Advantages  Chunks information into smaller categories to aid memory  Nouns—persons, places, things  Verbs—plural/singular or tenses  Phrases—common usage  Use of color signals categories  different colored cards  highlighters

Flashcards—Advantages  Use either written or visual information  Easily rearranged and sorted  Do not learn the words in a fixed order.  Learn only words need to remember.  Used for different purposes  Lists of items  Grammar rules  Questions/answers

Flashcards—Advantages  Size and portability  easy to carry  use for short, frequent reviews  review in spare time that is often wasted—like waiting in line or between classes.  Physically moving and manipulating the cards incorporates tactile learning

Flashcards—Advantages  Writing down the material on cards aids your memory in itself.  76 repetitions of information to go into long term memory

Flashcards  Definition—Picture  Two-sided  Picture on front side  Word and sentence on back side Perro El perro está bajo la mesa. The dog is under the table.

One Way to Study 1. 4x6 cards are best. 2. Once a day, go through your pack of index cards. 3. Sort the cards into two stacks—those you know and those you do not know. 4. Periodically review the entire set of words to keep them fresh in your mind.

When to Use Flashcards  Study your vocabulary for only minutes a day  Riding the bus  Riding in a car  Before bed  When you get up in the morning  Waiting in line  Doing your laundry

General Tips  Attend Class Regularly  Best chance for practice in speaking and listening  Able to ask questions  Don’t Tune Out  Participate as much as possible  Answer questions—even silently to see if they match your classmates’ answers