The New Year has arrived and many of us will be making resolutions to get fit, be healthy or be more organised in our study. If you are learning a new language or trying to become more proficient in one you already speak, then these five great habits will help you make consistent progress throughout the year.
1. A Vocabulary Book.
Way back when I was at school (not quite as long ago as Queen Victoria!), we had vocabulary notebooks. These were brought out for every lesson and we carefully noted down the new words so we could learn them for our weekly vocab test. Schools and learning methods have moved on but I still recommend one of these as you can take it with you from year to year, it gathers all the useful words together by topic and the teacher won’t deprive you of it while they mark your homework.
How to set one up? It’s fairly simple – buy a notebook (an A5 one is fine, A6 may be easier to fit into a pocket). Fold the page down the middle, lengthways, so that you have two columns. Write the title at the top and then the target language in the left column and your home language in the right column. Bingo. If you are tackling a short topic such as numbers, then one or two pages will do. If you think the topic may end up as a long one, for example food, then leave a spare page or two so you can add extra words later.
Important – when writing down your new words make sure you include the gender and the plural if it is a noun, details if it is irregular, the past participle if it is a verb and any other useful information. As one example, German has three different genders for nouns, and you definitely don’t want to have to go back and re-learn them all in time for your exams! You could try highlighting them in a different colour for each gender.
2. A Grammar Folder.
There will be lots of grammar concepts to learn in the new language. If you have already been learning the language for a while, then you may have come across multiple tenses and other grammar rules. It can be a real pain having to flick through old exercise books or piles of papers from several years ago in order to find something, so having all that information in one place can be a real blessing.
How to set one up? Buy an A4 folder, in whatever colour you like, and a couple of sets of dividers. Each time you learn a new grammar concept e.g. the future tense, adjective endings, word order etc, write it up onto a sheet of paper with a clear title. Use highlighter pens, underlining, diagrams or whatever seems appropriate. Then file it in your folder under an appropriate subject heading e.g. “Tenses”.
3. Sticky Notes.
Whether you use them for your shopping list or to leave messages for the family, sticky notes are a common sight in many homes. Whether you get plain yellow ones, coloured ones, funny shapes or the ones which look like speech bubbles, they can be fantastic for vocabulary learning. The obvious idea is to label the items you are trying to learn e.g. “window”, “cupboard”, “fridge” but you could also just write any other word that you need to learn and then stick them up around the home as a regular reminder. Move them around regularly so you don’t get too used to them – or write your target language on one note and your home language on another, then try to match them up. Invest. Invest in sticky notes, now!
4. Regular Practice Time.
Trying to learn a new grammar idea or a list of words is much better done in several short bursts each week rather than one mammoth session. Vocabulary is more likely to stay in your memory if you have practised more than once. You could try focused learning for 10 minutes, three times per week. Or do as some of our students do and put your list near the kettle (or next to your bathroom mirror) so you see it regularly.
5. Vocab Tests.
Whether or not you have regular vocabulary tests during your lessons, it is a simple thing to write a list of the words you are learning (just your home language) and then slip it into a folder for later. When it comes to revision time you have a handy set of tests you can use to see how well you know the topic. This can be useful for adult learners too!
It will take a bit of time and effort to set up these habits to start with, but they will really help you to improve your knowledge of the language and to retain new vocabulary and grammar concepts in the long term.