Learning vocabulary – isn’t that just for schoolkids?

Learning vocabulary – isn’t that just for schoolkids?

by | Aug 14, 2023 | All posts

Learning a language involves so many different skills.  You may be feeling daunted by the grammar involved in being able to describe things in the past, present AND future, or by different genders for different nouns.  One fact that you really cannot avoid though, is that you will need to learn vocabulary at some point.  If, like me, that brings back memories of sitting in front of an exercise book with a list of 20 words and trying desperately to memorise them before Monday’s test, then this may not be your favourite task.

The good news is that there are many different ways to learn and that you should be able to squeeze one or two of them into your routine. 

Here are 10 tips for learning vocabulary:

  • Write it down.  It seems obvious, but however sure you are that you will remember that “un éclair” is French for “lightning bolt” the chances are that you will soon forget as you focus instead on your next meeting or to-do list.  Even better – spend time each week using those new words in a sentence so that you can practice context.
  • Keep a notebook handy so that you can refer to your lists and add to them whenever you have a spare moment.
  • When you write down a word, make sure that you include relevant grammatical information too.  For some languages the gender of a noun is very important, for verbs it may be the past participle.
  • “Little and often” is best.  The process of moving information from short term memory to long term memory is best achieved by regular practice.  You can’t learn to play a musical instrument by doing one four-hour mammoth session per month and the same applies to languages.  10 minutes vocabulary practice 3-4 times per week is better than half an hour the night before your next class!
  • Keep this week’s vocabulary in an obvious place so you can review it regularly.  Maybe that is by the kettle so you re-read it every time you make a cup of tea.  Alternatively, maybe by the bathroom mirror so you see it as you clean your teeth.  Whatever works for you.
  • Consider using apps and online resources to help.  Programmes such as DuoLingo or their offshoot, Tinycards, can be invaluable as they provide chances for repetitive practice in an easy-to-use format.
  • If you learn better by doing rather than seeing or hearing, then you may be a kinesthetic learner.  Flashcards may be helpful for you.  The act of moving the English word to be next to the target language one can help to cement the relationship between them.  Even better, in the case of simple nouns, would be to label the objects around you – and to move the labels to repeat the task regularly!
  • Keep on top of it.  10-20 words per week may seem like a little, but busy lives can get in the way of the best intentions.  Before long you have a list of 50 or 100 words and the task begins to look more daunting.  Especially in the case of exam students and those with a learning deadline, making sure you keep on top of your vocabulary learning will make revision much less stressful.
  • Advanced learners – look up other relevant words as well.  So, if you have the concept of “lesson” then also look up “learn”, “learner”, “student”, “teacher”.  If it is a verb such as “to surprise” then also learn the noun “a surprise”, the adjective “surprising” and the adverb “surprisingly”.  This kind of focused work will help you to see the patterns of language formation and also widen your vocabulary beyond the simple first word which you wrote down.
  • Finally, review your vocabulary regularly.  It is easy to add in new words and then forget the old through a lack of practice.  If you find that you can no longer recall the word for “shirt” then take time to check you can remember the rest of the wardrobe as well!

If you are really keen you could write mini-tests for yourself as you go.  If you keep them in the back of your folder or notebook then you can check regularly which topics are due for revision!

Teri has been learning languages for more years than she cares to remember.  More than ¾ of her life has been spent pondering over vocabulary lists and notebooks!  She is a successful language trainer and tutor, offering in person and online tuition. 

www.language-learners.com

Exam Tips – The Reading Exam

Exam Tips – The Reading Exam

by | May 9, 2023 | All posts

There are some ways that you can prepare yourself before you even read a word of the actual paper:

Make sure that you know how long each exam is. What are the requirements of that paper? What will you need to do for each section and how long should you spend on it? Which paper is to be taken on which day? Be sure to prepare for the right one!

Time management is key in exams.  Keep a close eye on the clock and make sure that you don’t get so involved in one section of the paper that you forget to leave enough time to do the rest!

So, now let’s look at the reading exam itself.  Extracting the important information from a text in your target language is a key skill and probably one of those that you will use most in real life – from menus to museum leaflets.  A few key tips could make a significant difference in the way you approach this part of the assessment and also in the score that you receive.

The reading paper presents a range of text types from picture-heavy “adverts” to extracts from works of literature.  One of the first things I would say is that you shouldn’t allow yourself to be intimidated by the literature component – the extracts have been chosen very carefully and the key parts will be using the vocabulary and grammar that you have already been taught.

The main hints that I have for the reading exam are these:

  • When it comes to the reading paper, make sure you read the questions BEFORE you read each text! It may sound odd, but the questions will give you a good idea of what the text is about. Then you can read the text and already have in mind which information is likely to be important.
  • NEVER leave an answer blank.  An intelligent guess is more likely to gain marks than a blank, which is guaranteed not to score at all!
  • Watch out for the little words that can make all the difference. Words like “not”, “already”, “never” etc. can change the whole meaning of a sentence and provide the key information for answering the question successfully.
  • Check WHO is doing the action in the sentences.  It is not uncommon to find that someone does the action mentioned in the question, but not necessarily the person you might think.  For example, if Jenny is talking about her weekend and says that her brother tidied his room, then tidying the room is NOT an activity that Jenny did!
  • Practice question words and question formation.  Some of the tasks may be explained in your target language rather than in English, so do be sure that you can understand what you need to do.
  • Remember to answer the questions in the language in which they are set.  So, if the question is written in English then answer in English.  If it is written in your target language, then answer in the target language.
  • Look carefully at the tenses!  There will probably be occasions when an activity in the question is mentioned in the text, but in a different time frame.  For example, don’t get confused between what a character did last weekend and what they plan to do next week.
  • Likewise with the section which requires translation into English.  The text itself is quite short but it will be full of little details which make all the difference.  Tenses are important again, as are negatives, time phrases and prepositions.  Try to fit in all the little bits of information in order to gain maximum marks.

Try to get as much practice of the reading paper skills as you can. 

BBC Bitesize offers a range of resources to help you and there are also revision books that you can get which have the answers in the back so you can check how you are doing.  As with so many things, little and often is key, so start revising soon!

Teri Fleetwood is an experienced language tutor with over 16 years experience of tutoring to the GCSE and A Level curriculum.  For more information please look at the rest of the posts in this blog and also check our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LanguageLearnersSurrey/  If you would like to discuss 1:1 or small group tuition, whether for exam preparation or pleasure, then do get in touch!  teri@language-learners.com