Vocabulary is essential to any language; without it, we wouldn’t get far with language learning, right? But memorizing new words can also be pretty tough, and I get it.
I have already learned 3 foreign languages (English, German, and Spanish; my native language is Slovak), and learning vocabulary is always the first step I take when I learn languages. For me, the main rule is to make it fun and engaging. It’s best to engage all your senses to memorize them faster. I have also created many techniques that have helped me to learn new vocabulary faster.
So, in this article, I would like to share my way of vocabulary learning with you and the exact techniques I use.
Happy Learning!
17 Proven Tips To Learn Vocabulary Fast & Effectively
Here is a list of my 17 proven tips for learning vocabulary fast and effectively. I’ve been using various of these techniques while learning languages, which have made my learning much more efficient.
Scroll down to read a description of each technique and learn about my creative ways to remember vocabulary words:
- Think about the type of learner you are
- Make it fun
- Create flashcards
- Make vocabulary cards with images
- Create mental visualisations
- Write vocabulary walls
- Write weekly sheets
- Play everyday vocabulary activities
- Learn vocabulary with songs
- Play pexeso
- Have fun with scrabble
- Play online games
- Play taboo with friends
- Write a story to a friend
- Practice journaling
- Create dialogues & talk to yourself
- Travel
β Language Resources For Your Learning β
Here are some of my favorite language-learning resources I use to learn foreign languages:
Practice speaking on iTALKI Listen to a podcast on COFFEE BREAK LANGUAGES Read 101 CONVERSATIONS IN SIMPLE ‘LANGUAGE‘ Get my LANGUAGE TRAVEL NOTEBOOK to keep track of new words Watch TV Series & Movies on LINGOPIE. |
1. Think About The Type Of Learner You Are
There are 4 main types of learners – auditory and visual learners, some people like to learn by reading, and some by writing. So first, think about what type of learner you are.
Do you learn the best when you see things (visual learner)? Or when you hear it (auditory learner)? Do you learn best when you read or write things down?
While I believe it’s best to incorporate all 4 techniques into your learning process as it will help you memorize words most efficiently, start with the most effective technique.
I’m a visual learner, so I like to create flashcards and images and make images in my head. After, when I can listen to the words, speak them out loud, and even write them down, it perfectly backs up my learning and stores the new vocabulary in my brain.
If you don’t know what type of learner you are, try it out. Have 5 words you want to learn, try all techniques, and see which is most appealing to you.
2. Make It Fun
Learning needs to be fun. Whenever we try to force things in life, it usually doesn’t work, right? It’s the same with language learning. Choose a technique that feels like you’re doing a fun activity, and you will naturally enjoy the process.
The more fun we can have when studying and doing things, the more productive we get.
Try to make you feel as great as if you were to watch a movie on Netflix when you’re about to learn new vocabulary. The next tips are all practical ways to make vocabulary learning fun, so keep reading.
3. Create Flashcards
Flashcards are one of the most effective ways to learn vocabulary quickly. They materialize the whole vocabulary for you. So not only do you have the words in your memory, but you can also visualize the vocabulary, hold it in your hand, and carry it physically.
I highly recommend creating your own flashcards because you’re already learning the words during the creation process. It feels like being in an art class, but you’re in contact with your new vocabulary (without even realizing it). First, consider the words you want to learn within a specific topic. Then, you create flashcards and cut each flashcard. You’ll see the words at various times, which automatically makes you memorize them.
Keep looking at your flashcards throughout the day and memorize the words. Take them with you to work, study on the bus or during your break, and while cooking dinner.
4. Make Vocabulary Cards With Images
Vocabulary cards with images are very similar to flashcards. These are cards with words that are paired with image cards. You have to find a pair of word cards with an image card.
Imagines are a fantastic way to memorize things. When you associate words with images, it helps you make unique connections in your brain. You are also using the brain’s left hemisphere, which is the creative part.
The information is processed through a different channel, and it boosts the process of learning vocabulary.
Think of various games you can play with them, like trying to match a word card with the specific image card, playing Pexeso with them, or randomly picking image cards from your pocket and saying the word out loud.
5. Create Mental Visualisations
If you associate words with images and real things that surround you, it helps you to remember the information much better. Imagine something in your head, for example, a sun, and then connect it in your mind with the word ‘sun.’
Something I love doing is to go for a walk and name all the things I see around in my head. Or, while traveling on a bus/train, I associate things I see with words.
And if I don’t know how to say the thing I see around, I look up its translation and write it down in my language travel notebook to remember it next time.
6. Write Vocabulary Walls
Cut small paper sheets, as many as you can. Write each word onto a sheet and glue them on the board. Or you can also put them on a wall. Choose a space on the wall in your room and create a vocabulary wall out of it. Attach all sheets with words you want to learn that week or month on the wall.
This way, you always have your vocabulary handy. It’s constantly visible to you. Choose a wall or a spot where you spend most of the time at home so you can look at the word sheets frequently.
One of the best ways to memorize new words is to be constantly exposed to them, and this is one of the ways to do so. If you spend a lot of time in your car, do so in your car or wherever you spend a lot of time.
7. Write Weekly Sheets (Goldlist Method)
Let’s say you have set up a goal that you’ll learn 50 words next week. After that week, once you have learned the vocabulary, there might still be some words you can’t memorize.
Write them down on your weekly sheet. Your weekly sheet has sections into which you can write the words you struggle with. This way, you’ll pay closer attention to these words and will be able to memorize them more effectively.
π READ ALSO: How To Set Achievable Language Learning Goals: 9-Step Guide
8. Play Everyday Vocabulary Activities
Pick one or two of the topics within which you learn vocabulary. It’s my own language learning technique that I called learning topic-spesicif vocabulary.
Then, start doing an activity associated with your topic in your everyday life. For example, you are learning food vocabulary. Create your own recipe, write it down in the new language, and cook according to the instructions.
Also, you can use this technique to learn random vocabulary. For example, suppose you are going to a supermarket, name random items you see in the store. You can translate these words into the language you are learning and try to learn them.
Once you return home, write these words in your language travel notebook. Make learning part of your everyday life.
9. Learn Vocabulary With Songs
Music boosts any activity we do. Whether it’s running, cooking, having a shower, or just chilling on a beach, it just gives you that extra energy and engagement in the activity. Learning new vocabulary isn’t an exception.
Find an easy song with a melody you love and listen to it. Print the lyrics, highlight new vocabulary, and play it repeatedly. You’ll see how easily and almost effortlessly new vocabulary will jump into your head.
Play the song when going to work or while cooking dinner. The whole vocabulary learning process gets easier because you might not even realize you are learning something, especially after a difficult day.
10. Play Pexeso
Pexeso is always a fun game. Try it with new vocabulary. For example, you might use your flashcards with words and images, shuffle them, organize them, and play pexeso.
Remember, it’s always best to create your own pexeso cards with vocabulary for each topic you’re learning, making the learning process faster and more effective. So make the extra effort; it will pay off.
11. Have Fun With Scrabble
Create cards with only letters. You can play around and put these cards together, creating words you’ve been learning that week, just like playing Scrabble. It’s another perfect practice and memory activity for remembering the words.
12. Play Online Games
Any gamers here? Gaming online while interacting with other gamers in another language is also an effective way to learn new vocabulary.
Many gamers understand a foreign language thanks to online gaming, and you can do so as well. It can be any game such as Minecraft, Age Of Empires, Escape From Tarkov, Detroit Become Human, Sims, or any other game that comes to your mind.
This works especially well if you have zero motivation to learn any vocabulary that day. Make it extra fun this time, and play your favorite game to engage with the language, at least in some way.
13. Play Taboo With Friends
Taboo is a perfect game. I always recommend my students create associations when it comes to vocabulary studying. When you have to come up with associations with images or find other synonyms and antonyms for the word, it always helps you memorize the words better.
With taboo, you already have different synonyms and words with similar meanings written below the primary word. So you have to describe to your friend what word you have on the card without using any of those 4 words written on the card.
It boosts the learning process, not only because you see all these synonyms and associations. But also because you must be a little more creative in describing what is on your card.
It can also significantly help you to overcome the fear of speaking a foreign language.
14. Write A Story To Your Friend
Open your social media account β Facebook, Instagram, Email. Write a message to your foreign friend who speaks the language about what you’ve been up to. Tell them anything and try to use the vocabulary you are currently learning to practice.
You can also write an actual letter and don’t even have to send it. Just practice writing the language and the words you’re learning. If you can put the new vocabulary into some context (a letter or a meaningful text), it helps you to memorize it better.
15. Practice Journaling
Journaling is my favorite way to calm down and express my emotions. And it also works perfectly when learning new languages. Even though this technique is more for intermediate learners (once you know a bit of vocabulary), you can do it any time.
Just take a pen and a paper and start writing whatever comes to your mind in your foreign language. If you get stuck and don’t know how to say a word, translate it and keep writing.
After, read what you wrote and focus on the new words you translated. Write them into your week sheet or a language travel notebook to keep memorazing them.
16. Create Dialogues & Talk To Yourself
This is one of my favorite strategies. Because you can do it everywhere and anytime you want.
Once you have learned vocabulary specific to any topic or situation (airport, food, travel, business meeting), create a simple dialogue you would have with an airport assistant or at a business meeting or ordering food in a restaurant, using the vocabulary you have learned.
Write the dialogue down into your language travel notebook.
Then, talk to yourself using the dialogue in your head. Or just randomly speak to yourself about whatever comes to your mind (if you’re a bit more advanced in the language). It’s like practicing journaling but in your mind.
π READ ALSO: Easy 100 Words & Phrases To Learn In A Foreign Language: Study Guide
17. Travel
After learning a significant amount of new vocabulary, travel to the country where your language is spoken. You don’t need to be fluent yet. But just imagine walking into your favorite bakery in town or ordering food in a restaurant using the words you have learned. It will motivate you so much.
Or just hearing locals speaking the language and understanding at least 50% of what they say. Isn’t that amazing? It will motivate you and assure you that you have made some progress.
So, if you can, book those flight tickets and go on a weekend trip to have some fun with the language.
π READ ALSO: How To Learn A Language For Travel: Full Guide
BONUS: How To Learn A Language By Yourself
If you want to start learning a new language and finally achieve your dream of actually speaking it, follow my method for learning languages based on topic-specific vocabulary.
It starts with learning vocabulary, but there is so much more to language learning. So if you want to get a clear picture of how I learn foreign languages, click on the image below and get more inspiration and my full guide:
Get My Language Travel Notebook
I’ve also designed a notebook for you to keep track of your language-learning process and write down new vocabulary.
It has pages to set achievable language goals, help you to choose topic-specific vocabulary, guide you throughout your language learning process, and has blank pages to keep track of the vocabulary, sentences, and dialogues you want to memorize.
Get my language travel notebook by clicking on the image below:
FAQs
I’ve also answered some of the frequently asked questions about vocabulary learning, so check out my answer below:
How To Remember Vocab Words Overnight?
Engage with the vocabulary for about 30 minutes, right before you fall asleep. Make yourself a tea, sit in your bed, and go through the list of words you’re learning several times within 30 minutes. Speak them out loud, write them into Google Translate, hear the pronunciation, or even rewrite them in a notebook.
Engaging with the vocabulary right before sleep will help you process it in your brain while sleeping, and you’ll be surprised by how much you remember when you wake up.
How To Stop Forgetting New Words?
What makes us forget new words is just us trying to stuff our brains with too much vocabulary. We need to learn with ease and make it fun.
So, rather focus on fewer words a day (20 is a good start) than make huge goals and fail to achieve them. Try to use each word in various contexts, make visualizations, engage the word in your everyday life, and use all your senses, which will help you not to forget it.
Make it part of your everyday life, and do the majority of the things in the foreign language you learn (instead of your native language).
Learn new words when shopping for food and drinks in a supermarket, and say each item you see in the language you’re learning. Or create a recipe for your dinner, write it down in a foreign language, and cook according to it. Talk to yourself about random things you see when walking or going to work.
Can I Memorize 100 Words In A Day?
Not really; memorizing 100 words in a day is too much pressure for your brain. While I believe everything is possible, we need to approach language learning with ease and fun.
It will discourage us if we overload our brain with 100 words a day and don’t remember half of them the next morning. So, rather set smaller goals that make you feel great that you have achieved them. You’ll progress faster than trying to stick 100 words a day into your brain.
How To Memorize 30 Words A Day?
Use the most efficient technique for you, either listening, speaking, writing, or reading. The best is to use all of them. If you have 30 words a day, first write them down on paper.
Then, listen to their pronunciation on Google Translate. After, speak them out loud, and then try to create a short dialogue using the words to use them in context. Play some games with flashcards and images to make it more fun.
How Long Does It Take To Memorize 1 Word?
It takes about 5 minutes to memorize 1 word in a day. But you need to come back to the word in the next 4 to 5 days and keep memorizing it, especially if you’re learning multiple words a day.
How Can I Memorize Words In 10 Minutes?
This is about the most effective learning technique for you – are you an auditory or a visual learner? Does reading or writing things down help you the best? Think about how it is easiest for you to memorize words.
If you’re a visual learner, create an image for the words you want to memorize to visualize them better.
If you’re an auditory learner, write the words into a Google translator and listen to their pronunciation repeatedly.
If you’re a reader, read the words out loud or write them down until you remember them all (use the Goldlist method), if writing helps you remember things.
WRAP-UP: How To Learn Vocabulary Fast
These are my creative ways to remember vocabulary words. Remember to have fun and make it engaging. Use all your senses – one day, you can create your flashcards; the other day, you can record yourself speaking them out loud, then write the words down and create short dialogues or listen to their pronunciation on Google Translate. It can be anything, so find the technique that works best for you and stick to it.
If you have any questions about language learning or need some help learning your dream language, contact me at info(at)voicesoftravel.com.
Happy Learning!
More Language Learning Tips
Looking for more language learning tips? Check out my related articles:
How To Learn A Language For Travel: Full Guide
7 Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language For Travel
How To Learn A Language By Yourself: My Proven Language Learning Tips
How To Set Achievable Language Learning Goals: 9-Step Guide
How To Overcome Fear Of Speaking A Foreign Language: 9 Proven Tips
Easy 100 Words & Phrases To Learn In A Foreign Language: Study Guide
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About the author: Nicoletta is a travel enthusiast and passionate language learner. While traveling, she loves to connect with locals using her language skills to learn about new cultures. Look for her skiing, hiking in the mountains, or exploring new destinations as she designs travel itineraries for her clients.
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