Vocabulary improvement is undoubtedly one of the key elements in any language learning process, regardless if you’re learning french, English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese or any other language, no matter how “complicated” it is and what its rules are. Actually, obtaining an initial vocabulary base is one of the key elements you need to focus on when learning a foreign language and afterwards, increasing your vocabulary is a constant process you need to go through. There are several means to do so, some of which we will be going through below.

Translated texts

Using translated texts is a great way to improve your vocabulary, especially in the beginning stage of the language learning process, when you can’t deduct words out of the context from a foreign text, simply because you don’t understand it at all. Having a translation of the text however, allows you to form links between the words and their meanings. Obviously, it’s important that these texts are kept simple and clean and that they don’t use words that can have several meanings that would only confuse you.

Mnemonics

Although not necessarily a “new” method, mnemonics have been proven to be very effective in allowing students to memorize new words. The “trick” behind mnemonics is to link words in your native language to words in the new language and form visual images from the two. Oftentimes, these images will be far from common, sometimes they will be bizarre or interesting, which will only make them easier to be remembered. To give you some insight on how to use mnemonics, we’ll take a look at the famous “yellow ice” example used in several free online courses as well as in many course books: the Spanish word for ice is “hielo” which resembles the English word yellow. This automatically forms a visual image of “yellow ice” which will help you remember the connection between the two.

The Dictionary method

The Dictionary method is a continuous effort and unlike some of the other vocabulary improvement methods, it won’t be that fast, but it will definitely be long-term effective. What this method is all about is trying to learn a new word in the language you’re studying on a daily basis. Open up the dictionary at a random page each day, spot a word you don’t know and memorize it and what it means. This doesn’t sound much indeed, but in fact you will be learning several words at once with the help of the dictionary’s explanations. If you manage to form a study rhythm with this method you’ll be on a constant vocabulary improvement streak.

In conclusion, one thing you need to always keep in mind is that a language’s vocabulary is the foundation you will be working on and if this foundation isn’t strong enough, the other parts of the structure won’t be extremely stable as well. Besides the above-mentioned methods, you will be able to find several more on websites dealing with language learning techniques, some of which will prove to be well suited for you, whereas others will prove to be a waste of time. It will be your call to judge which ones you will take upon.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/how-to-improve-vocabulary-when-learning-a-foreign-language-101936.html

If you’ve ever had the urge to travel around the world, visiting exotic places, and ordering authentic local cuisine, then you’ve probably considered the fact that it might help if you were able to speak the language. Even if only to read the menu at your favorite French Bistro or Italian Restaurant, it is amazing how much more of the menu you will understand simply by learning a few key phrases in a foreign language.

Learning a new language is almost always a thrilling prospect, even better when you can learn a new language for free. In fact, at this price why on earth would anyone stop at just one language? Many of these online language programs are not intended to work as a sole source of language education, but when used in conjunction with other language learning programs can produce amazing results.

If you use the flash cards and matching games that are available on this site, you will be speaking your new language like a native in no time, better yet, you will understand it like a native as well. Have you ever envied those that speak several languages with as much familiarity as their own mother tongues? Be jealous no longer. Apply these lessons, study diligently and you will notice a significant improvement in your vocabulary.

Learn an Arabic language conversation free with lessons online. In fact, learn a few. Take a look at the free online “Learn Spanish Video” and see how many new words you can learn in a short period of time. Take lessons with a friend and have competitions to see who has learned the most new words. Playing games is a great way to learn and still have fun being competitive with one another.

Remember though that the overall goal is learning a new language. Whether your goals are Russian, Hungarian, English, French, or some obscure tribal language on the moon, you might be surprised at the selection available. You can even use this program to help you avoid the syntax errors in English second language learners. This will make an incredible difference in how you are accepted globally as well as corporately.

There are several sites out there that deal with teaching a foreign language and you’re bound to find something suitable for your needs even after a few minutes of electronic surfing. Although most will focus on popular languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian or Portuguese, other “smaller” languages are not left out in the cold either. Regardless of what language you’re aiming for, chances are that you can find a site that covers it and offers some learning courses for it.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/learning-a-foreign-language-will-open-a-window-to-the-world-65445.html

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Is learning a foreign language ever easy ? Yes. If you are five and move to another country ……

But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when travelling for business or for pleasure ? I think that the answer is yes, language learning can be easy provided you don’t want or need to learn too much.

The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goalposts too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon, or have any intention of running a marathon or maybe you never could run a marathon. You might just want to maintain a level of fitness. I think the same can be said for language learning. I find languages fascinating and enjoy dabbling with them, but that doesn’t mean I feel duty-bound to get good (or maybe I can’t anyway). I’m a programmer and have no particular aptitude for foreign language learning, but I like to learn a few words here, a few words there type of thing.

Let’s get back to the goalposts. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will manage to do this. Learning a foreign language for your purposes has now been redefined to learning ten words. Conversely if you decide to attain conversational fluency, unless you are an exceptionally talented individual you will fall far short of your goal, and quite probably give up in disgust.

I think that there is far to much emphasis on this completer-finisher thing with regard to languages. For the majority of us, language learning should be easy and fun. Of course, I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for becoming fluent in other languages, I’m just saying that for most of us it isn’t practical or necessary.

I like travelling but I don’t have the time or aptitude to learn too much of any particular foreign language. So I learn, or dabble and enjoy it. I set goals that work for me and are usually to learn about hundred words whenever I visit a new country. I’ll learn the words you need to be polite, the numbers, greetings and a few general phrases. Doing this always results in a better holiday and I enjoy it.

It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words the better you are the slower it can be to improve, because you are becoming stuck with grammar, making sentences, learning less common words etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases you will enjoy a faster rate of progress, have more fun, and don’t have to spend to much time on any given language.

Minority languages are particular candidates for this approach, because often you don’t need to use them to communicate and they are by their very nature not widely used.

A good example is Catalan which is spoken in the north-east of Spain by about 10 million people, almost all of whom are bilingual (also speaking Spanish). There is no need to learn Catalan to travel around this area of Spain, if you already speak Spanish, but it shows respect for the local culture and it is interesting.

The intention of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual approach to language learning, but it can be a very rewarding and entertaining activity. Linguata helps.

Frank Middleton
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/easy-language-learning-53530.html

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 gold secrets

You can’t say you have a solid grasp on a foreign language unless you have a solid vocabulary to back your claims up. Grammar, spelling and pronunciation mistakes might slip every once in a while, but if you’re reading a text or listening to a conversation and can’t understand a third of the words used there, what’s the point? There are several techniques that are used in building up your vocabulary in a foreign language and we’ll try to cover some of the most common, which you can practice without spending too much or looking too far for them.

Reading new texts and their translation

A lot of language learning books rely on this technique to get the student’s vocabulary up and running from the first lessons. The students are given a rough text in the foreign language (the difficulty level of the test is dependant on the level the student is considered to having reached so far) containing some new, more complex words with each sentence. Below the text, an exact translation is given, with contextual annotations if it’s the case. After the translation, the words that are being considered as “new” are usually given a definition of and if they are used in a specific context in the above mentioned text, this is also mentioned.

Picking words out of the context

Oftentimes, you’ll be reading a text or listening to someone speak in a foreign language that you know and spot a word that you don’t understand. Focusing on the context in which it is told however, will often give you a clue about what it means. If this doesn’t happen and you’re totally in the dark about what that particular word means (oftentimes convoluting the entire context too) you can look it up in a dictionary.

Visiting the native speakers

Nothing will boost your vocabulary faster and better than a visit to a native speaking country of the particular language you want to expand in. Even a one-week trip will teach you more new words than an entire course in that language, not to mention spending a few months out there with the natives. This obviously perfects your grammar, spelling and pronunciation of words together with your vocabulary, which can only be beneficial. The only problem might be the costs such a trip would take and the amount of free time you will need for it.

This said, feel free to skim the Internet for any sources that can help you expand your vocabulary in a particular foreign language. After all, you can’t simply take the dictionary and start learning new words by heart; you need to learn them naturally, out of their context. Even if you learn one new word per day this way, in the long run you’ll surely feel the difference.

Michael Gabrikow
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/building-up-your-vocabulary-in-a-foreign-language-61784.html

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