Vocabulary learning techniques

[ben_gb]

Hi,

I just wondered if anyone had any good vocabulary learning/memorizing techniques that they would like to share...?

I've been learning chinese for some months now, staying in Taiwan, and feel I've got a fairly good grounding in the most common grammar structures and a reasonable basic vocabulary.

The problem I've been coming up against recently is that the more I am able to enter into conversations with people, the more I am coming across new words and phrases that I don't know.

I usually write down the most useful new words and phrases, as well as put them onto my computer, but then I just end up with lists of 100s of words, and phrases, together with their characters and definitions, but they aren't really sticking in my memory.

I've got all the software... pleco, ZDT, granule, etc etc etc, but although these are OK for reviewing/reinforcing words I've already learnt, I find they don't seem to be so good for learning new words from scratch. I can view a new word or phrase 5 or 6 times and I still get a blank when I try to recall it.

So, I'm wondering what techniques other people are using to deal with the initial memorizing, particularly where you need to learn lots of new words/phrases at once, as quickly as possible...?

As I am currently lucky enough to be able to do lots of talking, learning the pronunciations are perhaps most important, but I like to learn the characters at more or less the same time, as I find it can help a bit with recalling the right word.

Are there any clever memory shortcuts or other tricks that people use and recommend? (Not necessarily computer-based ones...I'd be happy with pencil and paper if it can speed up the process!)

Thanks for any suggestions.

Regards,

Ben

[kdavid]

There is no substitute for repetition.

I have a notebook of new vocab that I started keeping and carrying around with me everywhere I went. Everytime I came across a new word, grammar point, etc I wrote it in there and read it over a thousand times. Whenever I have free time I read through it.

The book is old and tattered, but I"m still reading and using through it. I'll have to get a new one soon...

One more thing: don't define new words in English. Use words already in your vocabulary (or synonyms / antonyms) to define the new words. There isn't any English in my vocab book, just old words defining new ones.

[gato]

I can view a new word or phrase 5 or 6 times and I still get a blank when I try to recall it.

Are you reviewing five, six times all in one setting? For flashcards to work, you need to spread out your review over multiple days, so that you can reinforce your memory just when it's about to fade out.

Are you at a level where you can read texts? Reading can help you put the vocabulary in context and remember them more easily.

See this thread below for suggestions of some relatively easy reading material:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/15-cctv-learn-chinese928&highlight=jokes

(simple) reading for pleasure suggestions

[calibre2001]

How about plenty of karaoke? Helps reinforcement through repeated usage.

[leosmith]

Some excellent suggestions here. I'll tell you what I do, and then give you a link for some other ideas.

I get my vocab from context (reading, TV, talking, etc) and list them in my notebook. There are 20 words per page in my notebook. I learn how to pronounce 10 words in the morning, covering up the Mandarin column. I rely heavily on the linkword mnemonic technique when I get stuck. I do the other 10 at noon, then review all 20 in the evening. Days2, 3 and 4 I review the whole set in the morning and in the evening. Day 5 the set goes into my flashcard program (english to Mandarin only), which is supermemo.

On days 5,6,7 and 8 I learn how to read the whole set, by covering up the english column. I do it in the morning and in the evening. (This is quite easy for me, because I already know the meaning and how to write all the characters. If didn't know them, I'd learn them on days 1,2,3,4 using the story method, spelled out here.) Day 9 the set goes into supermemo (Mandarin to English).

This is a cycle. Each day I add 20 new words, review pronunciation sets from the previous 3 days, and review reading sets from the previous 3 days. It's sustainable, and takes me from 60 to 90 minutes per day.

That's my method, and I confess I've used it for Japanese only. Here is a thread that has lots of other techniques. Enjoy!

[ben_gb]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

Is does sound like I just need to persevere with the repeated reading of my word lists (and speaking the words out loud - or muttering under my breath in more public places :-)

kdavid, I like the idea of writing definitions of words in chinese (though my vocabulary is maybe too basic at the moment to do this all the time). Do you write chinese characters for this, or pinyin?

I've also got a (very patient) email-pal, who doesn't mind sending me maybe somewhat simple messages and receiving (and correcting) mine. He also adds a small number of new phrases or different ways of saying the same things in each message, so I get something new to learn each time.

I have tried karaoke/KTV a few times. This does seem to be good for improving reading speed, particularly if you can repeat a song several times. There are now several songs I can "sing/read" at the speed of the music, getting maybe 75 to 95% of the characters right depending on the song. I think you either need to go alone, or with a small (and patient) group of friends - with too many people, you probably don't get the chance to repeat a song enough. I don't know if songs are good for picking up vocabulary, though... I can imagine someone trying to learn english through song lyrics would sound a bit weird!

I'm probably not quite ready for reading books just yet...I'm still having to look up too many characters which just gets frustrating (also I'm learning traditional at the moment, so the material is maybe more limited). I have bought some comic books, which seem a bit more satisfying. I even found some Tintin books in Chinese, which are quite good.

I suppose the two biggest frustrations for me are:

1. that when I'm having a conversation, I often just can't remember the right word or phrase I want to use, even though I "know" that I should know it (ie I remember it's on my word list somewhere, but I just cant remember what it is).

2. Although I may have spent alot of time learning a character, and even get it right all the time in my flashcard program, my mind still goes blank sometimes when I see the character in real life.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions so far.

Cheers,

Ben

[wushijiao]

1. that when I'm having a conversation, I often just can't remember the right word or phrase I want to use, even though I "know" that I should know it (ie I remember it's on my word list somewhere, but I just cant remember what it is).

One way to solve this, perhaps, is to keep a book with all your new words. Then if you have a tutor, try to make sentences using the new word, and have the tutor correct you if you are wrong. That way, the new word will become part of your active vocabulary, rather than just a word that you can recognize.

2. Although I may have spent alot of time learning a character, and even get it right all the time in my flashcard program, my mind still goes blank sometimes when I see the character in real life.

I know that happens to me all the time. I figure that it takes seeing a word 5-10 times before I rememebr a new word. That's why, for me at least, I try to read a lot, while looking up the words that I don't know. I find that it is much easier to rememeber words that I have learned via looking up, rather than just on a word lists.

Another thing to help you remember new vocab, you can write down a new word in your notebook. Then write down the example sentences using that word (from the Pleco dictionaries, or other dictionaries. The more example sentences the better!). Then, have a Chinese person (tutor or friend) tape down those sentences onto tapes. Then listen to those tapes often, while also reviewing flashcard piles (on Pleco or old fashioned 3x5 flashcards). That way, in the course of a few weeks, you will constantly get the visual (flashcards) and the audio (the tapes) at the same time.

Generally speaking, I used to create a bunch of materials, and then about once a month have my wife help me record all of those things down. Now, I've kind of stopped doing that technique, partly because I just listen to different Chinese radio podcasts on my iPod. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that having a ton of interesting Podcasts aimed at Chinese learners will provide a mini-revolution to the field of Chinese as a Foreign Language studies. Still, I think that making your own audio materials still has the advantage that it can specifically help you remember all the random new words and phrases that you would like to remember. Learning new words using a "repeated audio" method will also be more useful in listening and speaking than learning the new words solely from paper will be, in my opinion.

[calibre2001]

I download karaoke videos since i get to study the lyrics at my pace and convenience. I am able to pick up new words , sayings and such in a fairly painless manner. Yes it's not as good as good old book reading but it has its own merits. Furthermore I get to prepare in advance and enjoy KTV sessions with your pals! I've also used this method to learn singing cantonese songs with mandarin transliteration.

[leosmith]

I download karaoke videos since i get to study the lyrics at my pace and convenience.

Yes, this is an excellent technique. No need to do it in public.

1. that when I'm having a conversation, I often just can't remember the right word or phrase I want to use, even though I "know" that I should know it (ie I remember it's on my word list somewhere, but I just cant remember what it is).

The best cure is more conversation. But one thing you can do at home is drills that actually make you produce sentences ala Pimsleur. Just record your voice in english, leave a long enough pause to answer, then record in Chinese, pause, Chinese again. When you use the recording, don't ever stop it. This forces you to produce the phrase within a given amount of time. I like to record about 10 to 15 minute sessions. After playing the recording 3 or 4 times, I usually hit 90%. I've found this greatly improves my response time.

2. Although I may have spent alot of time learning a character, and even get it right all the time in my flashcard program, my mind still goes blank sometimes when I see the character in real life.

The best cure for this is reading. If you can get your hands on material that only has the characters you know in it, that would be best. Can you make flashcards of entire sentences that only include your known characters? You may also want to consider the 10,000 sentence method . It would be great to something like karoke with these, because it is timed and will make you faster. Does anybody know if it's possible to make your own karaoke? Another thing I know people do is buy books that come with audio, and "shadow"; they read at the same time the speaker talks. I'm sure this helps reading speed, which may or may not be the key to your mental constipation:D

Of course, this is all in the post I provided earlier. It's long, but you may find it useful.