Thread: Best ways to learn vocabulary

Zdravstvujte vsem
I was wondering what you think is the best way to learn new vocabulary. How many words should you learn each day? Is it better to learn related words at once (ie fruit, electronics) or just get a random article and choose the words you don’t know?

Currently I read an article and then choose 15 random words I don’t know to learn. I do this 6 days a week and then revise on the 7th, aswell as at the end of the month. The trouble is that though this helps me learn all the more common words, I haven’t got a clue when it comes to more specialised areas (eg just names of everyday objects). Also I end up forgetting about 10% of the words I learn (I do recognise them the next time I see them though, and eventually learn most of them that way). Do you think it is better to learn a few words thoroughly or a lot of words not so thoroughly?

bolshoye spasibo

Perhaps you can supplement your text study of the language by chatting with a Russian. A popular and free way to do this is with Skype. There are approximately 3 million users of this program online at any one time. You can easily search for Russian users, including some who are in Skype-me mode, which means they are inviting anybody in general to speak with them. You can download the program with menus in English, Russian or Spanish (as well as other languages) here: http://www.skype.com/intl/

I'll set the natural pace -- keep learning 30-40 words a week and try not to spread yourself too thin.

The rule the more, the merrier doesn't work here.

One thing -- try to USE the words you learn... otherwise you will only waste your time forgetting them.

Look up only 'recurring' words... those are the most frequently used ones which are vital for a foreign lerner.

For example, if you were to learn English:

do not learn words like "tenacious' or 'mulish' if you don't know the head word 'stubborn' which is way more important...

Got it?

some monolingual dictionaries have....watchamacallit....a defining vocabulary... Yes, that's it, a defining vocabulary... That stuff allows the lexicographers to explain all the other words.... like:

чудак -- человек со странными идеями, менерами, непохожий на других

бред -- бессмыслица, бессмысленный набор слов etc

See?

Yes, the recurring words are a must - and as they are recurring, they're pretty easy to remember....

Apart from that, look up words that belong to your field(s) of interest - again, you'll be less likely to forget them, and you'll be more likely to use them.

I find it helpful to imagine spoken conversation (no, you don't want to see me sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, speaking russian to my cat!! ) - there are always words and bits of phrases where you get stuck. Those are the words I look up first, as they would be useful in a whole structure. I also try to look up phrases rather than words on their own (or put the word I've looked up into a phrase) - again, I find that easier to remember.

But it's tough alright.

BY

I guess you would have to live in the country for a long time to know all those specialised words you normally take for granted. I've got the same problem with Spanish, I can speak just fine about general topics, but when the conversation turns to something a little more specific i get totally lost...

tnx much for the link,i guess i badly need this either

"Russian Learner's Dictionary" by Nicholas Brown. Learn a page or so of words a day, and then walk around talking to yourself in Russian.

I found that the fastest and easiest way to learn words is by interlex.
Here is the link.

http://www.vocab.co.uk/

I select a category, then play the program until there are 10 or 20 words remaining. Then I take those 10 or 20 words and make a separate file and practice just those words. There are about 1300 words that come with the program and they are broken down by category.

I have been trying for hours to make a seperate file with that Interlex vocab tutor but haven't been able to figure out where to do it at!!!!!!!!! Got any tips?

kwatts, YOU OWN! That is the single coolest program i've seen in my life!

САМОЕ БОЛЬШОЕ СПАСИБО!!!! ТЫ МНЕ ГЕРОЙ!!!!

Just go to "File", select "Save As" , and enter a file name.

Oh thanks. I was trying to make a file in "Documents" silly! Is there any way to delete a whole bunch of words in one go? It is tedious deleting 120 of them one by one.

Just press and hold down the "Delete" button and it continuously deletes words until you let go.

Originally Posted by basurero

kwatts, YOU OWN! That is the single coolest program i've seen in my life!

САМОЕ БОЛЬШОЕ СПАСИБО!!!! ТЫ МНЕ ГЕРОЙ!!!!

Your welcome!

Thanks Kwatttts!!! I'm giving it a go right now.

Oh shit that works really quick!!! I deleted waay too much though'' Thanks.

Kwatts - from me too a huuuuuge спасибо!!! What a great little programme - I can see myself having fun with that for hours!

Thanks!


BY

Спасибо. I've been looking for something like this for a while now, I didn't know if anyone had thought of designing something like it. I was thinking of resorting to building one in Java but that would take quite a while if it's even possible. Great time-saver.