Top tips for language learning – make your studying fun!
Choose the ones that most appeal to you, and try them out. You’ll be surprised at how easy it can be!
1. Break your study into small chunks - Research shows that language students learn more effectively and retain more when they study frequently and for shorter periods of time than if they study infrequently for extended periods of time. This means, for instance, doing a few homework exercises each day rather than doing all homework assignments the night before they are due.
2. Read over classwork for 5 minutes after school after every lesson – It takes very little time to quickly glance over your classwork, but you’ll be amazed how much it helps!
3. Train your brain - There are many mentally "idle" moments during the day when you can fit in some easy studying. Review vocabulary while eating breakfast; recite the alphabet while showering; count your steps as you walk between classes; count sheep to help you sleep; name as many object as you can in Spanish on your way to school. Keep your brain busy in the target language!
4. Put vocabulary or grammar posters around your room or house – Most people can describe in perfect detail all the posters in their rooms. It’s incredible how much information you take in without even really looking at it!
5. Learn Spanish through art – Draw pictures to help you remember key words or even ideas. Make your books look interesting, and you’ll be more inclined to revise them!
6. Talk to yourself – Whenever possible, say or read the language out loud. Sing in the shower, or whisper on the way to school! Record yourself or friends and check pronunciation. - Transferring language from your mind to your mouth is a skill that requires a great deal of practice.
7. Open your ears – Listen to Spanish whenever you can – tune into online Spanish radio while you work (http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/radio.php); download Spanish music and sing along; upload the coursebook listening exercises onto your i-pod and listen to them on the bus; record yourself reading your assignments out loud, and soon you’ll know them as well as you know the words to your favourite song.
8. Listen to Spanish music - Ever have the experience of not remembering what you ate for breakfast, but being able to recall the lyrics of a song you last heard years ago? Music is an excellent memory aid for language learners. Hearing and learning song lyrics can improve vocabulary and pronunciation and can reinforce proper use of structures.
9. Make your own vocabulary flashcards – colour them according to gender; draw pictures to help you remember; shuffle and test yourself; play memorama; play SNAP!; play ‘look-cover-write-check’; arrange them in different categories; keep them in your bag and whenever you’re bored, take one out and see if you can use it in a sentence; going on a long boring journey? Take them with you and test your friends and family!
10. Make vocabulary tables – You could include the Spanish word, the English equivalent, a picture to help you remember, an adjective that can be made with that word, the opposite of the word, synonyms, and even an example sentence. If it’s a verb, then why not try to include as many forms of that verb as you can?
11. Make vocabulary fans – Divide a piece of paper into lots of long columns. Write the Spanish words in the first column, then try to remember all the English words in the second column. Fold over the first column and, using the English words, try to re-write all the Spanish again. Keep going until you’re sure you know them all.
12. Become a storyteller – Make up stories with all the words from a list of vocabulary, and you’ll find that remembering the story helps you remember the words.
13. Enjoy the luxury of time when doing your homework – In real conversations, you don’t have the time to worry about noun genders or verb agreements, but when doing your homework you have the luxury of time. Look up words and genders you don't know. Refer to charts and other resources available to you. This will reinforce the material and eventually it will become automatic. If you never look things up or simply guess, you will be strongly reinforcing errors and you will never learn proper forms and words.
14. Use your friends – Everyone can benefit from the company of others – get together with your friends to study; test each other; work on homework together; or just practise speaking in Spanish together.
15. Get an e-pal – Take advantage of the wealth of free web services that can put you in touch with people all over the world who are learning a language just like you. Find mates in Mexico, buddies in Buenos Aires, or pals in Peru. Keep in touch by e-mail and, who knows? – one day you might have a free couch to sleep on in Spain or South America! Check out: www.mylanguageexchange.com or www.polyglot-learn-language.com.
16. Watch Spanish films – Rent some from Blockbuster or ask at your local library. Most films will have English subtitles and you can work your way up to watching them without. Get some friends round, put some popcorn in the microwave and sit back and enjoy the show!
17. Watch your favourite DVDs in Spanish – Lots of DVDs have the option of changing the language to Spanish. Check out how funny Homer Simpson sounds in Spanish or laugh at the silly voices in Family Guy. As you already know the situation, you won’t have to worry too much about understanding all the language.
18. Read your favourite book in Spanish – Any book you’ve read before and can remember the story will do, but the best are books aimed at young teenagers. Check out amazon.com for Spanish versions of Harry Potter or James Bond. Don’t worry about understanding everything, just let the language slide over you and enjoy the action.
19. Read a Spanish magazine – Love football? Fanatic about film? Get your hands on a Spanish magazine at http://multilingualbooks.com/online-magazines-spanish.html
20. Watch Spanish TV online – Check out this website for a list of online TV channels in Spanish http://multilingualbooks.com/online-tv-spanish.html and see if there’s anything that appeals.
21. Keep informed with the news – Interested in current affairs? Check out online Spanish newspapers or TV channels and see how much you can understand. Try this website for a list of Spanish newspapers http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/spain.htm. After you have gone through the news stories once, read up on international events in English to fill in the details that you missed. Then go back and read or view the news reports again. The second, or third, or even the fourth time around, you will understand successively more.
22. Food for thought – Find a Spanish restaurant in your area and sample some typical delicacies. By going to a restaurant you can practice your language when reading the menu, or even try to order in Spanish! Plus you’ll get to taste some weird and wonderful cuisine…
Choose the ones that most appeal to you, and try them out. You’ll be surprised at how easy it can be!
1. Break your study into small chunks - Research shows that language students learn more effectively and retain more when they study frequently and for shorter periods of time than if they study infrequently for extended periods of time. This means, for instance, doing a few homework exercises each day rather than doing all homework assignments the night before they are due.
2. Read over classwork for 5 minutes after school after every lesson – It takes very little time to quickly glance over your classwork, but you’ll be amazed how much it helps!
3. Train your brain - There are many mentally "idle" moments during the day when you can fit in some easy studying. Review vocabulary while eating breakfast; recite the alphabet while showering; count your steps as you walk between classes; count sheep to help you sleep; name as many object as you can in Spanish on your way to school. Keep your brain busy in the target language!
4. Put vocabulary or grammar posters around your room or house – Most people can describe in perfect detail all the posters in their rooms. It’s incredible how much information you take in without even really looking at it!
5. Learn Spanish through art – Draw pictures to help you remember key words or even ideas. Make your books look interesting, and you’ll be more inclined to revise them!
6. Talk to yourself – Whenever possible, say or read the language out loud. Sing in the shower, or whisper on the way to school! Record yourself or friends and check pronunciation. - Transferring language from your mind to your mouth is a skill that requires a great deal of practice.
7. Open your ears – Listen to Spanish whenever you can – tune into online Spanish radio while you work (http://www.e-spanyol.hu/en/radio.php); download Spanish music and sing along; upload the coursebook listening exercises onto your i-pod and listen to them on the bus; record yourself reading your assignments out loud, and soon you’ll know them as well as you know the words to your favourite song.
8. Listen to Spanish music - Ever have the experience of not remembering what you ate for breakfast, but being able to recall the lyrics of a song you last heard years ago? Music is an excellent memory aid for language learners. Hearing and learning song lyrics can improve vocabulary and pronunciation and can reinforce proper use of structures.
9. Make your own vocabulary flashcards – colour them according to gender; draw pictures to help you remember; shuffle and test yourself; play memorama; play SNAP!; play ‘look-cover-write-check’; arrange them in different categories; keep them in your bag and whenever you’re bored, take one out and see if you can use it in a sentence; going on a long boring journey? Take them with you and test your friends and family!
10. Make vocabulary tables – You could include the Spanish word, the English equivalent, a picture to help you remember, an adjective that can be made with that word, the opposite of the word, synonyms, and even an example sentence. If it’s a verb, then why not try to include as many forms of that verb as you can?
11. Make vocabulary fans – Divide a piece of paper into lots of long columns. Write the Spanish words in the first column, then try to remember all the English words in the second column. Fold over the first column and, using the English words, try to re-write all the Spanish again. Keep going until you’re sure you know them all.
12. Become a storyteller – Make up stories with all the words from a list of vocabulary, and you’ll find that remembering the story helps you remember the words.
13. Enjoy the luxury of time when doing your homework – In real conversations, you don’t have the time to worry about noun genders or verb agreements, but when doing your homework you have the luxury of time. Look up words and genders you don't know. Refer to charts and other resources available to you. This will reinforce the material and eventually it will become automatic. If you never look things up or simply guess, you will be strongly reinforcing errors and you will never learn proper forms and words.
14. Use your friends – Everyone can benefit from the company of others – get together with your friends to study; test each other; work on homework together; or just practise speaking in Spanish together.
15. Get an e-pal – Take advantage of the wealth of free web services that can put you in touch with people all over the world who are learning a language just like you. Find mates in Mexico, buddies in Buenos Aires, or pals in Peru. Keep in touch by e-mail and, who knows? – one day you might have a free couch to sleep on in Spain or South America! Check out: www.mylanguageexchange.com or www.polyglot-learn-language.com.
16. Watch Spanish films – Rent some from Blockbuster or ask at your local library. Most films will have English subtitles and you can work your way up to watching them without. Get some friends round, put some popcorn in the microwave and sit back and enjoy the show!
17. Watch your favourite DVDs in Spanish – Lots of DVDs have the option of changing the language to Spanish. Check out how funny Homer Simpson sounds in Spanish or laugh at the silly voices in Family Guy. As you already know the situation, you won’t have to worry too much about understanding all the language.
18. Read your favourite book in Spanish – Any book you’ve read before and can remember the story will do, but the best are books aimed at young teenagers. Check out amazon.com for Spanish versions of Harry Potter or James Bond. Don’t worry about understanding everything, just let the language slide over you and enjoy the action.
19. Read a Spanish magazine – Love football? Fanatic about film? Get your hands on a Spanish magazine at http://multilingualbooks.com/online-magazines-spanish.html
20. Watch Spanish TV online – Check out this website for a list of online TV channels in Spanish http://multilingualbooks.com/online-tv-spanish.html and see if there’s anything that appeals.
21. Keep informed with the news – Interested in current affairs? Check out online Spanish newspapers or TV channels and see how much you can understand. Try this website for a list of Spanish newspapers http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/spain.htm. After you have gone through the news stories once, read up on international events in English to fill in the details that you missed. Then go back and read or view the news reports again. The second, or third, or even the fourth time around, you will understand successively more.
22. Food for thought – Find a Spanish restaurant in your area and sample some typical delicacies. By going to a restaurant you can practice your language when reading the menu, or even try to order in Spanish! Plus you’ll get to taste some weird and wonderful cuisine…