odissea

Since I ALWAYS struggled with learning vocabulary, I went to the library and borrowed every book about language learning that I could find! I will list different methods down below. I hope they‘re as helpful for you as they are for me! Also, this will be kind of a long post, so I apologize.

Firstly, it‘s important to acknowledge that there are different learning-types, and we all learn differently, so there‘s no guarantee that these will work for you!

Repetition of Vocabulary

1. after a couple of hours

2. after a day

3. after a week

4. after one month

5. after 3-4 months

It‘s also important to remember that you should only study a word/phrase until you know it. Everything else will be a waste of time. You should still repeat the words like I said above.

Different methods:

-Mind mapping

-Arrange the words into groups

-Structure things (e.g. vegetables: beans, carrots, tomatoes)

-Order things after similarities/differences

-Gradations (e.g. temperatures, months, time etc)

-Learn with pictures

-Step by step (e.g. ordering food in a restaurant)

It is important that you change things up and not study everything the same way every time! Your brain needs changes to understand things or you won’t be able to use the words in an actual conversation.

Other things you can do:

-Watch Videos in your target language

-Listen to music

-Record yourself saying the vocabulary and listen to it while you study

-Read read read, honestly just try to read as much in your target language as possible

-Try to think in your target language. Describe your surroundings to yourself, count things

-learn about the things you‘re interested in. If you’re interested in fantasy, learn those fantasy words fam

- never learn more than 30-40 words a day. Recommend would be 8-10 so you actually remember them -> Quality not Quantity!

-consistency is key

-some days it just won’t work and that‘s okay. Just try again tomorrow

-put random words/sheets with words on places where you will see them, e.g the bathroom mirror or the fridge or the inside of the door. You will read them all the time and will probably remember them way easier because of this.

I hope this was at least kind of helpful. I think the most important part for me to realize was that your brain needs changes in order to learn new things. If you just read one word 10 times you won’t remember it.

Say it, write it down, listen to it and write it down in a different context again. Read the words to your Axolotl.

Context is so so so important and will help you to remember words way easier.

devozione - devotion

dignità- dignity

entusiasmo - enthusiasm

amore - love

forza - strengt / power

fedeltà- faithfulness

coraggio - bravery / courage

saggezza - wisdom

tolleranza - tolerance

altruismo - selflessness/altruism

carità- charity

compassione - compassion

disciplina - discipline

perdono - forgiveness

innocenza - innocence

pazienza - patience

pietà - mercy / pity

curiosità - curiosity

rispetto - respect

purezza - purity

spontaneità- spontaneity

umiltà- humility

speranza - hope

onestà - honesty

generosità- generosity

lealtà - loyalty

gratitudine - gratitude

fiducia - trust

giustizia- justice

umorismo - humour

sensibilità - sensitivity

creatività- creativity

Hi!! Thank you for your question. 

Here is a rough plan I made when I started this blog, which is July 2017. It contains a list of resources I was using at the time. I don’t have access to my Schaum’s vocabulary book at the moment, but I’ll be resuming it when I get home. I would definitely recommend it if you’re an intermediate learner like me.

Other resources I’ve used consistently over the past few months are:

this website for free ebooks

this website for free audiobooks

raiplay for series and films (I also watched Suburra on Netflix, it’s brilliant and you should go watch it right now)

Eduopen.org and federica.eu are two websites that contain MOOCs in Italian, if you’re into that

You could also consider getting the raiplay radio app on your phone to listen to the radio, podcasts, and audiobooks. Note that not all of their content is available outside Italy. 

My routine is now doing a MOOC class (making notes and looking up new vocabulary) in the evening, or going on tandem and chatting to people, because I really have to focus on university studies. (I 100% recommend getting tandem on your phone. It’s free and really fun)

Before that, I used to read a lot of articles on La Repubblica  - just pick a section that interests you. I liked reading outloud to practice speaking, and it also made me focus on the text more. At the end you could make a list of words you don’t know. I also used to watch Cucine da Incubo (the Italian version of Kitchen Nightmares) and the dubbed version of The Nanny, there are lots of other fun programmes available on youtube so just look for something you find interesting. That way you won’t feel bad about procrastinating.. because you’ll be doing it in Italian!

Here are some other useful posts with resources (links included)

radio stations

podcasts

movies and series

a masterlist of italian resources

My tips for someone who is just starting out would be:

Do something every day. Or every other day, if you have little time. This is a lot better than just doing a lot on one day and then doing nothing for the next week or two, or three… your brain won’t retain new information if you don’t practice 

Make it fun and varied. I don’t use apps like memrise, duolingo, etc for any of my target languages because I find them very boring and repetitive. Find a routine that works for you.

If you are a complete beginner, take your time to understand the grammar. Verb drills, gender agreement, articles, and the like. Find a grammar book you like and stick to it. You could look up exercises online to complement it. 

Again, if you’re a complete beginner, start by listening to Disney songs! Look up the lyrics, print them out or write them down if you like, highlight new words, try to translate the lyrics line by line, and/or learn the songs by heart. When you’re a bit more confident in the language, find artists in genres you like and listen to them, and do the same. I listen to a lot of rap music, for example. I look up the lyrics on rapgenius and try to follow them and understand what they mean.

I know I’ve said this before, but go on tandem. Try to have a conversation, even a very simple one. Ask your language partner to correct you if you make a mistake.

Good luck!!! If anyone else has tips or resources for beginners, it would be lovely if you added them to this post!

I’d like to learn Dutch bc it sounds surreal and cute and also the writing makes me happy

I’d like to learn Estonian bc it is so similar to my language and i cannot wait to discover the similarities its like going to an adventure

I want to learn Danish bc its so precious like nice hug in the form of language and im not even a hugger

I’d like to learn a sign language (not decided which) bc it is so visual i cant, also try speaking in a loud space or underwater i dare you

I’d to learn Greek bc my relative speaks it and sometimes i hear a word and i get flashbacks like one time i saw a dog and remembered the word out of nowhere

I wanted to learn Irish bc i had no idea what Irish was like

I want to learn even a little bit Latin bc i think it would be cool to have a dog and talk to it in Latin 

me: *understands 3 words in a single sentence*

I got this idea from @colonelstudy 

1. Ser - to be (essential/permanent quality)

2. Haber - to have (to do something)

3. Estar - to be (health, location, state)

4. Tener - to have

5. Hacer - to do, make

6. Poder - to be able, can

7. Decir - to say, tell

8. Ir - to go

9. Ver - to see

10. Dar - to give

11. Saber - to know (information)

12. Querer - to want, love

13. Llegar - to arrive, come, reach

14. Pasar - to pass, to spend time, to happen

15. Deber - to owe, must, should, ought to 

16. Poner - to put, place, set

17. Parecer - to seem, appear

18. Quedar - to stay, remain

19. Creer - to believe

20. Hablar - to speak

21. Llevar - to carry, bring

22. Dejar - to leave, abandon, to let, allow

23. Seguir - to follow, continue

24. Encontrar - to find, encounter

25. Llamar - to call, to name

26. Venir - to come

27. Pensar - to think

28. Salir - to leave, go out

29. Volver - to return, go back

30. Tomar - to take, drink

31. Conocer - to know (people, places)

32. Vivir - to live

33. Sentir - to feel, regret

34. Tratar - to treat, handle

35. Mirar - to watch, look at

36. Contar - to count, relate, tell

37. Empezar - to begin, start

38. Esperar - to wait for, to hope

39. Buscar - to search for, look for

40. Existir - to exist

41. Entrar - to enter, go in, come in

42. Trabajar - to work

43. Escribir - to write

44. Perder - to lose

45. Producir - to produce

46. Ocurrir - to occur, happen

47. Entender - to understand

48. Pedir - to request, ask for

49. Recibir - to receive, to welcome, to greet

50. Recordar - to remember, remind

51. Terminar - to finish, end

52. Permitir - to permit, allow

53. Aparecer - to appear, show up

54. Conseguir - to get, obtain

55. Comenzar - to begin, start, commence

56. Servir - to serve

57. Sacar - to take out, stick out

58. Necesitar - to need, require

59. Mantener - to maintain, get

60. Resultar - to turn out (to be)

61. Leer - to read

62. Caer - to fall

63. Cambiar - to change

64. Presentar - to introduce

65. Crear - to create, to make

66. Abrir - to open

67. Considerar - to consider

68. Oír - to hear

69. Acabar - to finish, end

70. Convertir - to convert, change

71. Ganar - to win, gain, earn, get, acquire

72. Formar - to form, shape, fashion, make

73. Traer - to bring, to get, fetch, to carry

74. Partir - to divide, to leave

75. Morir - to die

76. Aceptar - to accept, approve, to agree to

77. Realizar - to achieve, attain, accomplish

78. Suponer - to suppose

79. Comprender - to understand, comprehend

80. Lograr - to get, obtain, to achieve, attain

81. Explicar - to explain

82. Preguntar - to ask, inquire

83. Tocar - to touch, to play (an instrument)

84. Reconocer - to recognize

85. Estudiar - to study

86. Alcanzar - to reach, catch up

87. Nacer - to be born

88. Dirigir - to direct

89. Correr - to run

90. Utilizar - to use, utilize

91. Pagar - to pay, pay for

92. Ayudar - to help

93. Gustar - to please, be pleasing

94. Jugar - to play (a game or sport)

95. Escuchar - to listen, hear

96. Cumplir - to fulfill, carry out

97. Ofrecer - to offer

98. Descubrir - to discover

99. Levantar - to raise, to lift 

` ˡⁱᵏᵉ/ʳᵉᵇˡᵒᵍ ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵃᵛᵉ 🐝

` ᵈᵒⁿ’ᵗ ʳᵉᵖᵒˢᵗ !

In English, most verbs have a lot of different significations, and you can use the same verb in a lot of different contexts, sometimes just by changing the preposition that goes after the verb, for exemple: to look at, to look after, to look forward to… English speakers use the same verbs, such as “to have”, “to take”, “to go”, for a lot of different situations, whereas romance languages speakers will change the verb to be more accurate depending on the situation. 

So if you want to speak French, Spanish, Portuguese etc. like a native, you will have to do a lot of work on vocabulary to learn the different verbs so that you can use the right one depending on the context.  An example of this is that the verb “to bring” can be translated in French by “amener”, “emmener”, “emporter” and “apporter”, which are all pretty close but still have a slightly different meaning. 

Here are some examples in Spanish and French to help you be more accurate:

TO TAKE  

To take a picture - SACAR / TOMAR una foto - PRENDRE une photo To take a video - GRABAR un video - PRENDRE une vidéo  To take a pencil - AGARRAR un boli - PRENDRE un stylo  To take the bus - TOMAR el autobus - PRENDRE le bus To take an exam - PRESENTAR un examen - PASSER un examen  To take someone to - LLEVAR alguien a - EMMENER quelqu’un à  To take a shower - BAÑARSE - PRENDRE une douche  To take away - QUITAR - PARTIR  To take back - DESVOLVER - RENDRE  To take off - IRSE - S’EN ALLER  To take out - SACAR - SORTIR  To take a walk - DAR un paseo - SE PROMENER  To take something from someone - ARREBATAR algo a alguién - PRENDRE quelque chose à quelqu’un 

TO GET 

I’ve seen people get angry about the fact that they’re doing all this work for a language on Duolingo and not learning anything, not fluent, not able to hold conversation, etc. 

Duolingo should not be your only method of learning a language and it should not be all that you rely on for pronunciation and conversation. 

Duolingo is great for learning basic grammar lessons, vocabulary, and it’s great for getting you started in learning a language. It’s even great for making you practice skills and reminding you to learn. However, you should have other reliable sources that you also regularly learn from at the same time if you want to actively learn a language. 

Especially languages like Irish, for example, because unless you live in Ireland or specifically Gaeltacht you aren’t likely to encounter a lot of other Irish-speaking people. 

Think about the fact that when you learn your native tongue, you are immersed and surrounded by that language. From all different family members, community members, peers, teachers, and others, you are learning different etiquette, vocabulary, and diction. You are in school for years learning how to speak on different topics at different levels. 

If you want to truly reach fluency, or even just be conversational in a language, you need to do more than 20-30xp a day on a phone/computer app. You need to practice sentences, conversations, listen to dictionary audio clips, audio books, and music in your target language. You need to read physical books so that you can see the words, you need to watch movies and tv shows if you can, even if they’re dubbed or need subtitles. 

What is your favorite period of history to learn about?

What piece of music makes you feel better?

Do you tend to overthink?

If you were to write a book, what genre would it be? What kind of atmosphere would it have?

Name the fictional character that you relate to the most.

Name the fictional character that you would like to be friends with.

Do you have a favourite poem?

What scent is most comforting to you?

What are you currently reading?

If you could be fluent in three languages, which would you choose?

What is your computer wallpaper set as?

Are you typically a procrastinator?

What complements best a cup of tea?

If you were a season and a type of weather, what would you be?