If you\u2019re currently in school or taking a class, this will be a piece of cake. But if you\u2019re studying on your own, you\u2019ll need to be very disciplined about your practice.<\/p>\n
Specifically, you need to add time to practice into your schedule as a non-negotiable calendar event. How exactly you spend that time is up to you.<\/p>\n
For example, you could try to find vocabulary drills that work well with your lifestyle (do you prefer to drill words in a comfy chair at the end of the day, or do you want to squeeze in some practice in the office between meetings?).<\/p>\n
Here are some ideas for how to spend your Spanish vocabulary practice time:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Write down sentences using the new words. <\/strong>Don’t forget to apply the grammar rules you’ve learned so far, as well.<\/li>\n
- Talk out loud to specifically practice a set of new words. <\/strong>For example, if you’re practicing how to conjugate Spanish verbs<\/a>, you could say out loud the verbs as you conjugate them.<\/li>\n
- Download a Spanish flashcard app<\/a> so you can drill new words anytime, anywhere. <\/strong>Better yet, use a flashcard app where each new word comes with a picture. That way, you can more easily associate the word with its meaning in visual form.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. Incorporate the Process of Chunking<\/h2>\n
One simple method for learning a new language quickly is a technique called “chunking.”<\/p>\n
Chunking involves taking multiple small pieces of information<\/a> and putting them together to create a larger piece (“chunk”) of information. <\/strong>Breaking up a sentence into chunks makes it easier to memorize (in the short term) and to comprehend (in the long term).<\/p>\n
In this case, you can learn Spanish words by chunking them into larger phrases. The words you choose for your chunks can come from the lists of vocabulary words you’re studying.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, you could also create a chunk that includes both a verb and a noun. Seeing how these words work together can help with your overall Spanish comprehension.<\/p>\n
The chunks might also include something like these two phrases:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Que trabajo ten\u00edas<\/em>\u00a0(What job did you have)<\/li>\n
- Cuando eras adolescente<\/em>\u00a0(When you were a teenager)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
With the resulting sentence turning into:<\/p>\n
\u00bfQu\u00e9 trabajo ten\u00edas cuando eras adolescente?<\/em> (What job did you have when you were a teenager?)<\/p>\n
When creating chunks, it may be helpful to plug your complete sentence into a translation app<\/a> to make sure you’ve captured the right verb tenses throughout the sentence. Otherwise, you risk learning chunks that don’t actually agree with each other, which can hurt your progress.<\/p>\n
3. Try the Goldlist Method<\/h2>\n
The idea behind the Goldlist method<\/a> is to help your memory naturally retain information (like your new Spanish words) through a process of repetition.<\/p>\n
Here’s how it works:<\/p>\n
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- First, write down at least 25 of the Spanish words<\/strong> you’re trying to learn.<\/strong> Include their meaning, definition or some type of description in your native language. To help with visualization and organization, use a lined sheet of notebook paper.<\/li>\n
- Read them out loud, mindfully.<\/strong> At this stage, you don’t want to force yourself to remember them just yet. Writing and reading these words aloud shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to avoid straining your long-term memory.<\/li>\n
- Do as many 25-word (or so) chunks per day as you want, as often as you want.<\/strong> As a best practice, however, aim for about 10 sessions or 250 words as a maximum, taking a 10-minute break between each one.<\/li>\n
- After two weeks, go back to the list you made and<\/strong> read the first 25 words you wrote down.<\/strong> This specific two-week number is important, because it allows short-term memory to fade, and helps to ensure that information has been committed to your long-term memory.<\/li>\n
- Read through your list and mark off the items that you\u2019ve remembered.<\/strong> A study by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus found that you’ll likely remember up to 30 percent of these words (about eight total). That’s nothing to scoff at, considering the minimal effort you put into memorizing them.<\/li>\n
- Rewrite your list again using the 17 (or so) words you didn’t remember.<\/strong> Do this up to 10 times with a two-week break in between, and you’ll have certainly learned all the words on your list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To make it easy and help your brain connect the dots, consider grouping your words into themes<\/strong>, like food-related vocabulary words<\/a>\u00a0or color vocabulary words<\/a>.<\/p>\n
4. Learn New Words Through Music<\/h2>\n
If you’re a musical learner, learning a new language through song<\/a> may be the easiest method to memorize Spanish words.<\/p>\n
Songs are catchy (and sometimes silly), so they\u2019ll help you get the hang of your vocabulary fast<\/strong>. The rhyme schemes and repetition will support your memory much better than rote memorization of new words. You might even opt to choose a popular song\u2019s Spanish version that you already know in English.<\/p>\n
There are several music-oriented websites where you can learn Spanish songs<\/a>. Don’t forget to look up the lyrics, too, so you can absorb new words visually and aurally.<\/p>\n
5. Connect Different Words Using Mind Maps<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Mind maps engage your visual memory and help establish connections,<\/a> making it easier to recall words when needed.<\/p>\n
To help you create connections between different words, try creating mind maps to visually organize and connect Spanish vocabulary<\/strong>. Start with a central theme or word, such as “food” or “family,” and branch out by adding related words or subcategories.<\/p>\n
Use colors, images and connections to reinforce associations between words. For instance, if your central theme is “food,” you might branch out with subcategories like “fruits,” “vegetables,” “meat,” etc., and further expand each category with specific Spanish words.<\/p>\n
You can put your mind maps on your walls at home or keep them with you at work. That way, you can always review the vocabulary whenever you have a spare moment.<\/p>\n
6. Actively Use New Words in Context
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nThere are plenty of ways to do this. For example, you could:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Immerse yourself in the language by actively consuming Spanish words in various contexts.<\/strong> Watch Spanish movies<\/a> or TV shows<\/a>, read books, listen to podcasts<\/a> or follow social media accounts in Spanish. You can even watch your favorite shows in Spanish if dubs are available. On the FluentU Spanish YouTube channel<\/a>, you can also find plenty of dubbed episodes of popular TV shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” plus in-depth explanations of relevant words and grammar used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n - \n
- Practice writing short stories (fictional or otherwise) using the new vocabulary.<\/strong> Incorporating words this way enhances retention by associating the words with practical experiences. If you’re not sure what to write about, you could always use Spanish writing prompts<\/a> for inspiration.<\/li>\n
- Write a poem or song in Spanish.<\/strong> For the songs, you don\u2019t need to have any musical skills\u2014just attach your own Spanish lyrics to a song you already know.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Besides using context to figure out how to memorize Spanish words, you could also dissect prefixes, suffixes or the root of a word, which may be similar to the same word in your native language. For example, computadora<\/em> is Spanish for computer. You can use the computa- <\/em>part to take a guess at what the word means in the language you\u2019re less familiar with.<\/p>\n
A great way to see Spanish words and grammar in context is to watch authentic Spanish videos on a platform like FluentU<\/a>.
FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n
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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n
Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/NativeAd-Spanish.jpg\")
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- Write a poem or song in Spanish.<\/strong> For the songs, you don\u2019t need to have any musical skills\u2014just attach your own Spanish lyrics to a song you already know.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Practice writing short stories (fictional or otherwise) using the new vocabulary.<\/strong> Incorporating words this way enhances retention by associating the words with practical experiences. If you’re not sure what to write about, you could always use Spanish writing prompts<\/a> for inspiration.<\/li>\n
- Read them out loud, mindfully.<\/strong> At this stage, you don’t want to force yourself to remember them just yet. Writing and reading these words aloud shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to avoid straining your long-term memory.<\/li>\n
- Cuando eras adolescente<\/em>\u00a0(When you were a teenager)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Talk out loud to specifically practice a set of new words. <\/strong>For example, if you’re practicing how to conjugate Spanish verbs<\/a>, you could say out loud the verbs as you conjugate them.<\/li>\n