Complete Phrases in Five Steps

The goal of learning vocabulary is obviously to communicate. At this point, you probably could make yourself understood simply by placing verbs and nouns side by side, but the purpose for making those word lists in our last post was not for you to speak like Tarzan. It was to prepare a “vocabulary bank” so we have something to draw from and make complete, correct sentences.

How?

1. Just like you did with the words you chose for your list, think carefully about what phrases you would like to learn that can be used as soon as possible. This gives you something that you are sure to use and therefore you wont forget. Make about 5-10 phrases total using words from the list you've already made.

2. Write the phrases down in your own language on a sheet of looseleaf notebook paper. Make sure you leave enough room to write down the translation afterwards.

3. This step will require some patience from you, but it will benefit you in the end, so try it. I said in my first post that learning a foreign language is hard work, but it can be done effectively and efficiently. So here it is: Take a good dictionary, and (with pencil) attempt to translate your phrases into the target language. You’ll make plenty of mistakes, that’s ok. The key is you’ll be immersing yourself in the language VISUALLY and you’ll learn a great deal SUBCONSCIOUSLY. By doing this, you also engage your imagination, which makes the whole learning process more enjoyable AND more memorable. It’s one sure way to get the language INTO you.

4. Once your translations are done, your goal is to identify your mistakes. Turn to any and every resource available to help you. A language teacher, a friend or colleague who speaks the language well, the internet, a grammar book. Surely there must be SOMEONE somewhere who can help you. But if you have access to a native speaker, you have a GOLD PASS to help you correct those complete phrases, and you ought to plan to spend some time practicing with this person if s/he agrees. If you don’t have anyone, dictionaries often have small, sample phrases that can get you going when the internet isn't at your fingertips.

5. After you have all the corrections, for fun see if you can understand why you made the mistakes you made, but don’t worry if you can’t. You’ll get to the grammar later. DON'T FORGET to add to your word lists all the new words you’ve had to use to complete your phrases. You’ll want to prepare these for memorizing in future steps.

That's it. You are ready to start reviewing and using your COMPLETE and CORRECT phrases. So get going and start speaking every chance you get!

In my next post, I’ll give you some tips on how to maximize your efforts at this stage. If you want to stay on top of these posts, you might want to become a follower with the "Google Follow" service on the right sidebar, or subscribe by RSS. Or just check back here often =).

If you have questions about these posts, leave them in the comments and I'll answer you as soon as I can.

Until next time, happy language learning!