Does anyone think this is an effective method to learn? At the moment I am using vocabulary apps like memrise to learn new words but it can be quite slow. You also don't get to see these words in context which can be important to see how exactly the word works, escpecially in a language with a case system and declensions and such.
Reading texts might be a better option for these reasons, but how exactly should you go about it? Sometimes I feel like I'm getting nowhere and having to get the dictionary out for every second word. Would you just go through the text, highlight what you don't know and then try to learn it off?
While conversation and correspondence is an important part of a language, I think reading books can also develop your vocabulary structure. I read books that appeal to me in the target language- usually fiction. If I notice that a word appears several times throughout the text and I don't know the meaning of it, I will take the time to look it up. Most of the time, I will utilize context clues to try and figure out the meaning of the text. If you have a chance to read,<em> Polyglot: How I Learn Languages</em> by Kato Lomb, she addresses the idea of reading in a foreign language and encourages it. I think she was able to read in 16 different languages. If you are starting out with a text, I would definitely pick something that interests you.
Hi) As for me, i always begin to learn language from universal basic of grammatic: alphabet,pronouns,times and so on. Then I read many texts, which help me to learn the proper technique of reading and consolidate the grammar and in this way I do not sit on a pile of books of grammar, because while reading I try to learn the basic elements of the language. If you have any question, you can ask me - i will reply and help you with russian.
I had already read the book in English. But it differs from spoken language.
Всем спасибо за советы. Thank you all for your advice.
I also reading some stories in language that I'm learning and it really helps to improve my vocabularies.
For new vocabulary, I use this website http://quizlet.com/latest in which you can make a set of words and then you can play different games with the words that you are studying.
I also try to use the words that I'm learning making little stories just for me.
it's easy with words that have a material expression in the real word, like teapot, tree, flower, etc. But with abstract words is a little more tricky.
Whit books, I use a website which have both versions (Spanish and English), so I don't need use the dictionary :D
