Questions tagged [vocabulary]
The body of words used in a particular language, or that known by an individual speaker.
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How to make vocabulary acquisition fun?
I have been learning French for around 2.5 years. I am currently around the B1 level and have attained this by practising reading, writing and speaking and basically immersion. But one of the biggest ...
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Mnemonics for learning vocabulary and complex writing for people with aphantasia
Aphantasia is the inability to create mental images. In the most extreme cases, people with this condition are completely incapable of re-creating any sensual information and lack mind's eye. All ...
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Learning a language, for someone who can't stand flash cards
I can't stand memorizing words. I've found that the best way to memorize vocabulary is using (digital) flash cards, however I find studying flash cards to be one of the most mind-numbing and ...
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What are estimates of vocabulary size for each CEFR level?
The CEFR does not specify a vocabulary list or a vocabulary size for each level.
I could find one scientific article attempting this mapping (research paper of Milton J and T. Alexiou (2009), ...
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An application to show words on display
Me and my coworkers are very inclined to learn foreign languages and decided to rotate a constantly updated list of words on displays that we have around the office.
To work such application is a ...
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How long does the "priming" effect last for vocabulary study?
I'm looking for studies or other scientifically-solid information on the topic. But first, an explanation.
I'm interested in the psychological phenomenon of priming as it relates to vocabulary study. ...
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Why can't I think of anything to say when someone asks how many languages I can speak?
There is this fairly common thing I've noticed, when a multiglot is talking to someone about languages, and they say "say something in x", suddenly all words in that language leave my head and I can't ...
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Unpredictable multiple homophony of Chinese characters [closed]
I look for a strategy to deal with this lexical issue of the Chinese language, and so memorize the right pronunciation(s) correctly
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impredictable arabic broken plurals and verbal nouns (مصدر) from form I
I'd like to know a strategy to deal with this lexical issue of the Arabic language. What strategy should I follow to memorize the right pattern correctly?
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Homonym Learning Techniques
In vocabulary books, I frequently see lists of homonyms (i.e. words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation, but have different meanings); however, I've wondered what is the best ...
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How many Languages can we speak fluently [duplicate]
I am speaking many languages but I m pinned down each time and can't speak more than four languages fluently at the same time, I noticed that I can only keep 4 languages even if I try to learn a new ...
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Conditions for successful extensive reading?
According to the literature on second language acquisition, what are the conditions for successful extensive reading? Does the literature provide any suggestions on how many words a learner should ...
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What are the benefits of extensive reading?
What are the benefits of extensive reading? More, specifically, in what ways is extensive reading helpful for learning a target language?
Responses based on research would be appreciated.
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Should I learn a whole bunch of new words at once with Anki?
I've got a specific anki deck where I have around 350 cards that I'm reviewing and 260 new cards that I haven't touched yet. I'm behind on my reviews for this particular deck (put it off for a while), ...
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How many new words at a time?
I have a 1000 flash cards of new words. I pick a flash card at random to test if I remember the word. If not, I take a moment to try to remember it.
With a 1000 flash cards I feel that I see too many ...
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How can I apply the words I learn?
I know lots of words. I know I do because I know so many I have to review at least one hundred every day and it takes ages.
I never am able to use these words in conversation though, and I don't ...
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Resources for English morphemes
I'm helping a friend learn English, and one of the things I like teaching is morphemes (parts of a word), by explaining the meaning of the morpheme and examples of it being used.
What resources are ...
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What, besides frequency, gives a foreign word pedagogical priority in learning/teaching?
My understanding is that "survival" words in a language like numbers and days of the week are usually taught first, even though they may have a lower frequency than certain frequency used words like "...
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How can I overcome fear and failure when speaking to native speakers of my L2?
I've been studying Russian language on my own for more than 1.5 years. And I'm still bad at it because of lack of speaking practice. I didn't study everyday as I also paused for several months so I'm ...
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Is there more than one learning "path" through the intermediate levels in learning languages?
The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) divides levels of language proficiency into A1, A2 (beginner), B1, B2 (intermediate), and C1,C2 (advanced. An A1 is learning the basics, and a C2 is ...
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Should I avoid learning related words at the same time in SRS, and if so, how do I avoid it with Anki?
One anti-pattern discussed in "Fluent Forever" is learning a group of words from a certain theme all at once, such as colours one week, family members another week, and so on.
Does this apply to ...
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WebCAPE language exam - how many words do I need to know?
I'm studying Chinese and would like to know if there are any metrics/studies around how many words I should be able to retain to get a high score.
The metrics I've seen, such as this Rosetta Stone ...
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What is this phenomenon called when someone uses an "uncommon" word in his target language that is similar to one in his own language?
Suppose someone is learning words in a foreign language, and uses an "uncommon" word in his target language that is similar to one in his own language.
For instance, the Spanish word for "mortgage" ...
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How to enhance the German vocabulary of my six-year-old?
We, the parents, don’t speak much German. Our daughter has been going to a German school for two years (start at 4) and is fluent by now. However, the teachers say that she lacks some vocabulary.
She’...
George
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Why can't I remember words?
I have a bad problem, I learned a lot of English words, I am registered on Memrise.com and every day I study new words and review them. Now I have more than 1100 words in my long term memory according ...
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What are the main benefits and drawbacks of learning vocabulary only through conversation?
Many people learn foreign languages at school, which often involves learning vocabulary lists. Others learn languages through immersion. Each method has its benefits and drawbacks.
What are the main ...
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Is learning vocabulary by means of (bilingual) vocabulary lists inefficient, and if yes, why?
A previous question, "Is it bad to only learn vocabulary through conversation/applied use?" (The question is now only visible to users with 2000+ reps) looked like three questions combined into a ...
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How does the vocabulary learned through immersion compare to vocabulary learned via study?
When reading texts in L2, (sometimes) it can be easy to infer the meaning of a word based on its usage in the text. This can work similarly when listening or conversing. (Of course, to ensure there is ...
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When studying German, how much time should be spent on learning grammar rules vs. vocabulary?
How much time do I need to give to learning grammar rules versus vocabulary while studying German, or is it possible to speak a foreign language without needing to learn grammar rules?
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order of studying languages to make it easier [duplicate]
If I want to study more languages, what is the best order?
EG I know that if I study Spanish, learning Italian would be easier then.
I was considering more, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, ...
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How to use subtitles most effectvely?
I have an intermediate level in my target language (L2), which means that when I watch films without subtitles I understand relatively little. Turning on L2 subtitles increases my understanding to a ...
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Is it beneficial to learn vocabulary by words by lexical class?
Is it beneficial to learn vocabulary by words by lexical class?
For example, learn a list of nouns first, then a list of verbs, then a list of adjectives. (There are, of course, more classes). I've ...
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Efficient techniques to use songs to learn and retain vocabulary
I'm learning a language that is morphologically rather unrelated to my native tongue. I find great difficulty in retaining vocabulary in this new language, to the point where I have reached something ...
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Is there reliable data for the success rates of different methods of learning/reviewing vocabulary?
Is there reliable data for the success rates of different methods of learning/reviewing vocabulary? I.e.:
no reviewing
audiobooks
hand-written flashcards
SRS flashcard apps
Goldlist method
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How can flashcards be made using only the target language?
Usually, language flashcards are made with a word on the front and its translation on the back. This happens to work well with nouns like apple and most colors because, well, fruits and colors usually ...
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Grading vocabulary: How correct is necessary?
When grading vocabulary (either in a traditional classroom/test environment, or spaced repetition), is there any research into how to most effectively grade responses?
Examples of possible answers (...
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How to remember words and improve my vocabulary
When trying to learn a new language I keep forgetting words, especially the adjectives. I think the main problem is that I don't use them at all and so after a bit I forget all the words that I don't ...
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Is the “T-Coding Method” a reliable method to learn vocabulary?
In Iran someone named "Mr Taraghghi" has imported a method for learning English vocabulary called "Vocabulary Coding" for Persian native speakers that works like this example:
Consider the word "...
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"Means" versus "can be translated as (in some cases)"
A word represents a concept. Different languages sometimes use different concepts to describe the same matter. In such cases (my impression) the word of one language is often said to "mean" the ...
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What resources are there for learning Toki Pona?
I recently started using Memrise to learn Toki Pona, because I find that language to be very interesting. Memrise is indeed useful regarding vocabulary, but I think it is not enough.
Are there other ...
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Seeking an Arabic dictionary with colloquialisms
There are words in colloquial Arabic that Google Translate won't understand and which are not even an Arabic dictionary!
This problem is noticeably worse than for, say, Spanish or English, where many ...
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How to personalize a vocabulary flashcard deck without spending too much time on it?
I understand that SRS programs like Anki is for review what you learn, not to learn the card completely new. However, for learners who require to learn a lot of new words (to pass a test for example), ...
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Online resource to study Russian language vocabulary
I'm looking for a website to study new Russian vocabulary.
Not any site teaches the right vocabulary for russian language. I speak Russian a little bit and a lot of sites tend to translate wrong. ...
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Why retain vocabulary when there are dictionaries?
Usually, when we come across an unknown word, we can guess its meaning based on the text around it (assuming that all the words around are known). However, there are cases that the meaning of the word ...
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How can I expand my active vocabulary in a foreign language?
I’ve been learning a foreign language for 5 years. Now, I easily understand everything I read, I know lots of words and everything seems to be alright, but I still have a problem. My active vocabulary ...
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Is there any evidence that vocabulary level is a good measure for predicting high economy income later?
In the Wikipedia page of Johnson O' Connor, there is a sentence says (I add the boldness):
A person’s vocabulary level was the best single measure for predicting occupational success in every area.
...
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When to remove a word from Anki
Anyone familiar with Anki, or Spaced repetition in general, should know that the algorithm assumes that you will never remove a word from the system. You'll always review learned words, but after a ...
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How to start thinking in a new language
I'm fairly fluent in Hebrew, to the point where I speak it intuitively, often accidentally when I intend to speak English. But I struggle to think in it. My question is, what is required to think in a ...
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What are the most effective ways of learning vocabulary of any language? [closed]
Vocabulary is the most important thing to become enriched in a language in my perspective. But for most of the adult learners of a language, memorization process sometimes seems very boring and hard ...
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How to learn the vocabulary of an ancient language like Aramaic, which is based on scripture only?
I've lately attended a series of lectures on the history of Christianity held by a Coptic scholar. He gave a few examples of Aramaic or Syriac sentences (translated from the Bible) which might be ...
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