How To Learn Vocabulary In

A Foreign Language

– Part 1

This 3-part series will show you how to learn vocabulary in a foreign
language, based on my experience of learning 10,000s words in the
eight languages I speak.

You'll learn a straightforward, reliable system which I consider the best

way to memorise words without forgetting them later.

When you can increase your vocabulary on-demand, it gets a lot easier
to speak your new language, and much more enjoyable too!
Also, you'll also see what Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Miyagi (from The Karate
Kid), and a jazz musician can teach you about improving your memory
… whatever your age or natural ability.

Curious?

I hope so, because this is fun!

Let’s get into it…

A Word On Memory (For

The Sceptics)
(You can skip this section if you want to get right to it!)

Memory and memorisation stir up strong opinions among language

learners, and the problems often begin with semantics.

For example, when I have brought up the topic of memorisation in the

past, a frequent response is something along the lines of: “I don’t
believe in memorisation. The best way to learn vocabulary is naturally –
in context.”

This kind of miscommunication is typical of such discussions, so we

need to start by defining what we’re talking about here.
Increasing your vocabulary means two things…

• Learning new words

• Not forgetting them

Now, there are a myriad of ways to both learn a new word, and then to
not forget it.

One way to do this is to choose new words and memorise them in

isolation through rote learning, flashcards, etc. (Let’s call these memory
techniques.)

On the opposite extreme, you might take a more holistic approach and
try to learn new vocabulary naturally by reading books or listening to
podcasts etc.

Neither approach is better. They’re different.

However, people who favour a more holistic approach will often criticise
so-called “memory techniques”, labelling them unnatural.

This is a misunderstanding.

What I argue in this article is that, however you study – with textbooks,
flashcards, novels, or word lists – the process of memorisation is
broadly the same. (Although it might not feel like it.)
In other words, from the time you encounter a new word, whether
in a book or in a list – you need to take it on the same journey
through your mind to reach the point where you own it, and can
use it naturally in conversation.

The A.R.T. technique you’ll learn in this article is my attempt to

crystallise this process, and identify the core process you need to use
to learn and memorise vocabulary effectively, in a way that can be
happily integrated into any language learning methodology.

Side note: I think the terms memory and memorisation are not the most

appropriate, because they appear not to take account of the rest of the
language learning process. However, whatever the best term, “I have a
bad memory” is the way a novice language learner tends to relate to
the problem of growing their vocabulary. For that reason, I use it here.

What’s Wrong With My

Memory?
I’m willing to bet you recognise the following feelings:

• You spend ages learning new words, but they never stick

• You recognise a word when you see it, but draw a blank when you
need it in conversation

• You have no system for learning words, leaving you feeling like
you’re wasting your time and clutching at straws
…and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re just not very good at
remembering things.

But it’s not the fault of your memory!

Your brain is an impressive piece of kit, and retains enormous amounts

of information on a daily basis.

And you certainly already know plenty of words in your target language
– words you’ve picked up randomly over time through exposure.

The problem is how to learn vocabulary “on demand”, right?

The words you want, when you want them.

So, it’s not a problem with your memory – your memory is capable of
amazing things.

What you lack is a reliable system for harnessing the power of your
memory, and practising in a way that helps you reliably remember
new words and phrases – the ones you want – so you never forget
them.

You also need to be able to practise them in such a way you can recall
them on demand and use them in conversation, so you become more
fluent at the same time.

And that’s easy to do… with a bit of training.

Introducing…

The A.R.T. technique

It comes in three parts [coming soon!], and you're reading part 1 right
now!

• Attention

• Repetition

• Try it out!
Let's get into it…
PART 1: Look For The Vital
Clues, Sherlock!

[Image credit: dynamosquito]

When Sherlock Holmes begins a new case, he starts by looking for

clues.

He examines a crime scene, and he’ll be faced with hundreds of pieces

of information… but only a handful will prove to be important…
And together, those few pieces of vital information paint a picture of
what happened.

Sherlock’s task is to decide what’s important, and what to ignore. That’s

how he solves the most complex cases.

Applying this concept to how to learn vocabulary, the big question you
have to ask, before we even get to the memory stuff, is:

“What are you going to memorise in the first place?”

After all, the English language has 1,025,109 words (2014 estimate)
[LINK]… you certainly don’t need all of them!

One of the keys to making quick progress in a language is: Learn

vocabulary that is relevant to you.

In language learning, some words are going to be more useful to you

than others. Choosing the right words to learn will help you talk about
your job, your interests, or other important things quickly.

This means that you have to be selective about the words you
choose to learn.

With only a finite amount of time to study every day, you can choose to
learn words that are useful… or not.

Don’t overthink this.

As you encounter new words in your target language, ask
yourself: “Which words and phrases are going to be most useful for
me?”

Example
Let’s say you’re learning French, because you want to retire to a village
in the South of France.

You’re still a relative beginner.

• You’re working your way through a popular French textbook, and

in one particular chapter of the book, you learn 10 words you
might need to go through airport security in French.

• Later that week, you attend a language event, and you meet a
friendly French man, who lets you practise your French with him.
As you get to know each other, you encounter 10 words you didn’t
know. (You write them down afterwards, in case you forget!)
The next day, you have a choice…

• Do you learn your textbook vocabulary about airport security?

• Or do you learn the words from the conversation?

The answer should be obvious.

• You will likely never need to speak French in airport security

• Therefore, that vocabulary will be very “low value”

 • Meanwhile, the words from the conversation will almost certainly
come up again – probably in your next chat!

• Therefore, learning them will immediately help you speak French

better
Despite this, most people simply work through their textbook, one
chapter after another, blindly trying to learn everything they encounter.
This is not smart learning.

So, having chosen relevant vocabulary to learn, your next task – like
Sherlock – is to become intimately familiar with your new words…
 Image Credit: 118316968@N08

The A.R.T. Of Memory

What is “A”?

Attention.

Let’s say you’re reading a passage in your textbook, and you’ve

carefully selected a few words you want to learn.

Next, you need to bring your full Attention to each individual word.

Look at the word in depth, read it aloud, and try to
create associations in your mind.

Think:

• Does the word sound similar to another word you know, in any
language?

• How about part of the word? Does part of the word sound like
anything else you know?

• What does the word itself mean to you in your life? (E.g. where did
you first hear it? Who were you with?)

• Does the gender of the word have any effect on its meaning for
you? (E.g. In French, the moon is feminine: la lune. Does this help
you remember it in any way?)
Look for anything you can, however small, that can become a “hook”
for your memory and help you recall it later.

Imagine you’re Sherlock, with your magnifying glass, looking at the

word from every conceivable angle.

Then, expand beyond the word.

Look at the whole sentence and see what other words are there. Like
Sherlock – piece together the crime scene and look for the hidden
story.

Use all the available context to help make sense of the new word:
 • Does the word itself combine with another word you already
know? (e.g. to take a risk)

• Does the sentence itself have any meaning for you – something
that might serve as anchor in your memory? (e.g. Did you take a
big risk once, that you can think of with this word?)
Now, this is not an exact science!

Your memory can be unpredictable, but by bringing your

full Attention to a word, and attacking it from many different angles,
you’ll soon find something your brain will latch on to and remember
later.

Attention is the first part of the process, but it won’t always be enough
by itself.

You’ll still have some more work to do in order to get the new
vocabulary into your long-term memory.

But that’s why we have R. and T.! 

How To Learn Vocabulary In
A Foreign Language

– Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of this special series where you're discover how to

learn vocabulary in a foreign language… my way!

In the first part, we looked at:

• Some common misconceptions about memory

• The first crucial step in memorising vocabulary

• The beginning of the A.R.T. technique

Oh yes, and I use the British spelling for “memorising”, in case you
were wondering!
(You'd be surprised how many emails I get criticising my “spelling
mistakes”!)

In this post, we also see the introduction of Mr. Miyagi… everyone's

favourite linguist!

Let's see what's going on…

Part 2: Wax On, Wax Off

It the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi instils in Daniel an

appreciation for repeating seemingly mundane tasks.
Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in
through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe,
very important.
Among other things, Mr. Miyagi wants to show Daniel the importance of
patience and trust.

No-one becomes great overnight.

When it comes to foreign languages, however, people are prone to

having unrealistic expectations of themselves.

Maybe you’ve been guilty of this, too?

I often get told:

Olly, I just don’t know how you do it. I can’t seem to remember any new
words!

There’s an assumption that some people are naturally good at

remembering things, without having to work much at it.

But it’s quite the opposite.

Every prolific language learner I know works exceptionally hard at their

new languages, every day.

And that goes for learning vocabulary, too.

Take me, for example… I forget every new word I learn. (Almost without
exception.)

Maybe 5, 10, 20 times or more!

But rather than get annoyed or frustrated at how “terrible” my memory

is… I work at it.

Every day.

Wax on, wax off.

Why Repetition Is Important

To Memory
This brings us to the second part of the A.R.T. technique we met in Part
1 of this series:

• “R” = Repetition
Here's why repetition is an essential part of the memory process:

• Your brain naturally forgets things

• Forgetting things is normal – it’s not a problem!

• Because you know you will forget new words, you then need to
put a plan
in place to encounter that word plenty of times
(No-one becomes great overnight, remember?)

You'll notice I used the word plan.

That's right – even if you acknowledge the importance of repetition, that

doesn't mean you'll actually do it!

You're a busy person, with lots of competing commitments.

Systematically repeating new vocabulary probably doesn't happen by
accident in your daily life 🙂

So, a sensible system for remembering new vocabulary needs to plan

for repetition from the outset.

What Does A System For

Repetition Look Like?
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you need to encounter a new
word 10 times for it to stick.

That means you need to plan to review each new word 10 times over a
few days or weeks.

This principle is commonly represented using the Forgetting Curve:

For this to be effective, you need an organised system for reviewing
your vocabulary that you can repeat at will.


What are all the different ways you could do that?

1) You could take a “natural” approach to language learning, where you

simply listen to and read things you enjoy.

This is fun, but you quickly become overwhelmed with new words, and
the same words don’t come up often enough for you to be able to
memorise them.

An effective system needs to help you repeat vocabulary in a more

isolated way to have any hope of remembering it.

2) You could take a specific passage of text and read it over and over.
This is more controlled, because you see your new words over and
over. But the problem with this is that you start to “learn the text”, and
know what’s coming, which is not much help for your memory.

3) You could use activities specifically designed to isolate and practice

new words:

• Make a word list and read it over and over

• Practise using new words with your teacher in conversation

• Write a speech and memorise it

• Make sentences using your new words

These are better, and more targeted.

But the problem you will face is this:



The responsibility for how and when to review each word is yours
alone!


Keeping track of reviewing all your new words can quickly become
overwhelming when you’re juggling 101 other things in your life.
Creating Your Repetition
System
The difficulty of managing your system for Repetition of new words is
what makes flashcard-type apps so popular…

• They show you your chosen words at strategic intervals to help

you remember them

• There’s no need for you to track when each new word is “due for
review”…the software looks after that for you

• All you need to do is show up each day and give your full
Attention to every new word you’re learning
Many people have a love/hate relationship with flashcards, but given
what you’ve learnt so far, using A.R.T., a couple of things should be
clear…

• Attention – this is the deep thinking you bring to each word,

before you even start the review process

• Repetition – this is the system of reviewing words and their

associations, it’s not the memory strategy
Flashcards are popular, but they're not the only way to review your
words.

There are many other powerful systems that ditch technology

altogether, and rely on the power of the mind:
 • The Goldlist Method uses a system of 2-week intervals

• Memory Palaces use a location-based recall system

But, whatever system you use…

Repetition of vocabulary should NOT be an excuse to blindly “hammer

in” new words until you remember them!

Your system should be used to simply:

• Store your new words

• Keep them organised

• Periodically test you on them, so you can reinforce the

associations you’ve made in your mind and commit them to your
long-term memory
Your memory and mind still does the heavy lifting.

The system for Repetition just facilitates it.

Best of all, because this all happens over a period of days or weeks,
your brain has the chance to thoroughly memorise the words on a
subconscious level, and commit them to your long-term memory.

When you come to have conversations in your target language, you’ll

find you can recall the words with great ease, because you’ve
been conditioning your brain over a period of time.
So, next time you catch yourself getting frustrated at forgetting a
word…

Remember… Forgetting is normal!

Mastering anything takes time, and more than one attempt!

Mr. Miyagi knew this.

So, stack the deck in your favour, and plan a reliable system for
repetition of the new words you’re trying to learn.

Once you understand what works for you, the whole memory process
becomes predictable… and that’s the secret for effective, stress-free
language learning!
How To Learn Vocabulary In
A Foreign Language

– Part 3

This is my comprehensive guide to how to learn vocabulary in a foreign

language!

In the first two parts to the series, we looked at:

• Some common misconceptions about memory

• The first crucial step in memorising vocabulary

• Why repetition is the engine of memory

This is the final part of the series, where we'll travel back in time to
discover the secrets to memorising vocabulary and being able to use it
effectively in casual conversation.

Part 3: All That Jazz…

Image credit: https://vimeo.com/174692974

If you happened to walk into a 52nd Street jazz club in New York in the
early 1950s, you would see something pretty amazing…

Dozens of musicians, hanging out and playing, learning to improvise…

quite literally creating modern jazz as we know it, night after night.
It was one of the most energy-fuelled, vibrant music scenes ever seen,
and those musicians were among the most natural and talented
improvisers of all.

But here’s what’s interesting…

Most of those musicians were 100% self-taught, and had no formal

musical training.

How was this possible?

Dedication, enthusiasm and practise. Those guys lived for the music.
They would spend every night in the jazz clubs, playing.

They had no need for formal education…they would just do.

Pretty soon, people started thinking about how to replicate their

success, and so jazz departments in music colleges began springing
up.

Newly appointed jazz professors would teach their students how “the
greats” played – their scales, harmonic devices, and so on.

The students would spend hours in practice rooms, trying to emulate

their heroes.

Except it was never quite enough.

Despite working hard, and knowing all the tricks, most of the new
generation of jazz musicians would never be able to play like the pros
from 52nd Street.

Why not?

The theory wasn’t enough…

Even when coupled with hours of practice.

The musicians from 52nd Street learned to improvise by doing – by

actually performing – night after night.

Sure, they would practise in their free time. And the practice made
them good.

But it was the performing that made them great.

The lesson was clear…

No amount of study and preparation can ever replace experience

from performance itself.

Language Is Performance

So, what on earth does this have to do with language learning?

Well, when you speak a foreign language with someone, you are

performing.

It’s like theatre.

It may not be nice to think of it that way, but that’s exactly what it is.

It’s the moment when all your preparation is put to use…

And, if we are honest, you are often judged by your performance.

This brings us to the “T” in A.R.T., which is…

“Try!”

Yes, it’s a bit trite, but it makes the point clearly…

KEY POINT: Learning words isn't enough. You need to take the
vocabulary you are memorising, and start to use it in conversation
with real people!

You’ve got to get the words out of your head, and into the real world.

When your new vocabulary comes up in a real conversation, you

achieve two things:

• You practise recall, so it becomes easier to remember the word

on demand

• You practise recognition, so you learn to recognise the words

when used by other people
Often, actually practising the things you've learnt in your textbook is
considered an afterthought.

“Oh, I should probably practise those new words a bit!”

But, no!

Real conversation is unpredictable, with lots of ups and downs to

navigate with the other person…
A real conversation is not an easy place to practise using vocabulary
you haven’t mastered yet…

And that’s precisely why you have to do it!

Use It Or Lose It!

Image Credit: http://bit.ly/2iFqbdx

Just like the 52nd Street musicians, trying out their new scales in
performance every night…
The essence of language is, first and foremost, to actually use your
vocabulary.

And that’s why Try is the last part of A.R.T. – you’ve got to try it out!

But it might not feel so easy.

In fact, when you come to speak with someone, you might feel the
words you've studied aren't always available on the tip of your tongue.

(In other words, you can’t remember new vocabulary during the flow of
conversation.)

Understanding how to do this effectively is the last part of the puzzle.

If you know how to not only select and learn vocabulary, but actually
practise it in conversation, the sky’s the limit!

It’s only when you truly start to use new vocabulary that you begin to
master it.

You’ll be able to reliably learn anything you want, and use it confidently

in conversation, recalling words on demand.

This last part can take time, but it all starts by Trying!
How To Try Out Your New
Vocabulary
As we saw earlier, conversations can be a tough place to practise new
vocabulary, especially if you’re talking with strangers and feel under
pressure.

This means you need to Try using your new vocabulary in a way that
doesn’t rely on random opportunities in random conversations.

• Firstly, you need to have a conversation partner or tutor, who you

can turn to regularly to practise speaking

• As part of these sessions, your tutor needs to help

you deliberately practise your new vocabulary
Here’s how:

• If you’ve followed the A.R.T. procedure, you should have selected

the vocabulary you want to memorise, perhaps even creating a list

• Simply send that list of vocabulary to your tutor. Alternatively, show

them the chapter from the textbook you’re studying. Something
that puts you both on the same page

• Tell them you want to practise it!

Then, in the lessons itself, your job is to use that vocabulary as much as
possible in conversation – however basic or unnatural it may be!

The point isn’t to have an elegant conversation

The point is to train yourself to recall the words on demand, and to hear
another person using them.

With a bit of practise and creativity, there are tonnes of ways you can
both play with the words to help you practise them.

It’s a lot of fun!

The only thing you need to do is make sure your tutor knows what you
want to do, and is happy to help you!

Did You Get The Basics

Right?
So, you know it’s important to Try out your new vocabulary!

But, there’s one very important point I want to make here…

Most of the hard work is done before you come to speak.


Yes.

You shouldn’t rely on the speaking to do all the hard “memory work” for
you!

If you’ve done your job with Attention…

If you’re using the right techniques for Repetition…

You will find that Trying out your new vocabulary should be the

really fun part, and the majority of the vocabulary you’ve been studying
will already be on the tip of your tongue!
Conclusion
Every language learner you meet will tell you something different about
the way memory works, and the best way to learn vocabulary in a
foreign language.

I suppose it's only natural, given that our brains are all unique!

However, whatever method you may come across…

Every approach to learning vocabulary ultimately uses the same

foundations.

One way or another, each new word you learn needs to be taken
through the 3 stages of the A.R.T. technique that I've described in this
series, in order to become a permanent part of your active vocabulary:

A word you'll never forget.

I hope you've enjoyed this series!

If you'd like some more hands-on help from me in improving your

memory, you can enrol in my Bulletproof Memory programme –
more info here.