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If you’ve browsed through some of our language posts, you will have noticed some tips on how to begin memorizing and absorbing information about a new language. Somewhere in this mess of organized clutter, there is a post about how a simple phrasebook can help you delve into your language of choice. How does one use a language book to begin learning a language? Most people read it….who would’ve thought?!? I think it is more beneficial to building a usable vocabulary if instead of reading your language book, you obsess about it. This obsession is a very simple process that can be broken down into multiple steps. After an introduction of these steps, you will see an example of the structure in action using our preferred German text, German: A Self-Teaching Guide (Second Edition).
1. Treat every word that you encounter in the foreign language as if it’s the most important thing you could possibly learn and the secret to the mysteries of the universe. If it doesn’t feel that important, continue to meditate on it until it does. One method to do this can be found on our post “German Verbs: A Beginning.” This includes all words found on the front and back covers, the table of contents, etc.
2. Use the new word at least 100 times after obsessing about it. If this is done equally obsessively, you can accomplish the feat in under two minutes. Sound crazy? Let’s see who has a larger vocabulary of random words in foreign languages, me or you…. You can use the word mixed into your native language, or you can combine it with other words you know in your foreign language of choice.
Only two steps! Are they effective? Check this out. If one has been using the above-mentioned German textbook and only know words they have encountered up to page iv….that’s right, page iv….they can already begin to communicate. In the table of contents they would have absorbed the headings Sprechen leicht gemacht, Wiederholung, and Wortschatz. (Check out old blog posts or google translate or something if you need a refresher on this). Combining this with some other words found on the front cover, watch how this works.
“So how is your Deutsch coming along?”
“I still haven’t experienced Sprechen leicht gemacht.”
“Well, maybe you need to increase you Wortschatz.”
“Another Wiederholung of that word will help my Deutsch Wortschatz.”
“In fact, Wiederholung of Wortschatz will help bring Sprechen leicht gemacht.”
Is this crude? Of course… Are these real German words used in an intelligible manner that begin to ingrain the new vocabulary into your mind? Yep! Listen, if you obsess about every word you encounter in a language book and play games like this, you will be amazed how much of the foreign language you are speaking by the time you actually get into the numbered pages.
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