Gobble-Gobble Spanish
Lesson 1: Saying thank you
FOCUSED Learning session #3
Moving from brain mush to solid knowledge...
By the end of the next two learning sessions, you should KNOW these vocabulary words backwards and forwards. Your goal is to not have to think about them, to just be able to instantly and confidently say them and write them when the need arises. To do that, we need to honestly look at what you already know vs. what you need to focus on between now and then.
STEP ONE: TEST YOURSELF
Testing yourself frequently is probably the single most helpful thing you can do when you are learning a language. Sometimes when you test yourself it might feel like you are actually taking a test. Other times, testing yourself might just mean trying to remember what the words are while you wash the dishes.
Here are two ways to test yourself. The first is an activity for testing yourself out loud (although I've provided an answer sheet you can print and use to score yourself). The second is a written technique. Everyone learns differently, but for me, this written technique is the single most helpful thing I can do when I want to learn new vocabulary words.
TESTING YOURSELF OUT LOUD: audio MP3 and answer sheet (just fold it over as soon as you print it so the answers are hidden). (Notes: if you have three different colors of highlighters or colored pencils, you can use them at the end to clearly identify which phrases need a lot of study, a little bit of practice, or that you already know. Also, if you are re-listening to the MP3 later on, skip to the time 1:28 to jump straight to the situations.)
TESTING YOURSELF IN WRITING: This is a technique I call "fold and test." To do it, you fold your vocabulary list down the middle so that all of the words written in English are hidden on the back. Then you get a scrap piece of paper and write down the English meanings for all of the words you know, making a guess or leaving it blank for the words you don't know yet. When you reach the end of the list, you unfold your vocabulary list and use it to check yourself. If you got it right, put a check mark, dot, or smiley face next to the Spanish word that was visible while you were testing yourself. If you missed it, write the correct answer in, study it for about 30 seconds and then continue checking yourself. Once you finish, re-test yourself over the entire list and then check yourself again. Repeat the process of testing yourself, studying the words you missed as you check yourself, and then testing yourself again until you have gotten all of the words correct.
It's normal for it to get harder when you switch to trying to write the Spanish words while only looking at the English meanings, but you repeat the same process there. Look at the English meaning. Try to write the Spanish word. If you don't know at all, leave it blank (I generally only let myself leave it blank once, after that I force myself to write down a guess, even if I know it is wrong). Check yourself, spending a couple seconds studying each word you missed or that you misspelled before moving on to the next word. Repeat the process until you've gotten all of the words correct.
If you want to watch this technique in use, there's a video here. The only thing is, because it's real-time with explanations, it takes much longer to watch than it does to do!
Testing yourself frequently is probably the single most helpful thing you can do when you are learning a language. Sometimes when you test yourself it might feel like you are actually taking a test. Other times, testing yourself might just mean trying to remember what the words are while you wash the dishes.
Here are two ways to test yourself. The first is an activity for testing yourself out loud (although I've provided an answer sheet you can print and use to score yourself). The second is a written technique. Everyone learns differently, but for me, this written technique is the single most helpful thing I can do when I want to learn new vocabulary words.
TESTING YOURSELF OUT LOUD: audio MP3 and answer sheet (just fold it over as soon as you print it so the answers are hidden). (Notes: if you have three different colors of highlighters or colored pencils, you can use them at the end to clearly identify which phrases need a lot of study, a little bit of practice, or that you already know. Also, if you are re-listening to the MP3 later on, skip to the time 1:28 to jump straight to the situations.)
TESTING YOURSELF IN WRITING: This is a technique I call "fold and test." To do it, you fold your vocabulary list down the middle so that all of the words written in English are hidden on the back. Then you get a scrap piece of paper and write down the English meanings for all of the words you know, making a guess or leaving it blank for the words you don't know yet. When you reach the end of the list, you unfold your vocabulary list and use it to check yourself. If you got it right, put a check mark, dot, or smiley face next to the Spanish word that was visible while you were testing yourself. If you missed it, write the correct answer in, study it for about 30 seconds and then continue checking yourself. Once you finish, re-test yourself over the entire list and then check yourself again. Repeat the process of testing yourself, studying the words you missed as you check yourself, and then testing yourself again until you have gotten all of the words correct.
It's normal for it to get harder when you switch to trying to write the Spanish words while only looking at the English meanings, but you repeat the same process there. Look at the English meaning. Try to write the Spanish word. If you don't know at all, leave it blank (I generally only let myself leave it blank once, after that I force myself to write down a guess, even if I know it is wrong). Check yourself, spending a couple seconds studying each word you missed or that you misspelled before moving on to the next word. Repeat the process until you've gotten all of the words correct.
If you want to watch this technique in use, there's a video here. The only thing is, because it's real-time with explanations, it takes much longer to watch than it does to do!
YOUR MISSION FOR BEFORE YOUR NEXT LEARNING SESSION: Use the results of your out loud test and your written test to make reminder signs with the phrases you need to practice the most. Post them at various points in the house where you might use them the most...only as you go to post them, say the phrase and what it means while you walk!
