Vocabulary and Intensive Reading Strategies

Vocabulary Learning

• Strengthening word recall involves repetition and connecting the word's form with its meaning.
• Start learning new vocabulary with small packs of cards (15-20 words) and gradually increase the pack size.
• Space repetition for better learning by reviewing words after a few minutes, an hour, a day, a week, and then a couple of weeks.
• Use depth-of-processing techniques like the keyword method for difficult vocabulary.
• Avoid putting words with similar spellings or meanings in the same pack to minimize interference.
• Vary the order of words in the pack.
• Saying the word aloud can help with long-term memory.
• Writing phrases or sentences containing the vocabulary words helps with learning, especially for verbs.

Intensive Reading

• Use dictionaries to clarify unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Repeated readings focusing on different aspects of the text (vocabulary, multiword units, function words) can be effective.
• Repeated attention with changing focus helps with language learning.

Delayed Copying

• Read a text (about 200 words) and try to memorize and copy sections without looking back at the text.
• This improves handwriting skills and memory for phrases.

Spelling Practice

• Practice spelling unfamiliar words in a different writing system by writing them down and then covering the words.
• Try to recall the words from memory and then check your work.
• Repeat this process until each line is filled.

Pronunciation

• Understanding and practice are crucial for clear pronunciation.
• Focus on sounds that are different between your native language and the target language.
• Practice difficult sounds in simple syllables.
• Learn about articulatory phonetics, which explains how sounds are made.

Grammar

• Grammar can be acquired through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Writing and speaking can lead to noticing gaps in knowledge.
• Taking chances with phrases and constructions can be a risky but effective way to learn grammar.
• Deliberate grammar learning is important, but it should not take up more than a quarter of your language learning time. Use substitution tables, get feedback on spoken and written production, do dictation activities, and learn about important grammatical features.
• Fluency development can also help with grammar by providing extensive exposure to the language.

Vocabulary Learning

• Similar to grammar, learning vocabulary involves meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development.
• Deliberate vocabulary learning can involve studying unknown words (use bilingual word cards), using dictionaries, getting feedback, and learning vocabulary strategies (guessing from context, using word cards, analyzing words into word parts, dictionary use).

Four Language Skills

• The four strands principle can be applied to the learning of all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• The major differences between learning these skills come from the focus on input (listening and reading) or output (speaking and writing), and how you approach deliberate learning.

Deliberate Learning

• Deliberate learning is only one strand of a balanced language learning approach.
• It should account for no more than a quarter of your total language learning time.

Explore effective techniques for strengthening vocabulary recall and enhancing reading comprehension. This quiz covers methods like spaced repetition, keyword techniques, and the importance of using dictionaries for unfamiliar words. Test your understanding of these strategies for improved language learning.