I’ve been trying to get a decent system going for my vocabulary learning over the past few days. I’m going with a flashcard system, based on the Leitner system. I think flashcards are effective when you’re disciplined about using them (which I haven’t been in the past, much to my annoyance). I’m running into a tricky problem though, one which I hope to get some feedback on.
The problem revolves around words that, when translated, can have a wide range of meanings. I don’t mean different shades of meaning, such as with the German word umfassend: it can come across as thorough, comprehensive, encompassing and quite a few others. However, when you get down to it, the words are all expressing a similar concept. Instead, I’m talking about words that have blatantly different meanings attached to them. The example that brought up this issue for me was this word from the Word of the Day piece at About German. Here’s the entry:
die Vertretung (-en) replacement, substitute (teacher), deputy; representation (of firm, agency, etc.); agency, office
So, this single word can be a replacement, a substitue teacher, or a deputy; it can also be representation of a firm or agency, or, it can express not the representation of a firm or agency, but an agency or office! The issue, of course, is this: what do I learn? All of it? A substitute teacher is quite a bit different from an agency or office (and even a deputy is quite a bit different from a substitute!) If I opt to learn all of the meanings in one go (as opposed to learning the different meanings as I come in contact with them in reading or conversation), do I make a separate flashcard for each meaning, or do I make one flashcard for die Vertretung and attach all of the English meanings? That sounds like a path for disaster, I think.
What’s your take? How do you handle this problem?
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I, too, am very bad about sticking to using my flashcards. Which means that when I do make them, I have to learn with them quickly. That means the association has to be made well and quickly.
I find flashcards are good for reinforcing what you’ve learned but could forget any day now. They’re not so good for learning items at random. So use the flashcard to remind yourself not of mere words, but of what you can do with them. If you’re getting your words as you read, include the sentence you came across them in and use that meaning – and only that meaning. If you’re learning a wordlist, create sentences of your own, however simple, that show the word used in the situation you’d want to use it in. Again, stick with the meaning you need for that purpose.
There are some people who can learn all ten meanings on the back of that flashcard, and bully for them. But most don’t, which is why serious language learners always wind up making their own flashcards instead of using the comprehensive, all-inclusive ready-made sets.
Using handmade flashcards, you can both document and reinforce the stock of vocabulary you are learning by virtue of your contact with the language. Too much info on the cards and you’re just documenting your ability to copy from a dictionary. And setting yourself up for frustration.
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Thanks for the comment, Geoff. I think you’re right. For a while now, I’ve been trying to put half a dozen various meanings on one card. I’ve found that it just doesn’t work for me. I’m going to follow your advice and make separate cards for each various meaning of the word, and generally only make cards for the meanings I’m going to be using.
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Geoff is right ,you can’t copy the dictionary if you want to learn something.Most of the meanings of a word like Vertretung ,you won’t find so frequently, I suggest selecting the words you think you will.
The one thing that still troubles me is why everyone seems to resort to flashcards ,why are they any better than writing the words on a piece of paper.I mean with my care ,they would easily get lost ,or dog-eared(I wanted to say muzzled hehe )
In my opinion it’s cool to see a precedence in your words ,their chronology.
Do you have enough space to write sentences to reflect the word better on flashcards?
Maybe you already did an article about this ,so I’ll go find it
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languagelearner: Nope, no article on that yet, but that’s a good idea.
I think many people prefer flashcards because they’re small enough that you can literally flip them over to test yourself. With a sheet of paper with a long list of words, it’s a bit more difficult to do; you have to cover up all the words, etc. Also, when you uncover one word, you generally uncover ALL the meanings, and your eyes will invariably fall on those meanings. When you get to the words further down the list when testing yourself, do you REALLY know the word meanings, or do you know it simply because you read it just a moment ago?
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