Mastering Vocabulary Learning: Routines

Before I started university, I had no system for learning vocabulary efficiently. I would usually just write down a list of words and their translation, and hope for the best to magically memorize them. This lack of a system soon turned out to be insufficient for my studies, and so I tried out several techniques to find one that helped me. Not too long ago, I finally found a method that works well for me: digital flashcards.

Prior to making flashcards, I analyze the words I need to study thoroughly: I look up explanations, synonyms, common collocations and, most importantly, example sentences. My favorite tools include Vocabulary.com and the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, and for further collocations, I have recently started using COCA. Unfortunately, collecting all this information is very time-consuming, which is definitely a drawback. However, in the long term, I benefit from it immensely, as I really get to know the contexts the words are likely to appear in and therefore get a feeling for how to use them properly.

Based on this analysis, I put together digital flashcards in a computer program called anki. It works just like physical flashcards: you put one piece of information on one side of the card, and put its definition on its on the other side. I usually type in collocations or phrases, rather than a single word, on the front side, and use synonyms or English explanations for the flip side. For words I don’t know how to pronounce, I also insert audio files, most often taken from the online pronunciation guide Forvo.com. After having typed in my list of words and their explanations, I can start studying these cards right away.

There are several reasons why I prefer anki over other flashcard programs. Firstly, anki exists both as a computer program and as an app, and will synchronize changes and learning progress across the devices it is used on. It also lets you modify the way you review cards: you can either simply look at the answer after guessing it in your head, or force yourself to manually type in the answer and compare it to the original solution. However, what I like the most about anki is that after answering a question, you have to rate how well you actually knew the answer. Based on these ratings, the program will ask you cards you were not so sure about more often and cards you knew for sure less often. It generally restricts the number of cards you revise per session to a realistic amount, but also provides a “cram mode” for emergencies. I think all these features really make a difference as I feel I am learning more efficiently now than before I started using anki.

In my experience, what really counts when learning vocabulary is discipline. It’s the true key to success. It is crucial to start studying early enough and to do it regularly; otherwise, there is simply not enough time to get it into your long-term memory. Unfortunately, discipline is not something a computer program can provide me with, so this is one factor I still have to work on. However, if I keep my motivation up, I think I will get better in learning vocabulary, especially now that I finally have an efficient method of doing it.

Revisited: Me as a Language Learner

Dear Fiona, 

Compared to what I wrote about being a language learner last year, there aren’t that many differences in comparison to the learner I am today. Obviously, strengths and weaknesses don’t change overnight, but I had hoped that there would be a bigger difference compared to my thoughts from last year. 

I’m still mighty proud about my passive language skills such as listening comprehension, and I would still consider them as my strength, whereas I’m still stuck with my low self-esteem when it comes to talking. I just can’t get out of my comfort zone and, for example, do pronunciation exercises on my own. Especially in Russian, my second foreign language, talking out loud is something I’m afraid of, while writing a text spontaneously is not difficult for me, even if it might be full of mistakes. Sadly, I feel that the fear of embarrassing myself has become even worse since last year. However, generally, my strengths and weaknesses are still the same. 

When it comes to studying, I luckily have found a good way that works for me: writing texts in which new structures and vocabulary are used. This way I get a context in my head, which helps me memorize these better. Unfortunately, I still tend to procrastinate so much that I’m usually left with great amounts of new information that is nearly impossible to get into my head in a short time.  

Therefore, the real threat to studying efficiently is my laziness. This is actually the most crucial thing that I need to change to become a successful language learner: get off my lazy bottom and reach my full potential! 

- Alexandra

Restart!

(illustration: Ericka Lugo)

Hello everyone! I guess this is a "Welcome Back!" from the summer holidays and a fresh start into a new semester. Are you motivated? I am motivated! For how long? I don't know! Maybe it's also just the coffee talking!

Over the long but beautiful summer, I had enough time to actually comprehend that I had not passed the first year of university. Naturally, it made me sad at the beginning but now I am almost enthusiastic about starting over again with the experiences I made last year in mind. Everything is less frightening without the worries of being a first-time-student, and being already used to the mess university is sometimes makes everything much easier.

During our first English lesson today, I tried to remember what my expectations for university were last year. I remember that I thought that English would be a piece of cake, because I always had good grades in school and never had to study. Now I feel embarrassed for telling Fiona once in one of our first lessons last year that I would be able to study vocabulary by just looking in which context they were used in a sentence. I also remember feeling quite self-confident for having written my first homework in a few minutes on a, in my opinion, quite a high level. And also how that self-confidence dropped significantly when I got the corrected version back. I also had to think about having started studying for the first exam only a few days before it took place, and how desperate I got the more time passed. And how disappointed and disillusioned I was when I got a barely positive grade for it. So basically, I went from being on a high horse to hoping for a passing grade.

I think the most important thing you get to know in university is your individual way of studying efficiently and the courage to try out different ways of doing it. There is no general recipe for anybody and there's rarely one ultimate solution. For example, how to study new vocabulary is still quite a mystery to me. However, writing summaries of lectures in my own words proved to be the best way of dealing with lots of information. I also had to realize that over all the ways to study, time is the most important factor. And that procrastination gets even worse the less time you have on your hands. I think that learning how to keep information in your head in the long term is crucial for passing university. It seems quite obvious, but that studying is not just about keeping busy with the subjects in any way was quite an enlightenment.

Maybe I am not in the right position to provide wisdom to first-time-students because it is not that long ago that I was one myself. But these are a few things I wish people had told me a year before. Well, maybe people did tell me but I didn't understand. But now having that in mind, it should become a good semester for me. For now, I am looking forward to it.

Culture Days: America and Ireland

source: society6

Last week must have been quite exciting for most of us students. Not only was it ridiculously hot, this week was also filled with final exams and sudden attacks of unexpected studying. But the past week was also spent with preparations for our Culture Days, which would be a two-days event filled with English students happily talking about aspects of their teacher's culture. In our case, we had a really nice mixture of Irish and American culture presentations.

I was really nervous before I had my own presentation about Bobby Sands. Normally, I'm not scared of talking in front of an audience, but I hadn't held such a presentation for a long time. I didn't even had the heart to go to the first bunch of presentations on Wednesday afternoon, because I felt like I wasn't prepared enough. In the end, I was rehearsing my presentation in front of my cats for about two hours straight, in which process my voice almost went missing. Luckily, when I arrived at university to hold my presentation, I was still in rehearse-mode and so I could go fluently through my text without spending too much thoughts on how nervous I was.

After my presentation was done, I finally could let go and watch these of my fellow students. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch as many as I wanted because I had two exams the two following days, but I at least managed to watch a few more than required. These were:

Ireland: From Emigration to Immigration by Alexa L.
Abortion Law in Ireland by Andrina D.
Video Games in Ireland by Artur S.
The Irish Film Industry by Dunja D.

Hill of Tara by Nadine D.

This is Friz! by Sandra L.

Languages of Irish Travelers by Kristina T.

Poetry in Irish Schools by Cornelia K.

The Influence of James II on the Irish by Julia B.

The Integration of Islam in Ireland by Alexander H.

Witchcraft in Ireland by Sabrina K.

Comics Books and Superheroes by Lucie B.

Amelia Earhart and Bessie Coleman by Orsolya C.

Hurricane Preparedness by Claudia S.

For our final oral exam we have to pick five of these topics. The ones I chose are the following:

Video Games in Ireland (by Artur S.)

I knew I would pick this topic for my oral exam as soon as I saw the title because I like playing video games. However, my knowledge about the history of videos games is only based on the "big ones" (America and Japan) and so I was most surprised to hear that Ireland's contributions aren't that unimportant in this industry.

The Irish Film Industry (by Dunja D.)

I really liked Dunja's presentation about the Irish film industry because she managed to give us a brief overview without attacking us with too many year numbers and hundred of names. She really waked my interest.

This is Friz! (by Sandra L.)

I simply had not heard of Fritz before, and I really want to talk about art.

Poetry in Irish Schools (by Cornelia K.)

Cornelia's presentation was my most favorite. She provided perfect examples and explained everything in a very calm and direct matter. It also made me think about how Austria's schools deal with poetry at a young age.

Witchcraft in Ireland (by Sabrina K.)

I like the mysterious vibe that comes from this topic. I'm happy that Sabrina chose to focus on two particular examples rather than explaining witchcraft from a dry historical view.

I think our Culture Days were very exciting and great. It was just too bad that it took place in a week full of exams. This took our chance of relaxing and just watching the presentations. However, I really hope that we will do something like that soon again or that at least the next SUK2-class will organize it as well. The whole event was the perfect opportunity to get to know these countries' culture better.