One of my subscribers of my YouTube Channel asked my the following question.
Hi,
Could you recommend to me the best way to memorising and learning German vocabulary? Because of my lack of vocabulary I am afraid to speak German. I would be very appreciative if you could tell me how I can learn vocabulary and retain it in my memory. Would this be the same with German verbs?
Many thanks!
I think many of us are wondering about this, too. Remembering my school life I cannot imagine today, how we made it to learn so much vocabulary just by sitting down with a list and learning it by heart. But it must have worked out somehow, because I can remember some words 
.
Today with the internet at hand, there are several ways to build up your vocabulary. So let’s have a look at some of them.
- Websites that offer online Vocabulary drills via virtual flashcards. They basically consist of a huge database of vocabulary most of them even with mp3 files attached, so you are not only learning how to write them correctly, but you learn the correct pronunciation, too.
One of the first websites which offered this kind of service is WordChamp.com. You can find vocabulary from many different languages there and they offer a huge variety of different drills. It started as a 100% free site, now they added a payed feature. But the basic usage is still for free.
Another great site for vocabulary drill with flashcards, especially when you learn german, is Leo.org. The basis is an online dictionary maintained by a community. If you sign up for a free account, you can build your own vocabulary lists and have drills there, too.
- Social learning websites offer a platform where people can meet from around the globe and practice language exchange. They consist of a part, where you learn on your own with flascards and a part where you interact with other members. This can be correcting each others texts or practicing your conversional skills by chatting in chat rooms with native speakers.
The biggest community of this kind is LiveMocha.com. It has over 1 million members and it is still growing. You can enroll for a course there, so basically a vocabulary drill plus writing and speaking parts, for different languages. The writing and speaking part will be corrected by your fellow members.
Another growing community with the same aim is Babbel.com.
- Language Programs by Broadcast companies. In Europe the main broadcast companies have the task given by the state to provide information to everyone. This way, you can find quite good language learning programs on their websites, too.
For Germany the site is DW-World.de. They offer a variety of podcasts and other learning material along with vocabulary building through news articles.
For Great Britain it is of course the site BBC.com with a big choice of exercises at different levels and topics. They even offer language courses in other european languages.
- Video lessons. In the age of web 2.0 and digital lifestyle there are not only guys who experiment with Coke and baking powder or Britney Spears supporters shooting videos. In the past six month several teachers started to put free video lessons online. As you might know, I am one of them.
You can find my videos on DeutschHappen.com but you will also find other great teachers like Alexander Arguelles who makes great videos about learning theories or Prof Jason who makes fantastic videos about portugese and spanish.
- Genki learning. This is the “weirdest” way of learning vocabulary, at least for me as an European but I have to admit that it really works. The theory is that you learn better, when the vocabulary is being sung. It’s like the worst 80ies pop song that you heard in the radio and then you cannot get it out of your head anymore. As you can hear, you don’t even have to have talent to sing but I bet you learnt something.
Looking forward to your comments.
Kirsten
Related Posts:
