Recommended Reading
We all know how difficult it is to memorize a list of words that have no connection with each other. Yet vocabulary is an essential part of learning a foreign language.
To maximize and retain words in your brain, try to list 10 words - or as I call it, the 10 -words game.
Say you are waiting at the bus stop: la strada (the road), la fermata (the bus stop), l'uomo (the man), la donna (the woman), il ragazzo (the boy), la pioggia (the rain), la neve (the snow), il freddo (the cold).
Another 10 for the second time around:
l'autista (the driver), il numero di autobus sbagliato (not your bus), l'autobus in panne (the broken down bus), la folla (crowd of people), l'ora di punta (rush hour), i tacchi a spillo (stiletto shoes), le minigonne (miniskirt), l'uomo in giacca e cravatta (business man); 10 minuti (ten minutes); la panchina ( the bench).
If you take the bus every day, you will soon learn a lot of Italian! Try to continue the game by making sentences:
Ho preso l'autobus per miracolo (I just managed to get on the bus); L'autista non si e' fermato anche se c'era una donna anziana che gli ha fatto segno di aprire la porta (The driver did not stop even though an old woman was trying to get him to open the door)...
of course this is not easy. Our memory relies on the internet for any sort of information. A dictionary is a rare item in students' shelves nowadays when we can find the word required on google with a click. But then we also forget them in a second. So what is the best way? Every student says memorizing words is a challenge. you do it when you are young much better, etc. However I am confident that words are learnt better when they reoccur in reading passages for isntance. With the right association, curiosity and application, it becomes a lot easier. A bit like a game, in fact.
Buona fortuna!
