Study Skills and How to Improve

Study Skills and How to Improve

Why should I learn a foreign language?

Tips for Studying at home

Finding an atmosphere that will work best for you. Study with a friend or alone. Maybe you work better without music vs. with music.

Reward yourselves now and then. Don't work to long before you take a break and clear your mind.

Learn new vocabulary words. This is very important to a learning a foreign language. Here are some suggestions: keep a practice and writing folder, make flash cards, lists or categorize topics.

Sentences: Create new sentences that you want to remember with new vocabulary. Label thing in your house you want to remember. Repeat the new vocabulary aloud in front of a mirror. Write the new vocabulary over and over. Record the new word on a tape recorder.

Keep up with the new material and learn new verbs.

Don't just study the night before the test. Be prepared and start a few days before.

Don't just review new material, review past material. This will help the building process of learning.

How to benefit from in-class time.

Don't compare your progress against that of others. No two students progress at the same rate in language. Remember, learning language is a process under construction.

Don't be afraid to ask questions in class. Come to class prepared by reviewing the material from last class.

Listen carefully.

Don't always translate everything from English to French or Spanish. This is using short term memory. Learn what words mean and memorize them.

When working in your group try to speak only French or Spanish. If you do not know the translation of a word use other words to describe it to your classmates. Maybe they can help.