Recent studies found that learning grammar is less effective to start using language than learning vocabulary. Yes, you will be making mistakes, but we already decided not to worry about that.
How many words I need to learn?
This blog post (about how many words you need to learn for Spanish) links to a study, which found that 1000 words allows you to understand almost 90% of regular speech and 3/4 of non-fiction writing.
Basic English is simplified English which has just 850 words and is used in Simple English Wikipedia (written in simpler English than main wikipedia). 200 of them have a picture.
Special English used by Voice of America has just 1500 words (warning: huge 130 page PDF, if link goes bad, it is "Learn English Word Book" at the page bottom. Older text version, has 44 pages. Sadly, it has no pronunciation guide.
But learning words is boring?
Yes, it is the hardest part of learning a language: learning enough words so you can start reading and enjoying the learning.
Anki
Anki is spaced repetition program for computer or phone - and you definitely want to try it. Start with PC version and use shared card decks to get you started. (You need to create free login to see them). There are shared card decks to help you learn English for speakers of almost any language. Google documentation in your own language if English info is too hard.
You need to install Anki to your computer, add card decks, install Anki on your phone, and sync phone with Anki website.
Anki picks few new words and few from previous days. You do not type translation, just pick one of the options:
- forgot (word will be repeated in 10 minutes)
- ok (word will be repeated in increasing intervals, anki shows when)
- hard (word will be repeated in shorter than normal interval)
- easy (word will be repeated after much longer interval)
Anki constantly recalculates next time interval according how hard is to remember each word for you.
If a deck tries to teach you a word you consider useless (say, giraffe), you can delete that card. Or to learn it later, mark it "Easy" every time you see it, so it will get repeated with long intervals. After few months, when you learned all deck, these "easy" words will come back, and you can decide to learn them now.
If nothing else, trust me on this one: if you have smart phone and want to learn vocabulary, you want Anki. Use Anki anytime you have just few minutes of free time, to learn few more words. And after just few days, you are hooked, because you can see for yourself it really works. I am so obsessed with it that I sometimes open Anki before I walk somewhere to just get 2-3 new words, so I can repeat those words while walking.
Using it on desktop computer is possible but less convenient because you have to dedicate for it sit-down time, which is more precious. But is equally effective.
When using Anki on both computer and phone, make sure sync your learning with website from one device before using the other one. If website can see different learning progress, one of the information about learning progress will be overwritten and lost. So before and after using PC, sync your phone.
It would be great if someone (with more time I have) created Anki card deck with words of Basic English, or VOA Special English.
Pimsleur Audio Courses
I really like Pimsleur audio courses. If you can get them in your local library, it is time well spent. If you have to pay for them, they are quite expensive. But as Amrericaans say, you get what you paid for.
Pimsleur course is audio only. Pimsleur method also uses spaced repetition and focuses on learning language "organic" way: a tourist talking to natives. Asks a question, pauses for second so you can answer it yourself, and gives correct answer (so you can compare if you were right). Very effective. I highly recommend Pimsleur, if you can afford it (or get it for free).
To use it most effectively, I bought traditional MP3 player with buttons (not a smart phone). Cheap obsolete MP3 player is good enough, because you will need just few lessons on it at any time. So I can go for a walk, listen to my lesson, and pause/restart it without looking, my finger never moving away from pause/play button.
Duolingo
You may consider duolingo on your phone. I tried to use it for my study of Spanish but abandoned it soon. It is easy to start and it is like a game. But some games are too easy (not learning much) and some require typing. Phone is really bad for typing. So for me it feels like waste of time. I think that with Anki I can learn more. First sentence duolingo was trying to teach me is "El gato lee el libro". "Cat reads the book". It has correct grammar, but I felt it is waste of time. I want to learn full sentences related to common situations, like Pimsleur does, or read something interesting instead.
Learning games
There are many websites with learning games. I prefer no video or flash, pages faster to load, like this: ManyThings.org word games and vocabulary quizzes. I don't have time to invest much effort exploring and evaluating them (and others), but if you want to share your favorites, I will add them here.
No phone, no computer
If you don't have the phone to run Anki, try the method I used years ago (before Internet): Buy a small pocket dictionary. Not too big - 5000 words is more than enough. Learn the method for pronunciation it uses. Then start reading any articles you can find, like Simple Wikipedia above. Print them.
Every time you you need to find a word in the dictionary, make a small dot next to it (in dictionary). If you get second dot, you can see you forgotten the word you found before, so spend few seconds trying to remember it. If you have 3 or 4 dots, you have a problem. Wrote such 3-dot words on separate piece of paper to carry with you. Return to them few times a day for few days.
This method makes sure you learn only words you need to read articles you like, so you are not wasting time on useless (for your interests) words.
Learning first 1000 words is the hardest part. Once you learn basic words, you can start reading articles in the Simple English, and learning more words is much more fun.
What is your experience? Do you have other tips?
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