Vocabulary acquisition is an essential part of language learning. Individual words and phrases are the building blocks of communication. Words greatly enhance your communication.
How many words you need for basic, effective communication is up for debate. It depends on the language and the kinds of topics you want to talk about.
Opinions differ quite a bit. At one end of the spectrum, for example in German, 2000 words can get you started pretty well and provide a good base to build on. [Langenscheidt: Basic German Vocabulary] Near the other end stand 10,000 words as the native vocabulary mastered by a five-year-old who is ready to start school. The bottom line is that you need build your vocabulary!
Dictionaries
First, keep a dictionary handy. It's the most basic tool for any language learner. You'll use it for quickly looking up a new foreign word you come across, for double-checking the meaning or the spelling of a word or phrase, to search for verb conjugations, or for finding the target language translation of words in your own language.
You'll also want to see common expressions where a particular word shows up. For example, Ultralingua (a sophisticated multilingual translation dictionary) offers these features, and, in addition, you can download iPhone or iPad apps. Having a dictionary on your mobile is really convenient when you're traveling. Such apps contain much more information than the mini-dictionaries I used to travel with.
An excellent online dictionary which I use a lot, even on my phone, is Word Reference. The dictionary is free but uses ads for revenue.
Learning how to use a dictionary takes a little practice. For example, some words have more than one translation, or are used only in specific contexts. Or, some words have associations that you want to be aware of before you use them.
Here are FOUR more tools for building your vocabulary:
Flashcards
Flashcards are a great way to create a base of words and phrases, and you can keep using them to continue building your vocabulary.
Resources abound and they come in all kinds of configurations: Words + Translation; Picture + Written Word; Picture + Written Word + Sound, etc. Some of the programs incorporate spaced repetition, some allow you to add your own vocabulary. A popular flashcard program, to name one, is Anki.
Language Exercises & Games
Good language exercises and fun games can take vocabulary to the next level. Besides learning new vocabulary, you can practice verb tenses and conjugations, drill subject and object pronouns, learn to build sentences, etc. Besides our own program GamesForLanguage, Mindsnacks is definitely a fun program to try.
Reading with Translation
Once you have a grasp of basic vocabulary and grammar, reading has to be the best way to keep on building vocabulary. When you read a longer text, the same words and phrases will often come up several times.
Depending on your venue, you can get a translation with a click, or by checking a printed translation. With time, you'll get better at guessing the meaning from the context. A versatile program like LingQ provides what cofounder Steve Kaufmann calles "compelling content" - a library of texts and tools for learning.
You can also read foreign language newspapers online and use Google Chrome's Language Immersion feature.
Listening: Podcasts, Audio Books, and Videos
Understanding a stream of foreign words may be the hardest skill to learn (besides speaking fluently). The trick is to listen to the same audio many times. Your goal is to hear the words and phrases distinctly, and not as a stream of gibberish.
When listening to foreign language audios, you'll keep hearing words you know. With time and some repetition, you'll start to put them into your long-term memory. But you'll also hear new words and by hearing them in context, you'll learn to understand them.
Learning new vocabulary can be a bit of a chore. The key is to use a variety of tools and make a kind of game out of it. Have Fun!
Disclosure: We have no financial relationship with any of the programs that are linked in this blog post.
Following up on my previous blog post Everybody speaks English anyways. Really?, and prompted by our visit to the battle field of Hastings (see left), I was wondering about the French Connection.
After all, the English forefathers had to get used to the French tongue for several hundred years – and there are many similarities between both languages.
A Momentous Event
Our visit to the battlefield in Hastings, England, and to the Tower of London refreshed some forgotten school knowledge.
It also reminded us that the Norman invasion and the victory of Duke William II of Normandy over the English army under King Harold II on October 14, 1066, represented a momentous event during the height of the Middle Ages.
The victory of William the Conqueror, how he is now mainly known, not only resulted in the French-speaking Normans' control of England, but also had tremendous influence on the English language. By imposing the French language on his court and administration, William caused many French words to become part of the English language.
While the reign of the Normans may have begun with the victory at Hastings, it took much more for them to control the towns and the country side.
William immediately set out to take charge by introducing a series of laws, and building fortifications and castles. One of them, the Tower of London has a long and interesting history.
The White Tower, on the right, gave the entire castle its name and was begun by William already by the end of 1066. It served as royal residence, armory, treasury, as well as home of the Royal mint and the Crown Jewels.
Its location on the Thames and its fortifications which were expanded over the centuries gave it a commanding position to control London and the Thames river traffic.
While French was the language of the nobility in England for about two centuries, English continued to be spoken by the common people.
After King John lost Normandy in 1204, the use of French started to decline and English again became dominant by the beginning of the 14th century. Further, in 1362 Parliament passed a law requiring all lawsuits to be conducted in English.
True and False Cognates
Laura K. Lawless on about.com estimates that about 10,000 French words were adopted into the English language during the nearly 300 years following the Norman invasion, and that ”English speakers who have never studied French already know 15,000 French words.” She also compiled a list of 1,700 words – true cognates – that you can access with the Vrais Amis link.
There are also plenty of “false cognates.” When learning another language it's often quite helpful to also study the false cognates. Not knowing their meaning in the foreign language can lead to embarrassing moments. You can take a look at the Faux Amis, the French-English false cognates .
Learn French Easily
For English speakers who want to learn French, there are many online resources available today. (For obvious reasons we like our own French 1 course.) In one of our next posts we'll discuss various online programs that let you improve your vocabulary and/or learn French (or other languages).
And - just maybe - a reminder of the close connection between English and French will motivate some English speakers to give French another try.
FREE French Language Games and Courses
And, if you want to learn or practice some French, just click on the FREE (no registration required!) French Language Games, see how much you already know, and check back from time to time for new ones and, please, SHARE us with your friends.
And don't forget: You can practice French online for FREE with our 36-Scene travel story "Daniel en France" HERE.
Like Gamesforlanguage, Lingohut is also completely free with over 100 vocabulary lessons!
Other Language Learning Resources
We recently discovered a very effective app for learning French: MosaLingua. There are currently iOS and Android Apps, with a MosaLingua Desktop App for PC, Mac and Linux users just launched. You can also try out the "Lite" version for FREE! We like the apps a lot and are currently using them ourselves. Read Ulrike's Review HERE.
Disclosure: The MosaLingua links above are to a partner's program with revenue sharing, should you subscribe or buy. We would receive a small payment, which helps us to keep our site ad free.
Many Americans and for that matter many natives of other English speaking countries (Ireland, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) often feel that the effort of learning another language is just not worth it: “Everybody speaks English anyway” is a not uncommon excuse.
How about you, when you travel abroad?
Essential Vocabulary
The fallacy of this notion becomes evident as soon as your travels take you off the beaten path. Knowing at least a few basic words becomes a matter of necessity when you’re looking for the bathroom or a street or place to stay.
Admittedly, traveling with a guided tour group as part of an all inclusive package greatly reduces such necessity. But the inability to communicate in the local language may also limit your travel experiences.
Several years ago, we traveled to China as part of a professional delegation. We had prepared ourselves diligently with audio courses (though for obvious reasons, learning to read and write Chinese was way beyond our efforts to prepare for the trip).
Our audio lessons had included Chinese numbers, and thus we were able to “negotiate” in Mandarin during our visits to various markets. We also found other basic vocabulary very handy, when asking for directions, requesting a restaurant bill, or asking how much something costs.
A snake in a bottle on the Li River
Later on during a boat cruise down the Li River (see photo left) we encountered a travel group from Rome.
After we had quickly determined that our Italian was much better than their English, we had a long and very enjoyable Italian conversation with two of the couples.
We told them about our recent stay in Rome, they told us about a trip they took to New York and plans to visit the Grand Canyon sometime in the future. Having the vocabulary to talk about travels was a huge asset.
We were all deliberating whether to dare a drink from an ominous looking bottle (see photo) with a dead snake in it, but for good reasons we finally decided against it.
Which illustrates another point: When traveling you may meet people who will also speak your second (or third) language. And for many people who travel, the ability to communicate in a language other than their own will create memories that last.
“Assassins et Assassinés”
Our recent trip to England just reminded me again how much more you can get out of traveling when you understand (and ideally also speak) the local language.
While sitting in a pub or joining a walking tour through a city, you pick up tidbits of information that would elude you otherwise. Obviously, it was easy for us in London where we learned much on David Tucker’s (the co-owner of “London Walks” and author of “London Stories”) “Shakespeare’s and Dickens’s London Walk.”
However, several years ago we joined a French tour at the Père Lachaise cemetery (see photo left) in Paris. Our guide was the well-known “Nécrosophe” Bertrand Beyern and we visited the graves of “Assassins et Assassinés” (Assassins and Assassinated ones).
Not only was the walk fascinating and funny, but we learned a lot about Paris history and events at the same time. Not to mention that Bertrand’s stories nicely stretched our French vocabulary. Both the London and Paris walks made us realize how differently humor is expressed in each language.
Which brings me to the conclusion: Not everybody speaks English, and the most memorable events of a trip often don't happen in English, they happen in a foreign language!
Vocabulary acquisition is an essential part of language learning. Individual words and phrases are the building blocks of communication. Words greatly enhance your communication. 
Language Exercises & Games
learn (besides speaking fluently). The trick is to listen to the same audio many times. Your goal is to hear the words and phrases distinctly, and not as a stream of gibberish. 
