Looking for a good vocabulary-building strategy that you can employ? Try this one, which is one of the first “systems” (if you can call it that) I’ve used to build up my Portuguese vocabulary.
1. Write down each word you want to commit to memory on paper.
2. Add definitions for each word, in your own terms. Use the dictionary feature in your language software (a Portuguese language learning software, in my case). Remember: make it as simple as possible, in your own terms.
3. Doing that alone will likely leave you with five or so words sticking out in your mind. Don’t believe me? Stay away from the list for an entire day and see what you can recall tomorrow.
4. Make two numbered lists – one with all the words and the other with all the definitions. These will serve as your actual memorizing tools.
5. Print the two lists out. First, look at the word. Then, look at the corresponding definition. Most of the time, an image will come to mind. If none comes, make one up – the more outrageous, the better. That will be your anchor. Do this for every word in the list. Devote 20 to 30 minutes a day for this.
That’s it. For 50-word lists, it normally took me a week of being able to recall majority of them, just doing this. Try it. It works.