Such is the nature of vocabulary building in any language.   Those words that you can recall when needed are now part of your vocabulary.  The others remain passive, requiring  a little more stewing, repetition and practice.

Most of the time, we’ll have no control which vocabulary items sticks out prominently.   So just wing it.  Don’t let the fact that you can’t remember certain items discourage you.  It’s par for the course — you’ll remember some, you’ll forget some.  The more you study, practice and apply the words, though, the more readily they will be available for next time.

Something I’ve been doing a lot of lately is just ignoring the passive items in my vocabulary.  If I happen to chance upon them in my latter wordlists (I do related groups of words), then I’ll include them for memorizing.  Otherwise, I just let them stew in the backburner of my mind and, sometimes, they magically just float up on their own right when I need them.

If you’re serious about your language lessons, we suggest planning a daily study routine.   There’s no need to do serious rearranging of your schedule either.  A short but daily routine is often all you need to keep the knowledge and skills fresh.

Why?  Two things.

1. Shorter study periods allow you to stay fresh throughout the whole session, letting you maximize what you can absorb of the material.  It also keeps your perspective clear, so you can focus on what matters instead of trudging through things blindly.
2. Daily study keeps you sharp.  A lot of things can be forgotten in a week.  What you learn today, though, is more likely to remain accessible to you tomorrow, giving you more opportunities to really etch in your brain.

Is studying enough?  Of course not.  If you want to truly learn a new language, you must use it.  Actively seek opportunities for interaction with native speakers and fellow learners.  If they don’t come, then practice by yourself.

Here are the main words you’ll use to express “no” in Spanish, each one of them appropriate for different questions and situations:

• Nadie (nah-deeh): nobody, no one
• Ninguno (neen-goon-oh): no, none
• Nada (nah-dah): nothing, zero
• Ni… ni (nee): neither… nor
• Tampoco (tahm-poh-koh): not either, neither
• Nunca (noon-kah): never

When using those words in sentences and phrases, here are some things to remember:

• As a rule, you place negative words before the conjugated verb.  Follow this and you will be doing it right most of the time (there are exceptions, of course).
• Double negatives (and triple and so on) are common in Spanish.  In fact, it’s widely used as a way of giving your negative response more emphasis.
• If you have two verbs in the negative answer, place “ninguno” before the conjugated verb and put another negative word before the other verb.
• You can put the negative word before the infinitive of the verb.
• If you don’t know what you’re doing yet (total beginner), you can just the negative word on its own.  There’s a good chance they’ll understand what you mean.

1. Use transcripts.  If the audio you’re listening to has transcripts, read it while listening.   Doing so will help you make better sense of what’s being said, especially if you’re still not comfortable figuring out the native accent.
2. Slow it down.  If the speaking style is a little too fast for you, slow it down.   Start it with 3/4 normal speed and slow down further if you still struggle.  The words should make better sense when you can listen to them enunciated more deliberately.
3. Chop it into bite-sized chunks.  Instead of listening to a 10-minute speech, how about cutting the audio up (there are free software that can do this) into 30-second chunks.  At the least, the shorter audio should be faster to listen to, allowing you to repeat it multiple times.
4. Parrot.  Try speaking (or singing, if it’s a song) along.  That could you improve not just your listening skills, but proper pronunciation and pacing, too.

There is immense value in studying grammar, though, especially if you’re serious about truly being fluent in a language.  While I don’t advocate diving into a grammar book and figuring everything out either, you might want to consider getting one as a reference material for your language learning.

Instead of killing your interest in the language by studying a grammar book in detail (and yes, it is a death sentence), you can use the grammar book as an occasional reference.  Say, you encounter a phrase, a sentence or a construction that baffles you — look it up and see what the exact rules are in the language for that situation.

When you first get the grammar, though, read it.  We don’t mean poring over it like a textbook back in college.  Instead, read it casually, as you would read the newspaper in the morning.  Doing so will give you a general, big picture idea of the important elements of the language, all while familiarizing you with the contents of the book.  That way, you’ll have a better idea of where to look when you need to reference it later.

No, I’m not going to knock you for your zest to learn.  Instead, I’ll point you towards the unnecessarily messy start you’re getting yourself into.  Say, you bought two language software, a membership to a web-based program and two books.  Do you realistically believe you can cover them all and still have time to practice?

Instead of trying to consume everything, we actually suggest focusing on one (at most two) of your materials.  Why?  Because they can end up confusing you.  Since these are separate programs, they like come with different lesson structures and learning plans, so it’s possible that one will just end up messing with what you’re learning from the other.

Additionally, most language learning software tend to progress by what it assumes is your advancement using their learning program.  If, since you’re using three or four materials, you’re actually learning differently, you might up either getting bored or confused the next time you jump from one to another.

If you go this route, you’ll likely end up getting overloaded by vocabulary, since different programs tend to introduce different things.  While nothing’s wrong with a larger stock of words, it could be the last thing you need, especially since language learning requires more than memorizing vocabulary.

A lot of newer games, especially those sold online by large publishers (e.g. Steam), are often available in numerous language packs.   Whether you’re learning Spanish, Italian, Russian or any other language, there’s a good chance you’ll find several games where a pack for that specific target language is being offered.

What should you expect?  In these “translated” games, the menus, user messages and other written components will usually be in the target language, allowing you to brush up on reading and comprehension skills.  Of course there’s a downside: that is, I’ve seen very few games where voice acting is dubbed in the target language.  Oftentimes, it stays in English, although they do add subtitles in the foreign tongue.

While it’s probably not the most active way to learn, using translated games is a nice passive addition to your other language learning activities.  This is especially true if you’re going to spend time gaming anyway — might as well help your language learning efforts while you’re at it.

1. Create a 10-item list of new words in the target language.  Make them related.  For example, you list ten parts of a car, ten names for kitchen appliances or ten evening salutations.   The more closely-related your list is, the easier you can make the connections with each other.  Hence, if you remember one word, there’s a good chance you can recall the rest.
2. Read through them, memorizing each word and their corresponding translations in your language.  Make pictures in your head, use mnemonics or whatever technique you use for memorization.
3. Once you feel confident, write a new 10-item list with the translation of each word in your language.  As you read through each item, recall what the equivalent in the target language is.  Don’t stop until you can name each one consistently.
4. As a last step, create another list to test your recall.  This time, you list both the word in the foreign language and the translation in English on the same line.

A decade ago, I may have agreed vehemently with this.  Since a couple years ago, though, I have to disagree.  The evolution of language training software is among the most impressive I’ve seen for any type of educational software.  I’ve been to beginner-level training in both software and classrooms.  In terms of material, they’re just as good.  In terms of helping you learn quickly, the flexibility of software tools edge out classroom instruction easily.

Myth 2: Software-based language learning isn’t for serious learners.

On the contrary, I’ve met a lot of serious language learners who use software. In fact, the few times I’ve enrolled in classroom training, almost half the class were bored professionals who were there because their company required them to.  Seldom have I seen people training with a language software do so begrudgingly.

Myth 3: Software-based learners don’t get enough practice.

While this could be true to some extend, it could be equally true for classroom learners.  Practice is seldom integrated in classroom teaching, most of which is spent teaching vocabulary and pronunciation.  For the most part, students will be responsible for their own practice, which is why we encourage people to either join or form a language club.

Myth 4: Language software only teach grammar and vocabulary.

This was true of early efforts in language training software.  These days, however, there is plenty of variety in the kinds of approaches language learning title take.   Regardless of your learning preferences, we guarantee you will find something that suits it.

1. Start with a clearly-defined goal.  If you don’t have a specific and measurable goal, you’ll be floating around aimlessly.  Always start a language program with a concrete statement of what you want to achieve.
2. Set a modest plan.  Don’t go all out and schedule 2-hour a day language sessions from the onset.  Instead, start out conservatively.  Gradually build up the time you invest as you find yourself completing smaller targets.
3. Expose yourself to the language.  If you’re in a locale where the language is widely spoken, then regularly go out and use whatever little you learn.  If you’re not, then expose yourself in other ways, like books, music and movies.
4. Follow the lessons.  Whether you’re enrolled in class or using a language software, stick with the preset lessons if you’re a beginner.  While getting creative can help you at an intermediate or advanced level, you’re better off trusting tested structures when you start off.
5. Use it.  Any time you learn a new vocabulary item, pronunciation or phrase, use it immediately.  Even if you have to talk to yourself, it’s better than simply playing everything in your head.  Applying what you learn is the other half of the battle and it’s just as important as the knowledge itself.