Crank up vocabulary learning with flash cards (Part 1)

Do you find picking up new words and phrases is easy but remembering them is hard?

In my post about learning vocabulary I mentioned flash cards, and Juan from Spain asked about how I use them.

Flash cards help me learn my French vocab as they’re:

Personalised – I choose vocab I need for my situation
Portable – I carry them with me and go through them when I have some spare time
Practical – they’re an efficient way to practise recognising meanings and producing phrases

I use a flash cards app on my phone – more on this in the next post – and also old-fashioned paper flash cards.

Why do I use paper flash cards?

I like to write out my vocab by hand because that helps me to remember the new phrases. I like shuffling the cards. And I can cheat when I can’t remember a phrase by sticking the card back in the pack to try it again soon.

How do I use paper flash cards?

My cards fit into a business card holder. On one side I write the phrase in English or German – sometimes I do an awful stick drawing – and on the other side my target phrase in French. I only work with phrases and sentences so that I’m learning natural expressions.

The first few rounds I look at the French version to remember the meaning and then I change to the English/German side and have to generate the phrase in French.

When that’s become easy, I take out those cards I can remember and add some new ones. I usually have 20-30 cards going at a time.

Every now and then I check the old cards to make sure the vocab has stuck. If not, they go back in the pack.

When do I use paper flash cards?

Normally on the bus in the morning and sometimes in the evening if I’m not too tired. The trip is enough time to get through the pack of cards a couple of times.

Flash cards are a fast, flexible and fun way to fire up your vocabulary.

Do you use flash cards too?

I’d love to hear your tips or questions.

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