Some weeks ago, I bought the first three of my visual dictionaries (by now, I own eight of them). They have pictures of situations or different things on every page, ordered by topics. Those pictures are labelled in two languages (the foreign language you wish to learn, and a language you know well for reference). In the case of Chinese (Mandarin), they are labelled in Chinese signs, the reference language, and pinyin (the Latin writing of the Chinese syllables).
Learning vocabulary grouped by context has already been known to be easier and more successful than just learning vocabulary lists. Now, those visual dictionaries take it to another level. By connecting new words with an image, we are more likely to remember the words. Our brain saves images and labels together, which means we have more than just one trigger to access the whole image, and with the image, the word, meaning and spelling.
This leads me to a learning tip I read some weeks ago. When you learn vocabulary, imagine to write down each word on a screen in the upper left corner of your vision (if this doesn't work for you, try the upper right corner--we look up to one of those corners of our vision when we try to remember things). When you need to remember that word, look at your imaginary "screen". You should be able to see it, thus being able to spell it (both forwards and backwards, since you can "read" it off your imaginary screen).
Visualisation can be an immense help for our studying, not only for vocabulary. You could basically transfer anything to your imaginary screen, like mathematical formulas, notes for a presentation, or simply your shopping list. I guess it takes some practice, though. Anyway, I would be really interested in hearing from you whether or not visualisation helps you.
Language ... the bridge of communication, the magic creator of worlds, the brush and paint of authors. Language is magic. It gives us power. It is something you just have to love.
Showing posts with label dictionary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dictionary. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Monday, 5 December 2011
Language Learning Books--OMG!
So, I sorted through all my stuff I want to take with me when I'm moving after Christmas. Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the amount of boxes! Most of them are filled with my books--not just novels, but lots and lots of language learning books. I have eight really big books (and I'm talking about letter size, two inches thick, counting as deadly weapon on the top shelf): four dictionaries (for four different languages), two monolingual dictionaries, one idiom dictionary and one, probably the biggest of all, listing all the Italian verbs and their uses. Furthermore, I own a variety of grammar books, language courses, verb tables, smaller dictionaries (for other languages), and other useful language learning materials.
Why did I gather such a huge amount of stuff?
Well, the first and most obvious reason is because I am learning and working with several languages. But does that really account for having more than one grammar book for any single language? I know I am weird, but I simply love having several possibilities to look something up. Too often, I tried to find something in a grammar book, just to realise that my grammar book didn't sufficiently cover that topic. Granted, by now, I know several websites about grammar for one language or the other, as well as several online dictionaries, but there's nothing that can beat the experience and feeling of leafing through countless pages, scanning the content pages, and finally finding what I need.
The value of my private language learning library? I'm not sure, but I guess well over 1,000 euros (adding the purchasing prices together). It has taken me about half of my life to gather what I have so far, with many of the books having been birthday or Christmas gifts. Yes, I am proud of my little library, but boy, that's a whole lot of books! You never notice until you move and have to carry everything from apartment to car, to storage, to new place....
Why did I gather such a huge amount of stuff?
Well, the first and most obvious reason is because I am learning and working with several languages. But does that really account for having more than one grammar book for any single language? I know I am weird, but I simply love having several possibilities to look something up. Too often, I tried to find something in a grammar book, just to realise that my grammar book didn't sufficiently cover that topic. Granted, by now, I know several websites about grammar for one language or the other, as well as several online dictionaries, but there's nothing that can beat the experience and feeling of leafing through countless pages, scanning the content pages, and finally finding what I need.
The value of my private language learning library? I'm not sure, but I guess well over 1,000 euros (adding the purchasing prices together). It has taken me about half of my life to gather what I have so far, with many of the books having been birthday or Christmas gifts. Yes, I am proud of my little library, but boy, that's a whole lot of books! You never notice until you move and have to carry everything from apartment to car, to storage, to new place....
Monday, 10 October 2011
The Virtues of a Good Monolingual Dictionary
When I corrected the proof copy of my children's book about Miro the Dragon, I encountered some cases where I wasn't 100% sure about a preposition, or the right use of a word. No big deal, I thought, and asked my boyfriend, who is a native English speaker and pretty smart. However, he wasn't absolutely sure in every of the cases either. Boy, I missed my monlingual dictionary at that point!
The greatest thing about my monolingual dictionary is that it actually gives example sentences for the use of words, and those sentences almost always include the correct prepositions to go with it. That way, I dont only get an example of the context(s) in which a word is used, but also the correct preposition(s), and whether it is followed by a to-infinitive or a gerund.
It also gives me phrasal meanings, that is, an alphabetical list of uses for this word (with prepositions etc which take on a different meaning).
Another thing I don't want to miss is the indication of whether or not a verb can be used with direct speech (like "to say", "to ask").
Last but not least, my monolingual dictionary tells me when a word, a spelling or pronunciation is only used in British English or American English (I think it even indicates Australian English use only).
All in all, my monolingual dictionary has become a trusted and valuable asset for writing and editing. It's a Cambridge Dictionary (from PONS, I think), by the way, for those of you who are interested, and it's already some years old. In fact, it has accompanied me through the last couple of my school years and all my freelancing life, and it's almost letter-size and has several hundred pages. It's paperback, though, so unlike my other dictionaries, this one wouldn't make a good weapon against robbers....
Do you have a monolingual dictionary you use for reading/writing/editing or anything else? If so, tell us about it!
The greatest thing about my monolingual dictionary is that it actually gives example sentences for the use of words, and those sentences almost always include the correct prepositions to go with it. That way, I dont only get an example of the context(s) in which a word is used, but also the correct preposition(s), and whether it is followed by a to-infinitive or a gerund.
It also gives me phrasal meanings, that is, an alphabetical list of uses for this word (with prepositions etc which take on a different meaning).
Another thing I don't want to miss is the indication of whether or not a verb can be used with direct speech (like "to say", "to ask").
Last but not least, my monolingual dictionary tells me when a word, a spelling or pronunciation is only used in British English or American English (I think it even indicates Australian English use only).
All in all, my monolingual dictionary has become a trusted and valuable asset for writing and editing. It's a Cambridge Dictionary (from PONS, I think), by the way, for those of you who are interested, and it's already some years old. In fact, it has accompanied me through the last couple of my school years and all my freelancing life, and it's almost letter-size and has several hundred pages. It's paperback, though, so unlike my other dictionaries, this one wouldn't make a good weapon against robbers....
Do you have a monolingual dictionary you use for reading/writing/editing or anything else? If so, tell us about it!
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
How to Find a Good Dictionary
If you learn a second language, you will come to a point where you will need a dictionary. You might think: Dictionary is dictionary; it doesn't matter which one I choose. And that's where you're wrong. Let me tell you, there's nothing more frustrating than reading a good book and stumbling upon a word without which you don't understand what's going on in that scene. You get out your dictionary to look up the word, only to find out the word in question isn't listed...bummer!
So, how do you find the right dictionary for you?
Online Dictionary
A good online dictionary should have a forum. Why, you ask? It's simple: A German-English dictionary, for example, attracts both German and English native speakers. In a forum, they have the possibility to talk to each other about word meanings, translations, grammar and style questions. A forum makes an online dictionary so much more than a mere dictionary; it changes it into a place where you can learn and improve a language.
The best online dictionary I know is the German site LEO. Its German-English forum is highly frequented and when you are lucky, you get answers to your questions within minutes. Their dictionary is comprehensive and comes along with declination tables and pronunciation. I think it also offers a vocabulary trainer though I've never tried it out.
Offline Dictionary (Computer and Book)
When you look for a dictionary, look at the number of words included. Compare various dictionaries to get a feeling for high or low word numbers.
Rule of thumb: The more you want to do with/in the second language and the better you get, the more words your dictionary should include.
If you need your dictionary for a specific field, for example office work, note down some specific terms and look them up in the dictionary you want to buy. If they are included, it's ok. If not, you should look for a different dictionary instead.
Some dictionaries include information on difficult words, false friends and sometimes even on countries and culture. If you are interested in these things, you might want to look for a dictionary which included this kind of information.
So, how do you find the right dictionary for you?
Online Dictionary
A good online dictionary should have a forum. Why, you ask? It's simple: A German-English dictionary, for example, attracts both German and English native speakers. In a forum, they have the possibility to talk to each other about word meanings, translations, grammar and style questions. A forum makes an online dictionary so much more than a mere dictionary; it changes it into a place where you can learn and improve a language.
The best online dictionary I know is the German site LEO. Its German-English forum is highly frequented and when you are lucky, you get answers to your questions within minutes. Their dictionary is comprehensive and comes along with declination tables and pronunciation. I think it also offers a vocabulary trainer though I've never tried it out.
Offline Dictionary (Computer and Book)
When you look for a dictionary, look at the number of words included. Compare various dictionaries to get a feeling for high or low word numbers.
Rule of thumb: The more you want to do with/in the second language and the better you get, the more words your dictionary should include.
If you need your dictionary for a specific field, for example office work, note down some specific terms and look them up in the dictionary you want to buy. If they are included, it's ok. If not, you should look for a different dictionary instead.
Some dictionaries include information on difficult words, false friends and sometimes even on countries and culture. If you are interested in these things, you might want to look for a dictionary which included this kind of information.
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