Hi there, I'm taking college level Spanish this fall and I wanted to know if you had any recommendations on note taking and studying? I really want to do well.
These are some things that I use when learning a new language.
Classify the new information
You can take the last pages of your notebook or have a separare notebook for this. You can classify all the new words by grammatical use, for example, nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc. I do this classification because I’m very meticulous, but you can make your own classifications. For example:
describing (adjectives & adverbs)
connectors (prepositions & conjunctions)
You can label your classifications however you like as long as it makes sense to you. This is just to keep the new knowledge organized.
Also make another classification for grammar. For example:
patterns (Tener + que + [verb] - Tengo que estudiar)
conjugations (regular verbs and main irregular verbs)
rules (things like “más …. qué (more …. than)”, about indirect object pronouns, etc.)
don’t forget (for example “a” before people “Conozco a Mariana [I know Mariana], “Saludé al profesor” [I greeted the profesor]”).
And any other classification you need.
I know sometimes teachers speak too fast and you have to write down everything very quick. If the teacher writes on the board or says something new that you consider important, write it in a post-it or make a notes box in a corner of your book or notebook, so when you have more time you can classify the new knowledge, and later you don’t have to be like “where did I write it? I’m sure it was somewhere here”.
Long and difficult explanations
First, don’t use your pretty notebook for this, just use any paper or recycled paper. Then find all key points and key words, then you can make bullet lists, tables, mind maps or diagrams to organize the information. Use colors, drawings, arrows, boxes or anything that helps you understand the explanation. Don’t try to make it look pretty in the beginning because you will find yourself starting over and over again. Just try to find logic on the topic. Then, when you feel you finally understood you can write it again clean and neat, if you want. Try to make your notes as simple as you can :)
Make your notes look good
I’m sure you have seen all those beautiful notes out there in the studyblrs, but not all of us can make such pretty notes. However, there’s a video of @studyquill which I found very useful and easy to help you make your notes look better. You can take a look here.
There are many memorization techniques, but I highly recommend mnemonics and memory palace. You can learn about it here.
Sometimes it’s difficult to find words to create mnemonics, but you can use websites to help you out. If your native language is English you can try Wordplays or RhymeZone. I’m sure there are websites like these in many languages.
So, for example you want to learn the word “jugar” (to play).
First, you have to know how it sounds. You can use forvo for this.
Look for words that have the letters or rhyme with “hoo” and “gar”
We have for example “hoop” and “garden”
Now try to make a story with these words. The funnier or weirder the better.
We have for example. “I PLAY with a hoop in the garden.” Now you have to make it look weird or funny so your brain doesn’t forget it. Remember if the mnemonic is too obvious or natural your brain just will throw it away because it will think it’s not important. So maybe you can imagine that you are playing not with just one hoop, but with 20! and the garden is super big, or like a jungle or has your favorite flowers. Try to exaggerate everything you can. I recommend you to close your eyes and feel it while repeating the little story you just created.
I know it sounds silly and weird, but trust me, it works. Remember mnemonics work better if you create them. This takes time at the beginning, but it will help you retain better the information for a longer time. If you keep practicing it will get easier.
You can also make flashcards to keep remembering the words, only the Spanish word and the translation! You can write your mnemonics in a notebook or a document. You can try Anki to make your flashcards, or you can make your own decks on Memrise, too.
You can use it with everything you want, like irregular verbs. For example we have the verb “poder” (can) but when you conjugate it, it becomes “yo puedo”. So you can imagine that you CAN swim in a pool with an elephant and you can add some dogs if you want. Again, make it look funny, maybe the pool has a weird shape or the water is pink or green. Maybe the elephant is wearing a swimsuit and the dogs are swimming with floating boards. You can create whatever helps you remember difficult stuff.
For regular verbs, we can make a longer story. For example, AR verbs as hablar, in present is: Yo hablo; Tú hablas; Él, Ella, Usted habla; Nosotros/as hablamos; Ustedes, Ellos hablan. So we have to remember the endings -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an. Here we can use the memory palace.
Choose any location that you remember very well, like your house, your school, your town’s park, your room, your car etc. (I will use my house for this example).
Choose 5 places in that location, like living room, bathroom, dining room, kitchen, garden. Try to make a linear journey from point A to B, C, D and F.
Here comes the story. First I place myself in the living room and wow! I’m covered with oil, but why? At least is an aromatic oil, it smells like fruits. Then I go to the bathroom and omg! I’m sorry you were there asking the mirror about your future, I thought that was only on fairytales. Then I go to the dining room and I see my brother (he) and sister (she) with an important business man (usted) at the table, and wait a minute, that man is Abraham Lincoln in person! in my house? This is weird. Then I go to the kitchen and I find my friends, mis amigos, but there are so many big mosquitos we have to kill them all! When we finish I go to the garden where there are many scientist and they are looking for an antidote in the weird flowers I have in the garden, I think it’s an antidote for mutant ants.
Now remember the key words: yo-oil; tú- asking the mirror; él, ella, usted- Abraham Lincoln; nosotros - amigos, mosquitos; ustedes, ellos - antidote. So the endings are yo -o; tú -as; él, ella, usted -a; nosotros -amos; ustedes, ellos -an.
Also try to remember your story backwards and without order, for better retention. So, what’s the ending for “nosotros”? You just have to remember the kitchen where, me and my amigos had to kill big mosquitos. So the ending is -amos. Now, the verb cantar (sing) is regular too. How would you say “they sing”?, just remember the scientists in your garden looking for an antidote, so the answer is “ellos cantan”.
You can make this with anything you want. I recommend you a book, it’s called Unlimited Memory by Kevin Horsley. It explains many memory techniques for beginners.
I hope this has helped you! Happy learning! :)
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