How can you Improve Vocabulary Daily?
Learning a new language can be very overwhelming in the beginning when your vocabulary is quite limited. However, the excitement builds as you learn more and more words and can start to use them yourself.
Some quick and easy suggestions on how to improve you vocabulary on a daily basis includes:
Reading – Read anything that you can get your hands on; it doesn’t have to be a book. Magazines and graphic novels with lots of pictures can be really useful. You may not understand the word but will get a feeling for it through the pictures.
Writing – Write a simple story with the words that you already know and add pictures to help you associate the two. It doesn’t matter if the story is silly but it is fun to have a go and will definitely help you remember new words.
Listening – Try listening to the radio in the language of your choice (eg. BBC World Service), watch a movie or something fun like YouTube that can be spontaneous and harder to understand than a usual language learning CD.
Speaking – Practise your new vocabulary out loud by making up simple sentences and phrases with the words you have learnt. It doesn’t matter if the cat is the only one listening!
Remember, if you make it fun then you don’t feel like you are working so hard at studying.
By Vicky
Chinese character as a kind of visual art
Learning Mandarin usually starts from Pīnyīn, which is a phonetic system that helps people to speak Chinese language. However, Pīnyīn is only part of Chinese language because Chinese language actually consists both sound (Pīnyīn) and symbol (Chinese characters). Chinese character has a history of almost 5000 years, which is almost as long as Chinese history. The different writing systems of the world can be divided into two categories, which are alphabetic writing system and semantic writing system. Chinese writing system is semantic system in which people differentiate the meaning of words according to their forms.
Some Chinese learners said that Chinse characters were like pictures. I would say they are right, considering that pictographs are an integral part and the foundation of Chinese characters. Let’s have a look at some pictographic examples in Chinese characters as follows. You may notice that they are developed from concrete objects and can be regarded as a form of visual art.
1.1. The development of the Character “rì”, which means “sun”.
1.2. The development of the character “yuè”, which means “moon”.
1.3. The development of the character “shuǐ”, which means “water”.
There are a lot other examples about pictographic Chinese characters and we will be discussing them in the later sessions.
-Anne Ma
Move out of your comfort zone
When I say move out of your comfort zone, I literally mean move. Get up out of your chair, hop on a bus, hop in your car or put on you walking shoes and just go.
‘Where to?’ you may ask. Where people are speaking the language you are learning, and that doesn’t count your classroom!
Now this may sound strange if the whole reason you are learning a language is to travel to the country of origin. But have you considered there may be people using that particular language in the town or city where you live?
For example, if you are learning Vietnamese because you plan to travel to Vietnam one day soon, see if you can find a Vietnamese restaurant or supermarket and go there frequently.
Take what you have learnt in class and try and put it into use by ordering something to eat or even exchanging a simple greeting. It may feel awkward at first but you will be amazed how people will open up and help you when they see you are making an effort to speak their language. You may even find a new friend.
It’s a win-win for everyone!
Learning Language Through Song
I know I am giving away my age here but I’m going to just say it – I grew up to the tunes of Abba.
For those of you who are too young to know…Abba was a pop band from Sweden who sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
They sang in perfect English but when it came to interviews, well, they were less than fluent. Now, I’m not judging them here as my Swedish is non-existent but I remember that at the time it shocked me. How could they sing fluently and speak, well, not so fluently?
This thought came back to me the other day when my daughter sang the traditional Japanese frog song Kaeru No Uta fluently. I would just like to add here that my daughter learnt this song at primary school and knows no other Japanese.
What a wonderful learning tool singing can be! The only problem with it being your only tool is that I don’t think you could actually sing your whole way around a country or through a job interview. Still, you may be able to impress your friends or serenade your love one!
Sticky notes for new words?
On a recent visit to my friend’s house I noticed that everywhere I looked she had sticky notes (or Post-It Notes) with large letters and pictures to accompany them. When I asked why, she explained that her young child was having a few problems remembering some of the new letters she was learning at school. Apparently this method was working a treat.
It took me back 20 years to when I first started to learn Japanese. I would attend class each week and try hard in between lessons to extend my word list before the next class. It was a struggle.
Why didn’t I think of the sticky notes back then as I am sure they have been around since the late 1960s? I am a visual person and need to write things down for them to sink in. I should have stuck those little guys all over the house so everyday I could improve my vocabulary list. Somehow I don’t think one would have stayed on the cat for too long!
Learning a New Language
There are many reasons why people choose to learn a foreign language: for work, for travel, for study, for fun or for love. The list is endless. 
But what is the best way to learn? Now that depends on you. To find the answer you need to stop and ask yourself a few simple questions like, do I have time to commit to months of study or should I just get a taste of a language in a four-hour workshop on the weekend? Am I comfortable trying to speak a new language in front of a small group of people or am I too shy and would rather study one-on-one with a teacher instead?
We understand that everyone’s needs are different and so too is the amount of time and energy they have to commit to something like learning a new language. That’s why we have options. Check out our Courses page here http://www.sydneylanguagesolutions.com.au/courses and see if something takes your fancy. And remember what Italian film director Federico Fellini said, “A different language is a different vision of life.”
Let’s work on our blog
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Management Team
Sydney Language Solutions
Vacancy
Sydney Language Solutions is recruiting eligible candidates for the positions of sale trainers in Asian regions (Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and China).
The training is in virtual environment and sessional (from 5 hours to 100 hours depending on the training contract). Ideally, the trainers should have the following criteria:
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Bilingual (English and one of your native language, either Korean, Chinese, Thai, Malaysian)
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Currently live in your home country.
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You must have at least 5 years of training experience
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Come from a sales background and have experience of directly managing and coaching your own team of sales professionals
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If recruited, you will work with SLS for the training contract with our clients in Asian regions. Payment froom $70-$100 per hour.
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If interested, please email your CV and a short application to info@sydneylanguagesolutions.com.au
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