How to develop your Spanish vocabulary

As with any language, Spanish can be difficult to master.

For many, perhaps the most difficult thing about learning Spanish is memorizing all the vocabulary. There are a certain number of essential grammar rules you need to know, but the word lists are endless!

When learning Spanish words, many people use certain standard methods to memorize them. Methods like repeating a word endlessly or writing it out a hundred times. The problem with the standard methods, is that they are really boring and time-consuming.

So, are there any other options for memorizing Spanish vocabulary fast?

One method that is becoming more common these days is the use of word association. This method simply involves associating an image or idea with the word being memorized. The method itself has been around for quite some time, but is only now becoming an accepted study practice.

Let's take a simple example...

Image you want to remember the Spanish word for 'table'. The word is mesa.

When you say it, it sounds similar to the word 'mess', right?

So in this case, we'll make an association with the idea of a big mess. Close your eyes for 10 seconds and imagine (and I mean vividly imagine!) a table covered with lots of garbage (or whatever you think a messy table looks like). While you are intensely visualizing this image, repeat the word mesa to yourself.

Sounds simple, and on the surface it is, but that's not to say there isn't something deeper going on. This process of association taps into the human mind's infinite capacity to create and recall personal associations; the more imaginative, the more memorable they are.

You probably won't forget the Spanish word for table now!

A good manual that gives you step-by-step tools on how to explore this technique fully is David McGimpsey's Speak Spanish Fast. Using this method he claims you can memorize up to 100 words per hour.