Estimates vary… but, it seems you need at least a few thousand words in your head to be able to speak fluently in another language.
Since there is no way to nail down an exact number, I am going with 2,000.
If you learn just 50 words a week, you would possess those 2,000 words in just 40 weeks. 40 weeks = one school year.
Great. But, how are you going to learn those 2,000 words? Do you really want to sit down and create 2,000
flashcards? How many trees must die so that you can order a Margherita Pizza in Italian?
Fortunately, one of my students reminded me of a digital flashcard site. And in doing so, she potentially increased the world’s cognitive surplus and simultaneously saved the planet. Pretty impressive, Amie.
Here is her note to me:
“I have been working through your Lingua Latina classes for the past two months. Great class! Thanks for making it affordable!
Right around lesson 10, I realized that the vocabulary was getting to be a bit much for me. I just wanted to share that I found a great resource for learning the vocabulary for Lingua Latina. I have been using Memrise for the last two weeks and it is making this much much easier. It is free. Well, they try to sell me a subscription when I use my iPhone but I have since downloaded the app on my Kindle and it is totally free!”
Somehow, I had forgotten about Memrise. I spent some time on the site this morning.
She is right. Memrise is an impressive flashcard site. There are numerous courses, languages, and subjects. You can even set challenges for yourself and you can follow friends who also use Memrise.
If you, like Amie, are having trouble with the more than 1,800 words in Lingua Latina, then use this link:
https://www.memrise.com/course/252632/lingua-latina-pars-i-familia-romana/
If you are having trouble with the 497 words in First Year Latin by Robert Henle, then use this link:
https://www.memrise.com/course/198250/henle-first-year-latin/.
Of course, there is much more than Latin on the site. If you are plodding through a course and you need to learn a pile of new words, check out Memrise!
Have a happy Saturday!
Dwane Thomas
P.S. This Thursday (July 27, 2017) at 7 PM central time, I am going to be testing out a live Q and A. If you are confused about the classes I am offering, Visual Latin, or just Latin in general, feel free to stop by!
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7024812059890156289
Every Saturday, I send out a tip of the week. I also include announcements, upcoming classes, and so on. If you would like to hear from me every weekend, sign up for my weekly updates here: https://dwanethomas.com/
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If you are learning Latin, I have written a book with all of my best tips and strategies. It’s available as a free download here: https://dwanethomas.com/via/
If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7. I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful. To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
If you want a more professionally filmed experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.
Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word up! Warning. Word up! is a bit wacky. You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.
