Learning, remembering, and practicing new words does not have to be tedious, boring or stressful. Learners may want to revise Greek vocabulary, but not know how to do it effectively. In this article, I am sharing some vocabulary techniques that I have found to be very useful.

First of all, I want to suggest a change in perspective. The goal of revising vocabulary is not to see how many words you don’t know, but how many you do know. This is especially important for A1–A2 learners. The reason I mention this is not only psychological, but also practical when speaking a language. But more on this in another article! 

How can you organise your Greek vocabulary learning?

I would suggest one of the two following things.

• A notebook that you will divide into 2 columns, and you will write the Greek word on the left, the meaning on the right. 
• Flashcards (ideally physical)

Tips and ideas

The following techniques can be modified according to your level, the time you have to study, and your goal. 

1. Pick a letter of the Greek alphabet, set a timer, and write as many words as you can remember. 
2. Read out loud a text that you read some time ago. It can be one week ago, one month ago, five months ago, it doesn’t matter. 
3. I am a big fan of creating mind maps. Mind maps were my personal go-to study tool during my last school years and all through university. Pick a topic, put it in the middle of the page, and write as many words and phrases as you can think of around it, even things that you already know well. Try to connect the words with examples, categories or anything else that you find relevant. The mind remembers a lot through association. 
4. Use the words in pairs or short phrases. If you learn with a teacher, you can later go through the phrases together. Try to learn vocabulary in context, not as isolated words.
5. For learners from A2 onwards: Write the meaning of a word in Greek.
6. Go through your notebook (while covering one column with a piece of paper) or flashcards. You can also do it the other way round (read the meaning and recall the Greek word), which is more difficult, and more effective. 
7. Apply spaced repetition to your vocabulary revision. Instead of revising the same words randomly, revise them over increasing periods of time: one day later, three days later, one week later, and so on. This helps vocabulary stay longer in your memory and makes revision much more effective in the long run. 

 

As always…

Choose what you feel is best for you and what you enjoy most.

and

It is better to study a little every day than to do three hours all at once.

 

What is your preferred way of revising Greek words?