Lin

You know...I'm really knew to these things. I remember some time ago, while surfing the net with internet explorer, that I came upon a site that had a particular theme that related to my research. Problem was...I couldn't read the words. :frozen:My God! It took my son to tell me to use google chrome browser instead. Did you know that it comes with a built-in translator?

My first contact with the study of a foreign language was at the start of high school (grade 7) - just like you. It was actually Spanish that they thought us. I was one of the best in my class. I always got 80-90-100% on my exams.

Today however, I believe I need to do some review so as to keep my Spanish sharp. I wish I had people in my family who could speak the language. That way I could possible keep practicing everyday.

I have been wondering what you think about multiple choice exams/tests. I often have the feeling that teachers / universities / schools just do multiple choice tests because this is the easiest way to make a test as it does not demand a lot of time for making the corrections.

I'm not generally against multiple choice tests but in my opinion, they are often not appropriate or "useful" as they just test "passive learning", if you know what I mean. If not, let me explain.

In a multiple choice test you can often get answers right just because you can remember that one thing or another has been mentioned in previous lessons/lectures etc, but you actually could not write this down if you would have to do so (which would be the case in a proper exam where you have to write down answers in form of complete texts and so on); so, you just need to know stuff passively and chances are still pretty good that you can recall the answer from your memory when reading the questions and possible answers in multiple choice tests  :angel:

Indeed, multiple choice exams are not a true test of your genius or your grasp of a certain topic. There are many people who pass these multiple choice exams based on common knowledge or their ability to remember "vaguely" what they learnt in the classroom ( I am such a person); but it doesn't really display if you are able to give a thorough description of the topic at hand  :shy: I love multiple choice exams nonetheless, and I will forever depend on them to supplement my grades.

If you were going to start trying to learn a new language now which one would it be and why?

I would definitely want to try Croatian.  My family is there and I am visiting in a few weeks so it would be really useful to me!

The next language I would like to learn is french. Yes,  :punk:I know... it sounds romantic :love: If I should live in Canada, I know that there are quite an enormous amount of french folks who could help to keep my french alive.

Hi,

As the title says, is there any techniques to help me memorize more words?

I don't have a great memory, so memorizing the vocabulary of a language is always so difficult for me. I've read about a few memory techniques, such as mnemonics and acronym. Can these techniques be applied to language learning? If yes, are they effective?

My technique is called "repetition". Sometimes I think I do it until my heard starts to ache. Despite this, I know it works well. I also find that if I can get a tape/CD/recording with the words to repeat the words to me, then I will be able to catch on very well.  :grin:

I think I started out learning foreign languages because It was a curriculum in school  :bored: However, my mind's imagination has broaden, and I believe I still have a few more countries that I would like to travel to and spend extended time there. It would be good to be able to interact with the people in their native tongue. Why do you learn foreign languages ?