Learning a second language involves much more than memorizing endless lists of words. It’s about building a bridge between the new language and the real world, where each word gains meaning through its use. At Colegio Internacional de Granada, we help our students acquire vocabulary efficiently, meaningfully, and, above all, lastingly.
Vocabulary mastery is one of the biggest challenges when learning a new language. Often, students feel frustrated when they quickly forget the words they have just studied or when they don’t know how to use them in real contexts. For this reason, it is essential to employ active and varied memorization techniques that connect the new lexicon with the student’s experiences, emotions, and prior knowledge.
Below, we share five highly effective techniques for memorizing vocabulary faster, which we apply in the classroom and recommend for studying at home.
Use visual cards or flashcards
One of the most popular and effective tools for memorizing new words is the use of flashcards. These visual cards help create quick associations between the word and its meaning, especially if they are accompanied by images. Furthermore, using applications like Anki, Quizlet, or Memrise allows students to personalize their cards, organize them by topic, and review with spaced repetition system (SRS) algorithms, which are designed to reinforce long-term memory. At our bilingual school in Granada, we encourage the use of digital tools that enhance active learning. Students not only memorize vocabulary but also internalize it by seeing, writing, and pronouncing the words in various contexts.
Learn in context, not in isolation
Studying lists of words without context can be counterproductive. Isolated words are easily forgotten, while those learned within a sentence or story are better fixed in memory. For example, it is easier to remember “to bake” if the sentence is “I love to bake cookies on Sundays” than if it simply appears as “bake = hornear.” At CIG, we promote vocabulary learning through songs, texts, videos, dramatizations, and real conversations. This allows students to understand the use and intention of each word, facilitating their recall and spontaneous use in everyday situations.
Resort to creative and personal associations
Our brain remembers better what has personal or emotional significance. Creating associations between new words and your own experiences, similar sounds in your language, or mental images can be a very powerful strategy. For example, to remember the word “cloud” (nube), you can imagine a cloud shaped like a pillow or relate it to the mood you feel on a cloudy day. These types of associations, although they may seem simple, activate areas of the brain that strengthen memory. At CIG, we work on these techniques from an early age, especially in the Primary stage, where imagination is a great ally; we believe that learning a language can also be a creative and emotional process.
Use the new vocabulary actively
One of the most common mistakes is keeping vocabulary “in your head” but not putting it into practice. To truly memorize a word, you have to use it: write it, say it, listen to it, and repeat it in different contexts. Some ideas for actively practicing vocabulary:
As a school that is committed to practical teaching, we encourage constant participation in debates, oral presentations, linguistic games, and collaborative projects in the classroom, where the use of the new lexicon is essential.
Repeat, but in a spaced and strategic way
Repetition is key to fixing any knowledge, but it’s not just about repeating without a plan. Spaced repetition techniques allow you to review vocabulary at specific times, just before you forget it, which increases its permanence in long-term memory. For example, if you learn 10 new words today, review them tomorrow, in three days, a week later, and so on. This system has been shown to be much more effective than studying many words only once. At Colegio Internacional de Granada, we teach our students to manage their study time intelligently, combining spaced repetition with techniques such as mind maps, visual summaries, or memory games. It is part of our commitment to a quality education adapted to the 21st century.
Conclusion: learning vocabulary is building bridges
Acquiring vocabulary in a new language is not simply memorizing, but building a bridge to a new culture, a new way of thinking and communicating. At CIG, we work to ensure that our students experience the language, feel it, and make it their own. Whether through real contexts, technological tools, creativity, or cognitive strategies, each word learned is another conquest on the path to bilingualism. And the best part is that this path can also be fun, practical, and deeply meaningful. As a bilingual school, we will continue to promote the development of effective strategies so that our students learn faster, with greater security and confidence, preparing them to navigate fluently in an increasingly interconnected world.
