Why your Spanish post-it notes don't work
Post-it notes seem to be a great way of learning Spanish, whether you want to learn new Spanish vocabulary, or get familiar with a Spanish grammar point.
Why is it then, that they don’t work, or at least not as good as you would like them to?
In today’s blog, we’ll see what you might be doing wrong, and how to fix it.
1
Don't do this
Write a word on its own.
Do this instead
Write a short sentence or a phrase with the word you whant to learn.
This way it's easier to remember. Compare the two post-it notes below.
1
Uvas
2
Las uvas
son mi fruta favorita.
When we talk to others, we don't just come up with random words, there's always a message we want to get across. We don't just say: 'uvas' (grapes), instead we may say, like in the example above, 'Las uvas son mi fruta favorita.' (Grapes are my favourite fruit).
2.
Don't do this
Write a sentence that it's not related to you.
For instance, don't write 'María quiere que compres pan.' (Maria wants you to buy bread.) if you don't know anyone called María.
Do this instead
Write about your world whenever possible.
If you want, for instance, to use the Spanish subjunctive, write a sentence about what you really want someone to do.
Quiero que (insert the name of someone you know)...
It's easier to remember a Spanish sentence if you write about someone you know, than to remember a sentence about María.
3.
Don't do this
Use too many post-it notes.
Too many post-it notes means too much clutter. And too much cluter is overwhelming.
Do this instead
Be selective.
Choose one phrase or sentence you want to learn, and then write it down.
4.
Don't do this
Ignore your post-it note
Once you are used to seeing your Spanish note, you will stop paying any attention to it.
Do this instead
Decide beforehand how long you will be using your post-it note.
I advice you to use it for two or three days the most.
5.
Don't do this
Throw away your post-it note and forget about it.
Do this instead
Use it
Once you throw away your post-it note, it's important that you carry on using that new Spanish word, or grammar point.
Now I'd like to hear from you. Do you use post-it notes?
You can tell me all about it here: nuria@spanishcomeseasy.com