I'm in search of a good vocabulary-learning book. Both for French and Italian. I have purchased a few, but it seems to me that nobody has quite got the knack of how to teach vocabulary. Yes, there's the old-fashion method of memorizing long lists. And there are software programs, such as Anki, that are designed for vocabulary drill and measured repetition of learned words and phrases. But the only way I truly implant new words in my feeble (and getting feebler by the day) brain is by using them in context. It's unlikely I'll recall the French word for 'lazy,' paresseux, unless I see it used in a sentence. M. Stewart est très paresseux. Also most of these vocabulary books present an overwhelming amount of material. Yes, they try to break it down into categories, but it still amounts to so many words and expressions that it's impossible to sufficiently drill on them long enough to make them stick. I'm beginning to think that the best way to acquire new vocabulary is to read, which is the way we beefed up our vocabulary when we were children.
Still, I'd like to build up a cache of the most commonly used and most helpful, say, 5,000 words in the target language. If anyone reading this (come out, come out, wherever you are :)) has a favorite vocabulary book or software package or CD, let me know.
A la prochaine...
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