Woerterbuch.pdf

Frequency of use and usefulness of the word determined inclusion into
the Basic Vocabulary.
Likewise, the Basic Vocabulary includes only a handful of the many
compound words so common in German. But a solid knowledge of basic
vocabulary should enable a learner to understand and build a wider
vocabulary of compound words.
How to Work with the “Basic Vocabulary”?
Here are nine suggestions for working with the material:
1. Learn the words in the “1-2,000’’ group first. Do those in the
“2,001 -4,000” group later.
2. Take advantage of the arrangement by subject area. Don’t work on a
page-by-page basis, but try to cover one topic at a time (e.g., “Money”).
The words of a subject area contain associations which aid memorization.
Use the designations of subject areas as learning aids.
3. Work through the individual categories one by one, first covering those
whose topics most appeal to you. Always review each category already
covered after working on a new category.
4. Set up your own learning system. Learn the amount of material that
best suits you. Read an item (the main word in bold print with its example
sentences) and memorize the category the word belongs in. Go through
eight to ten words this way. Then cover the left column and repeat aloud
the covered words. If you wish, also read aloud the sample sentence.
Check your progress by uncovering the left column. Work through your
“set” this way. Make a mark in the left margin next to the words you
haven’t memorized yet and work on just those words. For the final check
of each “set”, speak and write every word again.
5. Vary your study habits: Cover the right column instead of the left, and
work as described in suggestion 4 above. Only learn the example senten-
ces that help fix the meaning of the words in your memory.
6. You can also take an individual word that you have had to look up in an
alphabetical list, put it in a category, and learn it in a meaningful context.
Z Every day learn a specific amount, taking breaks in between each
session. In a few weeks you will have systematically learned a core
vocabulary; the actual amount of vocabulary items depends on you. Don’t
forget to repeat and test yourself at regular intervals.