If you have ever tried to find ways to develop the vocabulary of your child, you must have come across flashcards and how to use flashcards for active learning. Flashcards are one of the most popular forms of developing vocabulary but does it stands up to its name? well sadly, the answer to this is “NO”. Flashcards may not be able to help your child the way you think they will and there are several reasons behind it.
For those who don’t know what flashcards are? flashcards are simple cards with the word or phrase with their meaning printed on one side and are blank on the other. Different flashcards can be designed in different ways. It is named flashcards because originally people used to flash them in front of people to help them learn new words. But does this work?
It has long been debated whether or not flashcards actually work in helping people learn new words and phrases. But as we said they don’t work as well as you think they will. This is because when you are using flashcards to learn new vocabulary words, you are typically relying on rote memorization. This means that you are just memorizing the word or phrase without really understanding it and although flashcards will help you remember the meaning of the word for a while they will not help you sustain the word and its meaning for the long run.
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Reasons why flashcards are not the best options
There are a few other reasons why flash cards are not the best options for vocabulary building such as-
Poor retention rates
The major reason why flash cards may not be the best option for improving vocabulary or language learning is that it has poor retention rates because of a lack of contextual understanding and active recall. Flash cards typically give you one meaning of a word, and it can be difficult to understand the word in a sentence, and because of this children often do not learn the meaning of the word in a context and therefore are not able to use these words in context when required.
Lack of revision
When learning a set of new words, it is important to keep revising them otherwise your child will not be able to retain them in a long run and will forget them easily. Many times while using flash cards children often forget to focus on repetition and even if they do because of the lack of contextual understanding revising these words twice or thrice cannot be enough. The lack of repetition of these words can lead to confusion and forgetfulness.
Monotonous
When it comes to flash cards children often have to see and say the word multiple times before they remember it. Repeating the same word over and over again can be quite monotonous, and it can be easy to lose interest. This is especially true if the spaced repetition of these flash cards is not properly done. The repetition can make the flash cards frustrating, time-consuming and monotonous and kids may not want to use them for a very long time.
Techniques to active vocabulary learning
Not only for a particular exam but developing a good vocabulary can help a student in various academic aspects. To help kids improve their vocabulary skills it is important to find some effective techniques that can help them learn new words and retain them. Some of the ways that we have found helpful are-
Immersion
One of the best techniques to learn new words and improve language skills is through immersion when the child has a deep mental involvement and know-how and when to use the word in the right context. That includes surrounding yourself with the language that you are trying to learn, you can do this by reading books, articles, blogs watching movies and TV shows in the language that you are learning. This will help you to understand the meaning of the words, as well as how to use them in a sentence.
Mnemonics
A mnemonic device is a form of word association that can help a language learner remember individual words’ definitions and proper uses. For instance, think of the word obsequious which means “attempting to win favour from influential people by flattery.” Break down that word into components: “obese” is the beginning of “obsessed,” “qui” sounds like the French word for “yes” (oui), and “us” is like the word “us.” So you can think of that big word obsequious as “obsessed with saying yes to us”—which is kind of what it means!
Contextualization
Another way to improve your vocabulary skills is by using contextualization. When children see a word in a sentence, they are better able to understand its meaning. Contextualization helps children to see the word in its natural habitat, which makes it easier for them to remember and therefore help them in learning languages that are new to them in a better way. For the ones that are learning new languages such as English, contextualization also makes the English translation easier for them.
If the language you are teaching your child is a foreign language and not his native language, you can help them practice with the native speakers, which will help you to improve your pronunciation and fluency. With flash cards, they may simply know that the word is on the card and not know what it means. Even for the kids who are trying to learn and improve their native tongue practising with fellow native speakers can be really helpful.
Alternatives of Flash cards for learning vocabulary words
There are many ways to improve your vocabulary skills that are better than using flash cards.
Regular reading
As we mentioned, contextualization is very important when it comes to Vocabulary building and language learning and how much it helps when you encounter them in the context. To help your child in language help your child and encourage them to make a habit of reading articles, books, and blogs in the language you are learning. This will help them to understand the meaning of the words, as well as how to use them in a sentence.
Word walls
A word wall is a great way for children to learn new words and see them in context. A word wall is a collection of words, usually nouns, that are posted in a designated area. Children can add new words, look up definitions, and create sentences with the words. Having a word wall in the classroom is a great way to encourage word learning and promote writing skills.
It is a great way to display the new vocabulary words you have learned. They can be created using a variety of materials, including paper, poster board, or even a whiteboard. Having a word wall in the classroom is a great way to encourage word learning and promote writing skills. You can either write the words on the wall yourself or have your child do it. As they learn new words, they can add them to the word wall. This is a great way to see how many words they have learned, and it also helps to review the words.
Picture dictionaries
Another alternative to flashcards is using picture dictionaries. Picture dictionaries allow children to see the definition of the word as well as a picture of the word. Picture dictionaries allow children to see the words in action and understand their meaning. This can be helpful for children who are visual learners. Additionally, picture dictionaries can help children with pronunciation. They can see how the word is pronounced and practice saying the word aloud.
Vocabulary Quizzes
Vocabulary quizzes are one of the most fun ways to learn and retain the new words you have learned. There are a variety of ways to create a vocabulary quiz. You can create a quiz with words from a specific chapter in a textbook, or you can choose words from a list you have created and ask the child to pick the correct answer. Either way, making the quiz interesting and challenging will help ensure that the new words are learned and remembered.
Online Resources
There are a number of websites that have vocabulary lists and activities that can help children learn new words. These websites typically have games, quizzes, and other activities that help with word retention. Additionally, many of these websites have word lists for specific grades or levels. This can be helpful for parents and teachers who are looking for additional ways to help their children or students learn new words.
Vocabulary games
Another fun way to improve your child’s vocabulary is through fun vocabulary games. There are a variety of games that can be played, including word charades, hangman, and bingo. Games are a great way to get children excited about learning new words and they are a lot of fun. You can find a variety of games online or in books.
How to use flashcards effectively
Although flashcards may not be the best and only option for developing vocabulary they can help kids at a certain level to speed up the learning process if used properly.
Make your own flashcards
Learning new words from online or premade flashcards may not be as effective as learning from self-made flashcards. With a simple logic that when you put your own energy into creating these cards you use your own words, picture, and methods of explaining the information and therefore your brain develops strong neural pathways that will help you retain it.
With pre-made flashcards, this entire process is skipped and therefore it reduces the retention rate. Many people try to skip the process to save time but it is not worth it.
Mix Pictures and Words
To make the word easier to remember, it is very helpful to add pictures to the word. According to cognitive psychology, the picture superiority effect is a concept that describes how people tend to remember images better than they remember words. To make your flash card most effective try to mix pictures with words.
