How to Make Flashcards for Foreign Language Learning

Making flash cards with foreign language vocabulary will help you learn the language much easier. In order to be able to effectively speak and write in another language, vocabulary is a must, not just learning sentence structure and verb conjugations. Flash cards can indeed be used to learn conjugations, especially in languages where certain tenses are used more frequently than they are in English. Making a set of foreign language flash cards can be fun, and is a handy tool regardless if the student is public schooled, private schooled, or home schooled.

To make the flashcards, use blank 4 by 6” index cards. These can be purchased from a store like Staples or Office Max. You do not need several packs of cards to start with; one package will be enough for basic vocabulary. As the vocabulary increases, you will need more cards, but until that time comes, one pack of index cards will suffice. You will also need a package of different colored Sharpie markers. I like the Super Sharpie size as this will make the letters thicker in size than the thin markers.

With your foreign language text in front of you, look over the first chapter recently learned. There is likely to be a vocabulary list at the end of the chapter, regardless of the publisher. This is how most foreign language books are designed, to provide lists of new words per chapter for the student to learn. The bulk of words for your flashcards will com from these lists, although it is a good idea to check through the chapter and see if any words not in the lists are mentioned. With the list in front of you, on a piece of paper write down the following:

• Nouns – Blue
• Verbs -Red
• Pronouns – Green
• Adjectives – Purple
• Adverbs – Black
• Conjunctions – Orange

These will be the colors you will use for each card, depending on which category the word falls into. On one side of the card, write the word in English. On the other side of the card, write the word in the foreign language. Beneath the foreign word, write the pronunciation of the word, including stress marks on the syllables. Languages that use a different alphabet, like Persian or Russian, can also have the word written in Latin letters below the original word. Organize the cards by category, and place a rubber band around each card. For storage, you can use a plastic box for the cards to fit into. Any time the vocabulary is to be learned, these cards will help the student learn new words in the foreign language.