Has anyone tried the Iversen method? Ever since the last forum discussion about the Gold List approach I have become interested in word lists.
This interest has arisen primarily as I have become familiar with how I use Lingq. What I have found so far (for myself) using Lingq is that through plenty of reading I have encountered three distinct groups of words. The first group is that of close cognates or words that instantly stick in my memory when I come across them (they can be either common or rare words). I have picked up the meanings of these words incidentally just by reading (Lingq works great for learning these). The second group are words that are not cognates and do not have any immediate resonance with me but which occur so frequently that they eventually bump up, first into the stage of recognition (I can recognize the word but I don’t know the meaning), and then to understanding. These first two groups comprise the 33,000 known words I have on Lingq (Spanish). The third and final group is comprised of those words that are not cognates and do not immediately stick in my mind and are also rare. I do not encounter these words in texts often enough for them to be come recognizable to me so that I can then learn them using Lingq. These words make up the 20,000 lingqs that I have banked in my account (Spanish).
I have been hoping that some form of word list can help me with the third group that makes up these 20,000 words. I tried using the gold list for a few weeks but my retention was not as high as I would have liked. It may work better for others. But then I stumbled onto Iversen’s method in the How To Learn Any Language Forum and I have found the retention rate better (for myself). What I chiefly aim to gain by using this method is not a perfect definition in my mind but primarily I want to create a groove or a trace (or a lingq) in my memory for these words that will make them at least recognizable (if not understandable), a feat that I was struggling to achieve through reading alone. Having created this groove, when I see them next time in context in Lingq or through other types of reading I can then hopefully discern the meaning.
To do this I have exported my lingqs to a pdf and printed them off with the words and definitions to one side so that I have room on the same paper to make the five columns needed for the Iversen method . I have printed them off alphabetically which aids in ease of remembering and also helps one notice the relationship between closely related words.
I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with this method?
Link to Iversen Method: Word lists | Learn Any Language | Fandom