Rationale for using a particular strategy

If you are wondering why use some of the strategies from this website, check the links below.

Acronyms
Rhymes
Drawings / mental images
A phrase as a memory aid
Using your L1 as an anchor in learning Spanish grammar
Talking to native speakers
Combining perceptual modes
Motor activity in language learning
Songs and chants
Learning as a chunk
Archetypal sentences
Avoiding avoidance
Playing with verbs
Note cards
Quick grammar reference

Acronyms
Acronyms make retrieval of information easier and quicker.  While some acronyms give you a general idea of when to use a particular form, others may help you remember, for example, specific adverbial clauses that certain forms are used with.  Additionally, some other acronyms may provide a hook for retrieving specific examples, whether they are words, concepts, or entire phrases.

Rhymes
As a child, you probably used rhymes as a way of learning to read.  Rhymes, no matter at what level, can make learning easier and more fun.  Since textbook rules may be a bit difficult to memorize, finding ways to express them through rhymes can be a helpful strategy.  And when your grammar improves, your motivation most likely goes up as well! 

Drawings / mental images
At times people find that the best way for them to describe some concept is to sketch it out on paper.  In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words!  In fact, MIT research scientist Felice Frankel, whose work centers on the visual expression of science, asserts that visual thinking is one of the keys to a holistic understanding of any concept.  Her educational technique of having students drawing and visualizing concepts that they learn in class and from textbooks has been tested since 2004, showing satisfactory results as demonstrated by higher exam scores (Source:  http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/picturing.html).

A phrase as a memory aid
Using an English or Spanish phrase strategically can help you memorize a complex rule, word endings, word order or some other syntactic issue.  The more you can relate this phrase to things in your life, the easier it will be to retrieve the rules, endings, or syntactic forms you need, when you need them.

Using your L1 as an anchor in learning Spanish grammar
Depending on your learning style preferences, a strategy for learning Spanish grammar may be to use your L1 as a basis for learning.   Whether you turn to English for semantic reference or to remember a particular word order, the use of the L1 may be extremely comforting for some of you, adding an element of familiarity in the face of a new linguistic challenge.

Talking to native speakers
Contact with native speakers is – in general − remarkably beneficial for improving your listening comprehension and oral skills.  Even though native speakers who are not Spanish instructors may not be able to provide you with detailed and formal grammar explanations, they should be able to spot the misuse of grammar and to suggest more appropriate grammatical choices.

Combining perceptual modes
If you use more than one perceptual mode when learning a new form, you increase your chances of accessing and using it correctly.  So, let’s say your tendency would be a visual approach.  You may enhance your learning by finding ways to include an auditory and even a hands on approach to learning the same material.

Motor activity in language learning
Why rely just on your cognitive memory if you can involve motor activity in boosting your learning?  So the learning of a grammar form might be enhanced by enunciating the form in an exaggerated way in order to get your articulatory memory working.  When you get your mouth involved by saying the forms out loud, you add an aural element to the visual {input} you may already be using.  And if you do this regularly, your mouth gets so used to articulating the forms that you may get better at noticing when something "doesn't sound right" in Spanish – the same way that you know when something doesn’t sound right in English.

Songs and chants
If you learn well by hearing things, this strategy should be appealing to you.  A lot of the input you receive in language class is visual.  So you may need to create your own listening materials and one means is through music or rhythm.

Learning material through a song or chant calls for replacing the original lyrics with lyrics that help you recall the grammar forms.  The process involves (a) identifying the irregular forms, (b) paying attention to how they sound, (c) composing a song or chant (making sure the stanzas rhyme more or less), and (d) choosing a familiar tune that you don’t mind singing (over and over) .

As composer of a grammar jingle, you may not get the recognition that the composer of the original song got, but you benefit from taking the time to create the jingle.  Besides, it’s fun.  And having fun when learning is what it’s all about.  Too frequently language learning becomes “serious business” and even “a drag.”  Fun is good!

Learning as a chunk
Memorizing an expression and thinking of the structure "as a chunk" will help you remember it easily (as a whole), leaving you more room to focus on possible gender and number agreement issues, depending on the case.

Archetypal sentences
Memorizing a single example of a form can help you recall the form more quickly when you need it. Even though you might find it a bit silly to keep coming back to the same example (e.g., how good-looking Tom Cruise is), this strategy may facilitate your ability to generalize el más guapo to other circumstances when you are talking about a singular masculine subject. So, for example, you could use the model el más guapo in order to say el más alto (if you’re talking about a building) or el más inteligente (if you’re talking about a male brainiac).

Avoiding avoidance
Becoming proficient in Spanish requires you to use a variety of forms, especially when you are dealing with both oral and written material, and with the different styles and levels of formality associated with each.  For example, depending on the situation, you probably would request a favor from your best friend differently from the way you would do it with a senior professor. 

Playing with verbs
Verb diagrams and charts can help you learn and remember some of key verb patterns.  Not only can you benefit from practicing writing the different forms, but when you look at your diagrams and notice the patterns (whether it’s seeing a boot, thinking about the stem of a flower, or just reorganizing the verb forms), you have a visual reminder of where and how the verb changes.  With practice, you’ll get better at recognizing other verbs that follow the same patterns.

Note cards
There is not such a thing as “one note card fits all.”  In fact, one of the advantages of using note cards is that you may tailor them to your wants and needs.  Another advantage is that they can have more than just a visual and tactile appeal.  For example, when you say the forms on the note card out loud, you’re adding another perceptual mode for learning.  Additionally, if you add sentences that put the form in a meaningful context, then you can be focusing on content learning as well.

Quick grammar reference
Quick grammar reference through your own tailor-made strategy toolbox – catering to your style preferences – can serve you in numerous ways:

• If you are hands on, the very act of creating, say, a verb chart can be a valuable learning experience.

• If you are visual, you benefit from accessing your verb chart in order to find the information you need on a given verb form.

• If you like to synthesize information, you have the chance to decide what is relevant for you to put into your strategy toolbox and to organize it the way you want.

• If you are analytic in nature, you can use strategies for highlighting the differences between, say, the preterite and imperfect tenses used to express past actions in Spanish.

•  If you are a sharpener (as opposed to a leveler), you may strategize about fine distinctions from the very outset in your learning of a given grammar form.  For instance, when preparing a chart about the subjunctive, you not only list situations requiring the use of this mood, but also expressions commonly associated with these situations.

• If you are a deductive (rather than an inductive) learner, you may include in your strategies toolbox the strategy of listing certain rules.  For instance, use a strategy for remembering that the future perfect tense is composed of two parts: the auxiliary haber in the future and the past participle of the main verb.