Ultimate Guide to Foreign Language Flashcards

I may be a proponent of technology in the classroom, but physical flashcards are still the way to go for vocabulary review. Today I’m going to run down my ultimate guide to using physical flashcards to review vocabulary. While I will be specifically focusing on learning German, these tips are helpful for any language you are learning.

If you want to know why I prefer physical flashcards, click here. 

How to Write Perfect Flashcards

In case you are unaware, German nouns have three grammatical genders plus the plural forms of nouns. This means that for every noun in German, you need to memorize if it is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.

Use Multi-Colored Flashcards

Choose a color for each gender and one for the non-noun words (verbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, etc).

It doesn’t have to be that you choose pink for feminine, blue for masculine and green for neuter. The point is to be consistent. No matter what color you use for each gender, just make sure it is always the same one.

I recommend using the same color for gendered pronouns. For example “er” is the word for “he” or the masculine “it”. For this reason, I would put it on the same colored card that you use for masculine nouns.

For pronouns like “du”, which isn’t necessarily referring to a particular gender, I would just stick to the “non-noun” color you chose.

Use different colors of marker for each gender if you don’t use multi-colored flashcards.

I recommend black for non-noun words, but that is just because you will be using it a lot and black markers are easier to come by. Again, the coloring doesn’t really matter as long as you are consistent.

Why I use colors:

The use of colors gives your brain another form of input to associate the gender with the noun.

When memorizing vocabulary, your brain picks up on as many forms of input as it can to form a solid memory. For example: I remember where and when I learned certain words, because of the thing that happened directly before it. Maybe it was a food I was eating, friends I was with or something else.

By using colors, your brain starts to associate the color with the gender. When you think of a word, your brain thinks of the color and then you can remember the gender.

Include plurals of nouns and irregular forms of verbs.

Under the original form of the noun, include the plural form. Below verbs, write in any irregular forms. If the verb takes a stem-change in the present tense, write the “er, sie, es” form to remind yourself of this.

If the verb is irregular in the Präteritum or Perfekt, write that too. Write all of these alternative forms smaller than the main form, but still large enough to be recognized at a quick glance.

I like to try to write as big as possible, while still fitting on one line for the original form and then a bit smaller for the other forms, again keeping it to one line.

Write large, clear letters. Write slowly.

Some people try to rush through the flashcard creation process as if they want to get it over so they can review, but writing the flashcards is part of the review. Take your time with this. Use the time you spend writing these cards to its fullest.
Read out loud as you write.

Say the word in both languages over and over again as you write.

While you are writing “book”, say “das Buch, die Bücher, the book”. When writing “das Buch, die Bücher” say “das Buch, die Bücher, the book”.

Repeat as you write.

Don’t stop at one time. Say the word as many times as you can. Keep repeating as long as you are writing on that card and even when you are putting the card into the stack. Don’t forget to read BOTH SIDES out loud as you review including articles, plurals, and irregular verbs forms.

How to Study with Flashcards

• Start with German to English.
• Look at the German word.
• Read it out loud.
• Read any plural or irregular forms, as shown on the card out loud, too.
• Think of the English version.
• Say the English out loud.
• Check to see if you are correct on the other side.
• Read both sides of the card a few times. Include plural or irregular forms as shown on the card.
• Do this a few times until you can do it fluidly with ease.
• Then try English to German with the same process.

Modified Flashcards

• If you don’t want to or don’t have access to real flashcards, take a piece of paper and fold it in half vertically.
• Write the term on the top side and the translation on the inside.
• If you want, you can cut in between each term, so you can check each one individually.
• If you want to reverse the languages, you can just flip the paper.