Learning a language is best accomplished by being immersed in it, especially if you're learning a foreign language. We have two ears so we hear twice as much as we can say. Of course when we're little, that's how we acquire our new way of communication-we listen to what others say. After we learn how to talk, we can write in our own language, and soon read in our own language as well. We learned a couple of weeks ago that the best to increase vocabulary is by reading. When I was little, I had a series of books that went through the alphabet and gave tons of examples of pictures that started with each specific letter. I think just being an inquisitive and curious child helps too. If you hear a word you're not familiar with-ask someone or look it up yourself-I think information acquired first hand sticks around longer. Teachers also play a BIG role in helping us all learn language and not just in language arts class. We all know terms that relate to other areas such as math, science, and social studies. Anyone we come into contact with in our environment helps us learn language.

There are a vast number of words in the English language. However, there are words that are just naturally going to be used on a more frequent basis. I'm sure this has been the case throughout history with any other language ever spoken. Because these words are more popular in usage, it's necessary that our children know them and familiarize themselves with them because of their popularity. One way to accomplish this is through word walls. The more lessons or mini-lessons a teacher does that includes these words, the more comfortable students will feel seeing, saying, and using these words when necessary.

I think seeing an object and recalling its name helps to increase our ability to learn a language. Connecting the pictures that were in my letter books to their physical representation helped me. It's one thing to see a tree in a book but being able to see a tree and touch it in nature makes that connection more concrete. Symbols are visual depictions of objects. I think this is helpful for those people who feel they are visual learners, like me. Symbols help make the connection between the abstract and the concrete. You can't touch a tree in a picture book but seeing and touching a tree outside help the idea of a tree come to life. There are also symbols that companies use. When you think of a check mark you think of the Nike shoe company. Sometimes a company is known more for the symbol than the product but they still help the thoughts of objects become actual, real, and tangible.