Since I have a solid everyday vocabulary in German, I focused my studies on academic, historic, and scientific lexicon. I cannot tell in exact numbers, but I have learned on average twenty new words every week. I found several good websites that provide vocabulary on specific topics. I chose the topics randomly. I also did not learn the words in any order, because my level of German is high enough that I already know patterns in words. I would always create a quiz for myself and try to solve it before actually looking at the meaning of the particular words. After my first attempt I would check which words I got right, purely based on word roots, prefixes, suffixes and similar. Then I would go over the words and actually learn their meanings. I would check myself again. Then I would try to do the quiz, but now explaining the words in German and giving examples of their usage. I would do a quiz every week and after about three weeks, I would check myself on words that I have learned earlier and see if I still remember them. Besides, learning vocabulary on a “dry” basis, I have also unconsciously learned new words doing other learning activities, such as listening to German talks and watching shows. That way I also learned how to put words into context. I believe I have realistic goals for the acquisition of vocabulary, given that I already posses good German skills.
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