What’s in your Vocab Bank?

Last week in Italian class, our professore announced a little contest.  A contest involving words.  She actually says that vocab, aka, vocabulary is like a savings account.  Every word you put in is equal to one Euro, or Dollar here in the US (actually, at this point, I’d rather it be Euro.)  And every word you use, or withdraw from the bank is worth the same.  I like her little stories and rationalizations.  It keeps us having fun in class!!

So, she told us to start keeping track of every word in Italian that we know.  Really know! We have to write them all down on a sheet of paper. She will quiz us at the end of our 10 weeks when we hand it in, to make sure we really know them.  The student that knows the most vocab will win!  Win what?  Well, we don’t know yet..but I for one am hoping it is either the amount of cash in our Vocab Bank…or at the very least, a trip to Italia!  (A perfect example of why Sognatrice, aka..dreamer, is a fitting name for me)

When I first thought about it, I was reluctant to play.  I kept thinking how sad my short little list would be.  But as I kept thinking and thinking, listing and listing…my list kept growing and growing.  And I did not cheat and write down every number I know, every type of coffee drink I know, every pasta dish or noddle name or tiny words like he, it, the, or, and the like. I used actual words.  So far I am up to over 150 words….and counting.  I think traveling to Italy, watching movies about Italy, and reading every Italian travel guide and memoir known to man, has helped me immensely in my quest for Vocab Victory!!!  It is amazing to see how many words you really do know…. it excites you, pushes you to learn more and makes you believe in your abilities!! 

So, now I am passing the torch along to you, dear readers.  I thought it would be fun for you to play along.  Why not come up with your own list of words you know in a foreign language..even English…if that happens to not be your native tongue?  You never know….you may know more than you thought…and it just may motivate you to continue learning a new language.

For anyone who does their Vocab homework, if you post a comment telling  us your non-native language and the total number of words that you know in that language, I will enter you in a little drawing.  And no cheating!!!  We are all on the honor system here, folks.  Your homework is due by midnight, Friday, EST.   A little language themed prize will be awarded to the random winner of the drawing. 

Photo:  Water flows from a fountain in Lucca, Italy.   Both fontana and acqua are words in my Vocab Bank.