Fold an 8 1/2- by-11-inch piece of white paper in half horizontally.
Unfold the paper, and hold it with the crease lying horizontally. Fold the top and bottom of the paper to the crease, making them meet in the middle. Fold the paper in half again, vertically. Unfold the paper, and cut along the crease lines. You should have eight rectangles, or flash cards.
Write a Spanish word on one side of each flash card and its corresponding English translation on the back. For example, write "perro" on the front and "dog" on the back.
Flip through each flash card, starting with Spanish side, and try to remember the meaning of each word. Repeat both words out loud after each card. This helps memorization as well as pronunciation.
Put the flash cards that you got right in one pile, and the ones you got wrong or were difficult for you in a second pile. Re-test yourself with the ones you got wrong until you have memorized all the cards.
Repeat the process, starting with the English side first.
Create verb conjugation tables on a piece of paper by drawing rectangles with two columns and four rows. Write a verb in the top left cell and its English translation in the top right cell.
Write "yo," "tú," and "él/ella/usted" in the three remaining cells on the left side, and "nosotros/as," "vosotros/as" and "ellos/ellas/ustedes" in the ones on the right side.
Conjugate the verbs by writing the correct form next to each pronoun.For example, for the verb "hablar / to speak," you write:
yo hablo
tú hablas
él/ella/usted habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros habláis
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan
Write at least 10 sentences in English that use the English translation of your Spanish vocabulary words. Leave one line blank after each sentence.
Translate the sentences to Spanish on the blank lines under each sentence in English. This tests both vocabulary and verb conjugation. For example, you write: The dog runs through the park. Then you write the Spanish translation: "El perro corre por el parque."
Read the sentences out loud to yourself or to a study partner to practice pronunciation and oral communication.