Learning New Vocabulary Words Through Reading

Salvete amici!

I would like to expand my vocabulary in Latin, but it is hard for me to memorize random words using flashcards. Right now, I am going through LLPSI and trying to naturally read it. However, it can be frustrating sometimes when the same word I don't understand pops up over and over again. While I have learned some words through the "Natural Way," it is also difficult for me to reproduce Latin words from their English definitions. Are there any techniques I can utilize to increase my retention of these words? Should I be paying closer attention to certain aspects of the text? Right now, I am just reading the Latin out loud word-by-word.
 
 

cinefactus

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If you read them often enough you will remember them.
Writing or speaking is another way to fast track recall.
Another way is to record them like an audible flash card and listen to them in the car.
 

Anbrutal Russicus

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It depends on what kind of words you're having trouble with, but if it's normal nouns and adjectives, likely you don't understand the surrounding context well enough either, because the lightbulb should turn on by itself if all the connections are right. The more slippery words like conjunctions and especially discourse markers ("like, though, obviously", vērō, nam, atque) can be tricky to get the hang of - but I've found that unless some other language I know has an equivalent, looking up their translations I would forget their meaning pretty instantly if I ever grasped it at all. These are learned through constant exposure. Also, it's not entirely clear what your "word-by-word" looks like - it could be that you're taking stock of too little context at once, which means missing some or many of the necessarily connections. Generally you should approach a text in several different ways - I recommend one listen (blind or while reading along), one read-through focussing on the general meaning, then another one with a focus on thorough understanding and attention to new and unfamiliar things, and finally listening and/or reading one or more times aiming to catch everything in real-time.
 

Gregorius Textor

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but it is hard for me to memorize random words using flashcards
I too found this difficult.

It's much more helpful to me to memorize sentences -- not too long sentences (if they're long, I break them up). And I don't punish myself (I don't count it as an error) for producing the words in a different order, as long as it is grammatical and makes good sense. Of course, to learn all of the forms of a word, I need more than one sentence. But in those multiple sentences -- even in a single sentence -- I'm learning more than one word. And I'm learning more than words: I'm learning ways of putting them together.

I use Anki flash cards for this.
 
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