I find that using mnemonics is an efficient way of learning words. The only problem is to find good mnemonics, which can be easy if the word sounds like somethi

I find that using mnemonics is an efficient way of learning words. The only problem is to find good mnemonics, which can be easy if the word sounds like something you already know, and hard if it reminds you of nothing and the word represents a very abstract concept. Memorizing something like the top 1000 words used in everyday conversation, with little grammar exercises sprinkled in, seems to be a good strategy. I've only got to memorizing something like 500 words (give or take 150 words...) so I haven't put this method quite to the test yet.