In recent years a technique has been popularised making it easier to learn new vocabulary in a foreign language. In fact, the entire field of language learning has undergone a change as new methods for acquiring languages have surfaced which dramatically improve the time it takes to learn them. The most notable of these is the Michel Thomas method which I highly recommend.

Word association works like this. In Spanish the word for frog is 'rana' so to remember that easily you close your eyes and visualise 'a frog that ran up a flagpole'. This mental picture gives you a link back to the Spanish word especially with the words 'ran up a'. It may seem like you have more to remember but the reality of how the mind learns and remembers is through pictures and association.

Using this technique makes it far easier to recall new vocabulary. In the future whenever you wanted to remember the word 'frog' in Spanish you would simply recall the metal picture and that would provide you with the link to the Spanish word.

Your association doesn't have to be an exact match, it's often enough to just point your mind in the right direction with the clue the association provides. Somehow the mind which was struggling to remember before can go 'Ah yes' and make the connection.

After a short while you'll find that the words no longer require this kind of association in order to be remembered. The information will have made the transition out of your short term and into your long term memory, it will have become knowledge which you'll instantly be able to recall without any assistance from association.