A child can learn the meaning of an Aramaic word today, know it well
during the lesson---and then struggle with it again after some time has
passed.

I have seen this many times in teaching.

Especially after a longer break, such as a vacation or bein hazmanim,
words that a student once knew are not always as readily available to
him as they were before.

For me, therefore, teaching Aramaic vocabulary does not end when a child
has answered correctly once.

The goal is for the words gradually to become part of his vocabulary, so
that when he encounters them in the Gemara, he recognizes them more
naturally.

Don't Learn and Finish---Learn and Review

The method I use is cumulative.

We begin by learning a defined group of words from the Gemara being
studied.

Once the students know them, we move on to another page of vocabulary.

But the first page is not left behind.

We review it as well.

Then we move forward again---and review what we learned earlier.

In this way, the student does not encounter each word only once. He
meets the words again and again over time, until they become more
familiar.

This may be slower than handing a student a long list of words and
marking it "completed," but the goal is not to finish a list.

The goal is for the child to remember the words and use them while
learning Gemara.

Review Needs to Take Place Over Time

There is a difference between a child who studied a vocabulary list well
for a test and a child who reviewed those same words repeatedly over an
extended period.

In my experience, cumulative review is especially important.

We learn.

We move forward.

We review.

And then we move forward again.

The older words continue to accompany the new ones.

And gradually, a vocabulary is built.

That does not mean a student will never forget. Children forget, and
after a break it is sometimes necessary to refresh material that was
already learned.

But the more often a word has been learned and reviewed---and the longer
the period over which those reviews take place---the greater the
likelihood that it will be readily available when the student encounters
it again.

How Do You Make Review Something Children Want to Join?

Reviewing vocabulary can become dry, especially when students are going
over material they have already learned again and again.

That is why I use quizzes, among other methods.

I ask the children for the meanings of Aramaic words. They answer and
earn points, and sometimes the child with the most points receives a
small prize.

The quiz does not change what we are learning.

The words are the same words, and the review is the same review.

But the format creates interest and encourages the children to
concentrate, remember, and participate.

It has another advantage as well: during the quiz, it becomes very clear
which words have already been learned well and which ones still need
work.

Not Every Student Starts at the Same Point

Over time, I have prepared vocabulary lists for different masechtot and
perakim.

When a student comes in already knowing some of the words, there is not
necessarily any reason to start over from the beginning.

I can check what he already knows, take another list, and remove the
words that are already familiar to him.

That way, the student can focus most of his effort on what he still
needs to learn.

There is an important message in this as well: we are not studying lists
for the sake of lists. We are building the knowledge the student needs.

The Real Test Is in the Gemara

I also use tests and incentives to encourage children to learn and
review at home.

But the test is not the goal.

The real test comes when the child opens a Gemara.

He reads a sentence and encounters a word he has learned.

He recognizes it.

Then comes another familiar word.

And another.

Gradually, a text that once seemed foreign begins to become more
understandable.

That is when the purpose of all those reviews becomes clear.

The goal is not for the child to be able to recite the translations of a
vocabulary list by heart. The goal is for that knowledge to serve him
within the actual learning of Gemara.

Knowledge That Is Meant to Last

Learning vocabulary takes time.

Reviewing it also takes time.

And sometimes I would prefer to use that time to cover more of the
Gemara itself.

Even so, I invest the time in review.

The reason is that the word we teach today does not belong only to
today's daf.

Many words will appear again in other perakim and other masechtot, and
will accompany the student throughout his future learning.

So when a child gradually acquires an Aramaic vocabulary, we are not
only helping him understand the lesson he is learning now.

We are giving him another tool toward the larger goal:

to open a Gemara, read it, understand it---and gradually, with
Hashem's help, become able to learn on his own.