What techniques do you use to learn new words by heart? And how effective do you think the techniques you use are?

Techniques? Learn by heart? I am much too lazy to do that. I read as much Turkish - here and elsewhere - as I can and pick up new words that way plus my homework and lessons of course. But e.g. memorising lists, no, not my kind of learning.

I don't use any technique. I just trust my memory.

When I learn a new language I always try to connect the new words , grammer etc to any of the languages I know already. I also try to learn with so many of my senses as I can.

But I think the most effective way I´ve met was when my motherinlaw sat with me an hour a day for nine days and made like we learn when we are only a few ears old. She pointed at different things, for example, the sun and told me the name in her language. She used short sentences and body language, told me to come, to eat, asked me if I was freezing and so on. She always wanted me to repeat what she had said and also wanted me to tell the same in my own language. I think I have never ever learned so quickly.

For a couple of months I made "double-faced" cards with the turkish word one side and spanish word on the other side , that way I leant some words ( I have a visual memory) but I stopped because I trust my memory too and I just need to see one new word 2 or 3 times and it sticks in my head forever (Thank God!)

but for me it is easier to memorize turkish nouns and adjectives...the verbs are so hard to memorize, these are the ones which cannot stick into my head , espcially because there are many too similar and some VERY LONG! such as 'sabırsızlanmak'!!!

I also do like Dilara did and make flash cards, its the most effective way for me to learn is to see, I also do the vocabulary tests on here everyday and so far can only get 100% every time on level 1 and 2. But I have found that the words I remember the most are the ones I have gotten wrong when saying them to someone who is turkish, if I am corrected on a word those are the ones I never forget. Also I try to translate things in the translate forum and wait to see how close I came..... I usually never am that close, but it helps

I have actually two ways to learn new words:

1. At the beginning
Everything I see (and if its possible) I make a note on it eg. on my table - masa / on a glas - bardak
So whenever I see it, I have a connection to the meaning of it and it helps me

2. Using "useless" times
for example, when Im driving to work
it takes me 30 Minutes so I listen to cassettes or to little notes for a second and repeat the word again and again

in 2 months I have now 4 one inch notebooks filled with writing. I use both english and turkish . I will translate small sentences from turkish into english that I see on the net or turkish poetry .....using a word by word approach and also the same I will take my poetry and translate to turkish. I find writing the words........ adding them to sentences........and the repetition of using othem helpful...after a few times like this when I see the word I know it and can read it

merhaba!
my method for learning vocabulary implies a pocket notebook which is always in my bag, from which I read whenever I have a little spare time (when I stand in a line, or travel by bus or by underground etc).
I also revise the vocabulary when I am at home by doing translations of simmple sentences.
For the words which seem to "trick" my memory, I put them down on post-its and stick them on the mirror in my room so that I have them before my eyes until I am sure I have memorised them.

hepimize iyi sanslar!