methods of memorizing foreign words

Nowadays the flow of information presses on a person from all  

sides. Our brain has to remember many things. But it’s unrealistic  

to remember everything if you’re not Benedict Cumberbatch. How  

to improve your memory? You can improve memory and concentration  

using a set of measures: special exercises, healthy eating, good rest.  

This tutorial contains 6 popular methods of memorizing information.  

1 Cards  

flashcards are a way to memorize information. A system familiar  

to many from school, which is most often used to memorize words  

in a foreign language or dates in history.  

A card is an ordinary piece of paper, cardboard or an electronic  

picture with two working sides. On one — a word, definition, term or  

some kind of phenomenon. On the other — an explanation to it,  

a translation or a brief essence. Cards, especially when used on  

a regular basis, help to securely pack information into long-term  

memory.  

Why does it work?  

When we read a synopsis or listen to a lecture, we passively  

consume information: some part of the knowledge is stored in memory,  

and some of it flies out of the head. In order to better remember the  

information, and most importantly, to get it out of the «palaces  

of memory» in time, you need to connect active memorization, as when  

answering a question.  

When we collect the answer ourselves and generate it, the brain  

works more actively. Therefore, everything that we said and presented  

is remembered better than what we just saw and heard.  

This principle is at the heart of flashcard learning. We see  

a question — one side of the card with an unfamiliar word or definition.  

After that, we try to find the answer on our own and, if we didn’t cope,  

we open the other side and check ourselves. In fact, each viewing  

of a stack of cards is a small personal exam, a test of knowledge.  

During this test, information is assimilated better than with simple  

reading.  

2 Association method.  

Another good method of memorizing words and developing  

memory is the association method. … He and its variants are also found  

under other names: the method of the chain of associations, the  

method of associative links, the chain method of memorization. The  

method can be used to memorize a sequence of words, numbers,  

phone numbers, dates.  

The essence of the method is that a connection is established  

between two words or objects, which creates a single whole from  

objects that have nothing in common.  

What are associations?  

An association is understood as such a connection between objects  

or phenomena in the human psyche, which, when one of the objects  

included in the association appears in the mind, entails the appearance  

of another object. Two or more objects can participate in an  

association.  

How do you create associations?  

If there is no connection between objects, then it must be  

invented. Any connection can be: fabulous, fantasy, absurd, funny. The  

more unusual connection you can think of, the better you will be able  

to remember these objects. Let’s look at some examples.  

Attic — Cavalry- imagine the riders waiting in the attic for the  

signal to attack in the attic. There is a trumpet signal and riders on  

horseback, with difficulty climb through the attic window. Then the  

horses look out like cats for a place to descend and jump from the roof.  

With shouts of hurray, the cavalry rushes into the attack.  

Glass — Goats- two goats rushing towards each other. When the  

distance between them turns out to be very small, someone’s kind soul  

manages to insert glass between them — so that the goats do not  

inadvertently damage each other. They bang their horns with a crash  

on the glass that can withstand their impact, shrug their shoulders  

in bewilderment and disperse, leaving behind the clinking glass.  

By doing this, you can tie anything together. And the more incredible  

the association between them, the better.  

3 Using rhymes also helps. For example,  

— загляни скорее в шкаф,  

Там на полке шарфик — scarf!  

4/ Mimd map is a method of graphically representing words  

to remember. We find a connection between these words and draw  

a diagram.  

5 Method of thematic cards and stickers. It means that we lay out  

the cards by topic (for example, education, food, etc. ) and teach them  

literally for five minutes over a cup of coffee. And the sticker method is  

very simple:  

We write the name of the object in a foreign language on selfadhesive paper and glue it onto the object itself. Thus, each time we  

approach the window, we will know how it sounds in a foreign  

language.  

6 Audiolinguistic method.  

It is suitable for those people who have a well-developed auditory  

memory. The essence of the method is to learn the language through  

oral assimilation of the English text. This is possible both when  

listening to audio recordings and when watching films in English. The  

best option is to watch films, as the person perceives the material  

better. At the initial stage, it is best to watch films with subtitles, first  

in Russian and then in English.  

We looked at 6 methods of memorizing words. The main thing is  

not to forget about five important components:  

Comprehensibility. It is necessary to understand that any  

information is easier to perceive when it is familiar and understandable  

to us. If, while reading the book, there are unfamiliar terms in the text,  

then it will be better to parse them first, and then start memorizing.  

Structure. When information is organized. An example is books,  

dictionaries, catalogs, in which information is divided into certain  

sequences, categories and blocks.  

Visualization. Any information that can be presented in the form  

of vivid visual images is easier to remember, since visual memory  

works better than other types of memory.  

Association. Everything that surrounds us is interconnected. For  

example, if you imagine a dog, then simultaneously with its image,  

others will emerge through associations: a collar, a muzzle, a leash,  

a ball, a bone. So in the process of memorization, when we can link  

new information with the old, it will be several times easier  

to memorize.  

Attention. If you do not pay attention to something, you will not be  

able to remember it. Your interest is a good example of this. Everything  

that will be associated with them will be easily remembered. Attention  

is automatically directed to an interesting topic. Where there is no  

interest, there will be the opposite effect.