Yesterday I told you how chewing a gum helps you to improve your memory. Today I want to write a few tips how you can memorize words of a language you want to learn. Vocabulary is probably the most important part of the language. At some point you have to switch from learning grammar and speaking (using the same basic vocabulary) and expand your vocabulary. When I teach the English language I see that my students find this part of learning process to be the most difficult. However, most of the mnemonic techniques that I have been writing about are good for learning language too.
Repetition of a word is probably the first stage in learning a word. Psychologists say that you have to see a word around thirty times in order to remember it. Of course, you have to see it over a period of a few days! So, you look at it and repeat it.
Try to associate a word with some mental image. Let’s say a word duke can be associated with the word duck on the basis of similar pronunciation. You can imagine a duke patting a duck or a duck introducing itself to you as a duke, or you can imagine a duck wearing a t-shirt with a word ‘duke’ written on it.
Another useful tip is to organize words into groups using various parameters: topic, synonyms-antonyms, parts of speech (verb, noun, adverbial modifier and etc.).
If you find some words difficult to remember, write them in your notebook, repeat them a few two times a day and a few days in a row. Try to implement some other mnemonic technique. It is good to change techniques if you find that your favorite one is not working in this or that situation.
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