It must be admitted that knowledge of a foreign language is indispensable for self-development and career growth in the modern world. Of course, to master it, you need to memorize many unfamiliar words, be it English, French, German, Chinese, Hindi, Swahili, Hausa or Quechua. Let's try to figure out how to work on vocabulary correctly and efficiently. What the virtual space guru advisesGoogle? The trainer-methodologist for the development of figurative memory Tatyana Nikolaevna Mazina will help us to understand this.
Relations with foreign languages, of course, were different for everyone. There are bilinguals whose brains are arranged in such a magical way that memorizing words is not difficult for them. There are those who, from childhood, had the opportunity to communicate in a linguistic environment. Some of us have had the opportunity to learn from talented teachers.
Someone was unlucky enough from school, when there was no motivation, the lessons seemed boring and sometimes turned into torture, and the ball thrown to you, the flight of which was accompanied by a question that caught by surprise, even more developed a persistent feeling of dislike for all foreign languages, without exception. Each of us has our own story of joy and disappointment, victories and defeats in learning English, German, French. Leaving in the distance the pain and bitterness of the previous negative experience, like people who, at a conscious age, decided to take up the acquisition of the language thoroughly, let us dwell on some useful techniques.
Cards
A fairly standard way of learning any foreign words, it is also relevant for hieroglyphics. On the front side you need to write the word itself, and on the back side transcription and translation. Work with cards should be done regularly, otherwise you will have to wait a very long time for positive results. Important! The cards must be produced by yourself. Perhaps if you buy them in a store, they will be prettier and with funny pictures. However, the process of memorization is beneficially affected by your own hard work on creating them.
Stickers
Attach tags or stickers to objects around you. Although with this approach only visual memory will be involved and the range of objects is limited, this method will allow you to learn the necessary words.
Pictures
Pictures with signed words are known to help you learn new vocabulary. When words relate to a specific subject, we do not have to resort to translation into our own language. This is how a certain image is formed for us. Moreover, there are no difficulties with the required materials. Today we have at our disposal many dictionaries with pictures on various topics.
Writing
We must not forget that when mastering a language, learning to write is just as important as speaking, reading and listening. What to do in this case? If you want to write correctly - write, prescribe and rewrite... A better alternative to lines of words has not yet been invented.
The construction helps to somewhat simplify memorization synonymous series or memorizing antonyms. An exercise in word formation, when we add all kinds of prefixes and postfixes to the word, can be a good help.
Mnemonics
Quite a simple and effective way to memorize. Any word is assigned visual image... They say that the more non-standard your association, the better the new lexical unit will be remembered. Without such a method, it is very difficult to cope with hieroglyphics. For those who study Japanese, the Path of the Tailless Bird helps. And be sure to repeat! Otherwise, the association will not be fixed in memory.
Context and only context!
There is also another approach. Do not memorize words on your own, but master them in context. It is important to work with the memorized word by writing several sentences with it. It is necessary to pronounce the constructed phrases aloud several times. This will help not only to better remember the meaning of the word, but also to feel the linguistic situation in which its application will be most appropriate. In addition, such a simple technique helps to improve speaking skills and grammar.
Proverbs, tongue twisters, poems and songs
Do not forget about such useful things as Tongue Twisters and proverbs... This is a very good way to learn new words.
Try to fluently say several times: "You cuss, I cuss, we all cuss, for asparagus!" or "Seven slick slimey snakes slowly sliding southward"... As long as you hone your pronunciation of tongue twisters, while conscientiously working on speed, the words will be remembered by themselves. Just don't forget to translate them.
For the same purposes, you can use poems... Let's remember a wonderful rhyme in English "The house that Jack built"... With so many repetitions, willy-nilly, new words will be remembered.
This can also include songs... Especially uncomplicated. At the level of preschool and primary education, this method of memorization is used quite often. Why not use it now? Then language learning will be much less burdensome. And you can understand that the learning process can be fun too.
Games
You can't write off the benefits of games. This helps an adult as much as a child. Word game "Broken phone", "gallows"(Hangman) Crossword puzzles are pretty good ways. Active play works best when you are in a group.
We do not ignore technical progress!
There are many applications for memorizing new words! In your free minute or during a trip in transport, you can quickly repeat the words on the cards and take a short test to understand which of the new words you have already mastered, and which still need to be worked on. These applications include Anki... It will always remind you that it's time to work on the words a little. There are versions for both Android and iOS. And, importantly, cards in Anki you can create it yourself, so it can be used to learn different languages, as well as add pictures for clarity.
The operation of the application is based on spaced repetitions. Memrise... The words in it are also voiced. For some of them, there is even a video. Available for Android and iOS.
There are special applications for memorization phrasal verbs, and there are always plenty of difficulties with them. For example, for Android it is English Idioms and Phrases, and for iOS it is English Idioms Illustrated.
Don't forget to be emotional. 
If you fill the word alive emotion By the way, it doesn't have to be positive, the memorization process will be more effective. The lexical unit will quickly go into your active vocabulary from the passive one. The main condition is that the feeling you are experiencing should be bright.
These simple techniques will help you streamline your work and memorize new vocabulary with the least amount of time loss. This is what the omniscient Google says. And on this we could put an end to our story. But no. That's not all. Since we adhere to a scientific approach to any issue and are not ready to take everything for granted, we will ask our expert about the methods of memorization, trainer-methodologist for the development of figurative memory of the training campaign of the VOC Tatyana Nikolaevna Mazina.
Expert opinion
Memorizing new words is a rather global problem. We have been learning the language for 8 years, and in the end we speak and read with a dictionary. Several criticisms of the advice presented can be made right away. Of course, you cannot learn words outside the text. Knowledge of a foreign language is not only knowledge of words, but the ability to explain your thoughts with the help of well-built speech forms. Therefore, learning foreign words is only necessary in context. The word must be "Alive"... A very useful way is use pictures... With their help, we immediately form an image. Although, of course, not all words can be matched with these pictures. Visual images are also good for remembering spelling, but without speaking it will be ineffective. Words should be heard.
Need to remember clear rule: when learning a foreign language, it is necessary to read texts only aloud, pronouncing words and sentences.
As for associations in our textbooks, this technique is often suggested, but usually incorrect. Associations should be unusual. It's right. However, there are certain laws that will allow you to assign an association to the word. It must necessarily correlate with the meaning of the word.
Tongue twisters, songs, poems- are always good, just like games. Helps to memorize words and solve crosswords. There is nothing wrong with that. Any work in excess of the norm will be useful. But the inscriptions on objects from this list can be safely excluded. It doesn't make much sense. At best, the words will be remembered only visually. Moreover, they are usually never spoken.
Let's focus on three fundamentally important points that you should pay attention to when mastering a language.
1) A foreign language in your home should be spoken as often as possible. You need to read regularly, listen to music, watch films with subtitles. Use native speech as little as possible.
2) It is important to read at least 1 page of text aloud a day. You can do without translation, but there should be no more than 1/3 of unfamiliar words in it. At the initial stage, you should not take too complex texts. If you are serious about learning a language, this page should be read twice. When a person comes across unfamiliar words during the first reading, he can refer to the dictionary and read the transcription. Situations often occur when we are visually memorizing a word, but cannot pronounce it correctly. The second time, the process will go smoother, now without errors.
3) And the most important note. You can never memorize a foreign word, and then its Russian translation. Just the opposite should be done. First read the Russian word. Then present its clear image, its specific meaning. Only then can you read a foreign word and apply some special methods to memorize it.
And be sure repetition... There are rational systems for repetition and recording of information in long-term memory. It is important to know that the largest drop in information occurs in the first 12 and 24 hours. Therefore, you need to repeat the words in the following mode. Learned - immediately repeated. We fixed all the errors. Then it was repeated after 20 minutes, 8 hours and after 24 hours. This way the new vocabulary will remain in long-term memory.
It is important to learn words only from texts. The word must work. Why should you always say everything out loud? Our receptivity immediately increases. The memory starts to work at once through 3 channels: I see, I hear, I speak. This is how we learn to perceive the language by ear and speak at the same time. We prepare the speech apparatus so that it can be used with ease. Gradually, we begin to better understand the psychology, rules and logic of constructing phrases, to get used to how words are arranged in the form of a sentence, in what order. "
Well, most of the google tips have been helpful. But let's pay attention to the fact that these are additional ways of memorization, which should be based on a fairly clear methodology. Taking on the development of a foreign language, you need to competently carry out systematic work... Our expert told us how to build the right base. Everything else is additional funds. When we learn a foreign language, the memorization of new words occurs constantly: while reading, listening, writing letters and essays.
Learn new words in a fun way! Be sure to try different memorization techniques, find yours and combine them. Then progress will not be long in coming. And remember the main recommendation of our expert: "Speech in the target language should be heard every day!"
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Memory training
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How to memorize foreign words
One of the main conditions for a good command of a foreign language - large vocabulary. A good level of knowledge of the language is considered to be mastering more than 15 thousand words, and proficiency in 50 thousand words is already considered an excellent level.
There are a huge number of different methods for learning foreign languages, including those designed specifically for memorizing foreign words. We will touch upon just this problem in this chapter. What can be summed up the main recommendations for improving (increasing speed and strength) memorization of foreign words?
MBBO method
The first recommendation or the first method (MVVO method) is especially important for those who want to learn how to communicate fluently in a new language. It is indisputable that when there is a lively conversation (especially if more than two people are participating in the conversation at the same time), it is important to be close to thinking in this language, otherwise you and your interlocutors will feel discomfort, the conversation may drag on, etc. ...
Being close to thinking in language means that, with a sufficient vocabulary, one must be able to automatically make up phrases, which means that the time for remembering the words themselves is reduced to zero. If words do not automatically pop up in your memory, then you will lose the quality of spontaneity necessary to communicate fluently in a foreign language. Of course, spontaneity can come (and will come) with a long experience of communication, but how to speed up this process?
First of all, remember that the main thing for this is NOT to memorize a foreign word as a translation of a native word. It is necessary to immediately associate a foreign word directly with the corresponding concept. That is, you do not need to memorize, repeating many times, for example, butter - (baht) - butter, butter - butter, butter - butter ... learning foreign words). Instead, you need to visually present the image (picture) of the oil itself, and, holding it in front of your eyes, repeat only one foreign word: butter, butter, butter, butter ...
In this case, the very concept of "butter" will be directly linked in your memory with the English "butter", which stands for it. Thus, "butter" becomes a concept, and not just a translation, which, by the way, can be easily substituted by another with ordinary mechanical memorization - after all, in this case there is no so-called sensual material basis for it, but only a set of letters. In other words, you only need translation to know what to represent.
It is even better if you will not only visualize the image of the memorized word, but also connect other senses to memorization (hearing, touch, smell, etc.). That is, you can apply method of compassion. It would also be nice to remember something special from my personal, individual experience associated with this word.
In the case of "butter", I would suggest imagining how you, for example, run your index finger over a slightly melted piece of butter, feel its softness, temperature, see the path that remained on the piece of butter from your finger. Then you can imagine licking your finger, smelling the taste of oil; you can imagine how you cut off a small piece of butter, again feeling its hardness or softness, eat this piece, while being aware of all your sensations. You can imagine an oil stain on clothes or a towel.
You can try to hear how it hisses in the pan or with what sound it falls on the floor. After all, for sure at least once in your life it fell in front of you or in front of your eyes, it is slippery. You can imagine a porridge with a piece of butter that has not yet melted, or remember the wise remark that if a sandwich falls, it will surely fall butter down, and smile. It would be nice to remember something from your life associated with oil, for example, how once it melted in your bag ... In short, imagine what is closer to you. In this case, you must try to remember and feel as much as possible of what you have associated with this or that concept.
I deliberately enumerated for so long that it is possible to imagine in connection with only one concept. It is important for me that you understand all the variety of how you can "feel" the word "butter" - (baht) (as well as any other foreign word). In fact, visualization, application of the method of feelings and autobiographical memories does not take much time, as it might seem, no more than 1.5-2 minutes, and the effect is tangible. The main thing with all this "procedure" is not to forget for a second, and preferably out loud: butter, butter, butter ... The same operations are applicable for memorizing verbs, and for adjectives and for other parts of speech, the main thing is to be able to highlight the essential sides in memorized words.
Why is this method so effective? The fact is that it is similar to the scheme for the formation of concepts in the child's native language. Mom says to the child: "Take a chair." At the same time, she shows him with her hand at him, explaining what exactly needs to be taken. For now, for a child, the word "chair" is an empty space, a set of sounds. But now he takes it, carries it, feels the dimensions, weight, the material from which it is made, the smell of wood or fabric, sees its shape, etc. Then again there is a situation with a chair, my mother asks: "Move the chair."
It may be a completely different chair, and you need it in order to get up on it and get something, and not sit down, but mother again called this object a chair, and the baby learns more and more about the concept of "chair", gets acquainted with its functional application. He compares the essential features and gradually a moment comes when the child has already formed the concept of "chair". Now he no longer needs to point his hand at him, he himself knows what a chair is. (By analogy with this, in the situation of studying foreign words, when the concept is formed, you will no longer need to waste time remembering or looking into a dictionary.)
You, too, can imagine yourself as a child who learns the world, and, getting acquainted with the next foreign word, do all the operations with it that I spoke about above, gradually achieving that this word turns into a concept for you. By memorizing words in this way, you can achieve their automatic appearance in your memory at the right time, that is, you will be close to thinking in language. I conventionally call this method By the method of interaction of all sensations, abbreviated MVVO.
*** Exercise 15.
Connect the sound of English words to their corresponding concepts using the MVVO method. How to do it? Let me remind you that it is necessary to associate a foreign word, for example, WINDOW - (Windows) not with its translation - the word "WINDOW", but with the "window" as a concept, in other words, with the image of the window, moreover, with the braz obtained through the interaction of all sensations ...
So, without stopping repeating (and better aloud) window, window, window ..., you should simultaneously imagine a window, try to remember and hear the ringing of a broken window or any other sound associated with it, for example, its rattling in a strong wind. Imagine how you touch the window, be aware of your sensations from touching. Remember some situation from your personal life related to the window, better pleasant or funny, etc. Do not forget to repeat the memorized foreign word with an interval of 3-5 seconds.
Here are the English words, their transcription and translation.
Try to apply MVVO to each of them.
SUGAR(SHUGA) - SUGAR
STOMACH(STAMOK) - STOMACH
GRASS(GRAS) - GRASS
INK(INC) - INK
PILLOW(PILOU) - PILLOW
BENCH(BENCH) - BENCH, WORKSTAK
MIRROW(WORLD) - MIRROR
MUSHROOM(MASHRUM) - MUSHROOM
CLOUD(CLAUDE) - CLOUD
CURTAIN(KÖTHN) - A CURTAIN
In the literature on the study of foreign languages, quite often you can find two more methods of memorizing words that have something in common with MVVO. And although in terms of efficiency they are significantly inferior to MVVO, we will nevertheless dwell briefly on them.
1. Surely you have already heard that it is useful to attach pieces of paper (a kind of tags) with words denoting them in the target language to all objects, as possible. (Wardrobe, table, shelf, glass, window, kettle, towel, hanger, lamp, calendar, wire, curtains, etc.) grasp them firmly.
The advantage of this method is that, using it, you also memorize a foreign word not as a translation of a native one, but immediately as an image-concept. But the limitations of this method are visible to the naked eye. How many items can you attach these tags to? By 100-200, no more. At your disposal will be only those items that surround you at home and at work.
But what about the rest? A significant disadvantage of this method is that when it is used, only vision works, and the interaction of all the senses does not have a positive effect. Moreover, such a mechanism for memorizing new words is not fixed in children's experience. As you already know, concepts in a child's native language are formed in a completely different way.
Although if you first apply the MVVO method to the memorized words, and then attach tags to some objects, then they may serve as a good reminder, a repetition of what has already been learned. Thus, it is more likely not a method of memorizing foreign words, but a good method of repeating them.
2. Another widespread method of memorizing foreign words is the method of memorizing them with the help of pictures, which depict the main meanings of words. There are countless dictionaries in pictures, sets of cards of different sizes and degrees of artistry. These dictionaries and flashcards are usually accompanied by various guidelines for their use.
This method is really popular all over the world. And it is not in vain that it is popular. Its effectiveness in comparison with ordinary memorization of words is obvious. But it is not difficult to notice that it is only the first part of the above-described MVVO method, a part that can be conventionally called "visualization". That is, viewing a picture depicting the meaning of a word is a kind of analogue of a mental representation of a word in MVVO.
It is important to note that for those who cannot imagine the images of words mentally, cards with their image will even be necessary. The card will help form an internal mental image of the word. They can serve as a starting point for all further work to activate other sensations associated with the word. Flashcards (as opposed to dictionaries) are also convenient in that a large number of exercise options are possible with them.
And yet, your own image of the memorized word is preferable to someone else's (in this case, the artist), since the formation of a concept is more effective, nevertheless, on the basis of personal experience, and your image of an object may differ significantly from that of an artist. However, there are words, the visual image of which does not appear so immediately in your mind. These can be abstract concepts, as well as words denoting objects that you have never seen - not only in reality, but also in the picture. In these cases, the artist's picture will help you in shaping the visual image.
Another well-known recommendation for memorizing foreign words is that it is advisable to memorize words as part of phrases. Thus, in order to better remember the word, it must be included in the phrase. For example, for the word "butter" it is enough to compose the phrase "Don" t eat much butter! " (I really love bread and butter.) Now make sure that the phrase is grammatically correct. After that, you need to say it out loud several times, imagine the situation described by the phrase. It helps to memorize the singing of the phrase to some well-known motive.
The way of memorizing in context is good because you not only learn a new word, but also once again repeat the words already known to you, from which the sentence is composed, as well as the grammar rules used in it. It is also important that with frequent use of this method, the fear of speaking in a foreign language decreases and the corresponding skill is developed, the skill of using familiar words in phrases is a necessary condition for free communication in the target language. (Surely you have met people who know many words of the language, but they are afraid to speak this language, and often simply are not able to.)
To the previous |
Many who begin to learn a language, from the very beginning, ask themselves the question of how to memorize foreign words easily, quickly and with pleasure, in order to immediately speak a foreign language.
Foreign word memorization technology
First of all, one most important remark - this technology of memorizing foreign words is configured in such a way that you need to quickly learn words in the direction of "foreign - Russian", that is, we look at a foreign word and remember its meaning in Russian, but not vice versa!
As soon as you decide to speak a foreign language quickly, the question arises of how to memorize foreign words hundreds a day? This is not always possible, because words by themselves cannot jump into the head. You always need someone to put them there or enter them into memory like in a computer.
Stage 1 Working with foreign words
At the stage of working with foreign words, we choose, divide and memorize foreign words.
1) Choose a portion of words to memorize in the amount of one hundred pieces!
I want to note right away that 100 is the maximum maximum, at least for me. Maybe, if this technique starts to work for you, you can immediately quickly learn words and overcome both 200 and 300, but for a start it is better not to take more than 50-60. Limit your speed!
2) Divide the portion into five parts
This is akin to separate meals, so that not everything at once, but all day, but little by little. Please note - the parts must be equal! Therefore, in order to quickly learn words, initially take such an amount that is divisible by 5 without a remainder!
3) memorize words
Of course, you need to memorize as much as possible, because the art of quickly learning words requires great accuracy! In total, memorizing the words from the first part will take you no more than 30 seconds!
Short-term memory mechanism
How does the short-term memory mechanism work at stage 1? 30 seconds is a very significant figure! It is directly related to our short-term memory, which allows and does not allow us to quickly learn words. Why? But because short-term memory is like a computer's RAM, only in humans it is very quickly overloaded.
Well, judge for yourself, how can you quickly learn words if this memory holds information in itself for only 30 seconds, and for these half a minute it remembers from 2 to 26 units of information! This cannot even be compared with the first computers of the 1980s.
But! Man is not a machine, so his memory has some other interesting possibilities! For example, she doesn't care how long the word you memorize! That is, if we have seven letters, seven words and seven phrases, memorization will be the same! Moreover, the preference is given to longer information. So it's better to quickly learn not single words, but whole expressions!
Impairment of short-term memory
And one more important circumstance - a deterioration in short-term memory may occur, short-term memory will not work if you, having started to quickly learn words, begin to repeat the word that you just memorized many times! The memory will just overflow and freeze.
In other words, if you repeat one word for more than 30 seconds, then it will simply be erased from your short-term memory and will not go into long-term memory in any way! And in reality, even if one learns words very quickly, a person is unlikely to be able to repeat one word at such a speed 10-20 times in half a minute.
Hence the conclusion - make the primary element longer - quickly learn not the word itself, but the phrase in context. It is more pleasant for memory and more useful for you to quickly learn to speak a foreign language. The number of foreign words and expressions that you memorize in "one sitting" should be limited.
If you increase it even a little bit, you will immediately begin to forget everything.
How is the process of remembering in the brain
How does the process of memorization take place in the brain and what can improve it or, conversely, damage it? We do not repeat, we remember! And, look - we memorize from 2 to 26 units in "one sitting"! Therefore, do not overload initially - after all, you do not have additional blocks of RAM. Pause! Memorized words from one part - do not rush to the next!
Slow down and switch to some neutral process, not related to the desire to quickly learn words. The pause must be at least ten minutes! You need to "recharge" your short-term memory and open the long-awaited door to long-term memory.
During these ten minutes, you unconsciously begin to quickly learn and repeat the words you just memorized. Slowly cooling down the brain gives you a unique opportunity to increase the time of finding new words in short-term memory up to a day - one and a half!
Stage two: rhythm, contexts, repetition
In the second stage, we have to learn how to work with rhythm, include words in contexts and repeat correctly.
1) We repeat the words!
10 minutes after memorizing the first part of the words, put a paper sheet on the translation, go over the words with your eyes and check how you remember them. Don't worry if you missed something. Catch up on everything in the next steps!
2) Knock the rhythm!
We take something evenly and loudly ticking, for example, a metronome - mechanical, electrical, computer or something like that. If there is none, we safely arm ourselves with a pencil and begin to knock a rhythm of the size of 1 beat per second. Likewise, set the rhythm on the metronome to 60 beats per minute.
And so, with each such blow, we look at the word that we have memorized and try to recognize it. Knock-word, knock-word, knock-word ... and off we go. At the same time, we mentally count how many words have already passed. If at this second we cannot remember the word, we leave it and move on to the next. Our task here is to keep the rhythm!
Why are we doing this at all? And then, in order to just turn on the internal resources of the brain and long-term memory, which activates the ability to quickly learn words. We kind of put ourselves into a "language trance", as we concentrate on the rhythm, and all our fears and internal criticism are fooled and they cannot interfere with us at this moment. At the same time, the mechanisms of word recognition and its deeper memorization are activated.
All actions, starting from Step 4, are recorded by the clock - how much time you need to go through all these steps. In the future, it will be possible to quickly learn words and plan the number of words to memorize in the total portion.
3) We work with the following parts of words
We pass to the second and subsequent parts of words from our portion and repeat the first stage. Remember the 10 minute pause after the first memorization of each part! And so quickly we learn words and study the whole portion!
4) Check the entire portion!
We do it very simply - we read all the words that we have memorized and repeated. This step is important because we summarize a kind of result of our "brainstorming" and "clean up the tails", that is, we recall those words that have already been forgotten.
As a result, it should take you no more than one hour to learn words quickly. How many words you can memorize and repeat during this time is up to you, but be prudent. Quantity does not mean quality at all.
What should you do now, after you have studied the entire verbal portion? You must start the process of loading the learned material into long-term memory. This is done using spaced repetitions in order to "push" information from short-term memory even deeper.
How not to forget foreign words
The answer to the question of how not to forget foreign words can be spaced repetitions. Interval repetitions are repetitions of a learned portion of words at regular intervals, after which this tasty portion is remembered seriously and for a long time.
When you started to quickly learn words, you already repeated them once - each part 10 minutes after memorization. Now you repeat the entire batch as follows:
First repetition - after 24 hours
Second repetition 24 hours after the first
Third repetition - 24 hours after the second
The fourth and final repetition is 2-3 months after the third!
Do not be confused by such a long break in repetitions - in reality you will be able to remember the words even after a year! So don't worry about your memory! The main thing is to go through all four intervals!
Okay, you passed the first portion, but what about the rest? After all, the next day you will take the next portion, on the third day - another one, and then another and another! How not to drown in this avalanche of words that suddenly rush into your consciousness and completely confuse your cards?
Everything is very simple! You will need not only to quickly learn the words themselves, but also to streamline the process of learning foreign words and their repetition.
To do this, designate each portion with a serial number from 1 to infinity and put these numbers on the calendar, according to the repetition intervals.
Enter the serial number of the portion right in the date window and that's it! Just do not forget under which number which portion of words is hidden By the way, the portion number can be initially written in the very source of these words.
Can I learn a foreign language on my own?
Having learned how to quickly memorize foreign words, the question immediately arises - is it possible to learn a foreign language on your own? What can I say? The technique works! The brain accelerates, but it does it gradually, as if spinning up the speed, but then it may not stop.
I quickly learned words and in about one week I reached the level of 50 words per hour, but then I already felt the strain of my brain, a kind of “burning out” of it. You know, I read that simultaneous interpreters in their work change every half hour, because their brain simply cannot withstand a longer time due to constant tension and concentration.
Something similar is felt here too! At first, in general, everything goes quite difficult and unpleasant. Everything inside refuses to quickly learn words and longs for the familiar cramming of words, which then happily disappear from memory.
However, after several days of such accelerations, the body gets used to it and the first results begin to come. Even later, it is tempting to quickly learn words and swing this flywheel to the maximum, but here I would recommend that you take your time.
The number of words in a portion needs to be increased little by little, and even then only if you see that your technique has "gone". How much this quantity should be is up to you, but think for yourself! For me, the optimal portion is 50-60 words, well, it's like the permitted speed in settlements.
Now about how often you need to apply this technique. Who wants to quickly learn words "with a breeze" at 200 per hour, evaluate your capabilities to start. After some testing, I am deeply convinced that it should not be your basic way of learning foreign words.
It would be very uncomfortable for me if every time during memorization and repetition I accelerated all my neurons, and then would calm them down for a long time. This is somehow fraught, I think ... The technique is unambiguously effective at the basic stage of vocabulary typing. This is where you need to quickly learn words in order to quickly start speaking a foreign language and learn to comprehend a foreign language by ear!
It is also possible to quickly learn words and apply the “two hundred words per hour” technique at the stage of mastering thematic vocabulary, that is, on some specific topics and areas, where there are many words and most of them are specific terms.
UDC 372.881.1
25 WAYS OF REMEMBERING FOREIGN WORDS
Markova Svetlana Dmitrievna
Vilnius University
lecturer, doctoral student, Department of Russian Philology
annotation
The result of working on the development of a lexical skill depends on the method used in learning a foreign language.
This article discusses the 25 most effective ways to memorize words. These are illustrated dictionaries, thematic dictionaries, frequency dictionaries, lexical minimums, lists, associations, routes, lexiland, city, cards, a trainer of all polyglots, words in action, cards - smartphone application, stickers, metronome, personal comfort zone, recording on a voice recorder , cognate words, phrases, opposites, synonyms, creating your own thematic dictionaries, mind maps, crosswords, scanwords.
25 WAYS TO MEMORIZE OF FOREIGN WORDS
Markova Svetlana Dmitriyevna
Vilnius University
lecturer, doctoral student, Department of Russian Philology
Abstract
The result of work on the development of lexical skills depends on the method used in the learning of a foreign language.
The article describes the 25 most effective ways to memorize the words. This is illustrated dictionaries, thematic dictionaries, frequency dictionaries, lexical minimum, lists, associations, routes, lexiland, city card, trainer of polyglots, the words in action cards - applications for smartphones, stickers, metronome zone of personal comfort, recording on tape , root words, phrases, antonyms, synonyms, creating of own specialized dictionaries, mind maps, crosswords, scanwords.
Anyone who studies any foreign language must first of all master the vocabulary of this language, which is necessary for communication in a foreign language. Vocabulary is an essential component of all types of speech activity: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Analysis of modern methodological literature confirms the relevance of this problem for didactics in general and for the methodology of studying and teaching foreign languages. The importance of mastering active and passive vocabulary should also be emphasized.
Scheme of memorizing foreign words
“Vocabulary is a collection of words (vocabulary) of a particular language. The words that a person uses in his speech practice, oral and written, constitute his active vocabulary, ”says S. Sh. Nuridinova [http://bibliofond.ru/view.aspx?id=467659].
But the mastery of vocabulary is different for everyone. According to E. Vasilyeva, in children under 12 years of age, the memory trace looks like this: IMAGE + WORD (natural method), and after 12 years, the memory trace changes and looks different: CONNECTION OF IMAGES + WORD (memorization techniques). Therefore, natural methods start to fail.
The whole process of memorizing a word can be depicted by the diagram:
Scheme "The process of memorizing a word"
Memorizing a word is a complex process that goes through 3 stages. In order to 100% remember a word and be able to use it in oral speech, you need:
Simultaneously present a word and pronounce it several times, which gives 60-70% of the memorization of the word (word + pronunciation);
Write a word and pronounce at the same time, which gives another 30-40% of the memorization of the word (pronunciation + spelling);
Thus, any words (words of the native language and foreign words) consist of an image, pronunciation and spelling. To “memorize a word”, you need to go through all 3 stages clockwise [Vasilieva, 2008, p. 13].
Now let's see what constituents foreign words consist of:
The word is a foreign word
Image - translation
Pronunciation - spelling
Writing is a foreign word
In the diagram, it will look like this:
Components that a foreign word has:
Translation image;
Pronunciation;
Writing.
An important aspect in this case is “memorizing a foreign word”.
“Remember a foreign word,” according to Vasilyeva, means:
Know with 100% accuracy all its components: translation, pronunciation, spelling (graphic representation of a word);
Quickly and with 100% accuracy, recall any of the three components when necessary.
It is this kind of 100% memorization of a foreign word that is possible if the memorization process is performed sequentially, that is
Stage 1 - the image of the translation + pronunciation (70% of memorizing a word);
Stage 2 - pronunciation + spelling of a foreign word (30% of memorizing a word);
Stage 3 - writing a foreign word - the image of the translation.
E. Vasilyeva believes that fluency in a language is possible only when you can remember a foreign word at will at any time. Such information retrieval from memory is called reproduction and is possible only when memorizing clockwise. Starting to memorize with translation, we thereby learn to think in a foreign language [Vasilieva, 2008, p. 22].
A.Karalus believes that a separate area needs to be created in the brain, which will be responsible for a foreign language. That is, not a branch of our native language, but a separate foreign niche.
Effective word memorization techniques
This article presents 25 ways to memorize words, from which you can choose the most acceptable and convenient for yourself.
Illustrated dictionaries
Subject dictionaries
Frequency dictionaries
Lexical minimums
Lists
Associations
Routes
Lexiland
Town
Cards
Trainer for all polyglots
Words in action
Stickers
Metronome
Personal comfort zone
Voice recorder recording
Single-root words
Phrases
Opposites
Synonyms
Mind maps
Crosswords
Scanwords
Illustrated dictionaries
They are especially often used when working with children, when children see a picture and a word next to it. There are a lot of them for learning English, much less for other languages. But the good thing is that it is the pictures that are important here, and they can be taken from any illustrated dictionary intended for learning English or any other language. You can just take pictures and translate the words. And thus a personal illustrated dictionary will be ready. In such work, the word is attached to the image. This is how children learn any language. But some adults also like this method very much.
Subject dictionaries
Our brain does not perceive ordinary lists of words, so you should never learn words from a dictionary, and even alphabetically. Better to use thematic dictionaries. Often topical dictionaries correspond to lexical minimums.
What it is? Our brain assimilates information best of all, which is divided into some blocks. For example, 100 words is 5 sections of 20 words, or 7-10 sections of 10-15 words. Let's take a theme, for example, "Clothes". It will have sections: "Women's clothing", "Men's clothing", "Children's clothing", "Shoes", "Accessories", etc. It is better to compose thematic dictionaries yourself so that words that you do not need (do not correspond to your language comfort zone) do not fall into them. In this case, it is best to make a vocabulary mind map of each topic.
Frequency dictionaries
They exist in every language. These are the most commonly used words of the average native speaker. It is very easy to find a frequency dictionary in English, as for other languages, you just need to search. And in general, the methodology of teaching foreign languages, some new trends first appear and are worked out in English. After all, he is now a lingua franca, almost everyone should know him. Only then all this new from English gets into other languages, when specialists begin to deal with it. Frequency dictionaries are associated with lexical minima.
Lexical minimums
This is the easiest and most popular way to learn words. There are many divisions by minima, but, in my opinion, the most understandable method by E.V. Gunnemark. First, the researcher divided the levels into two: the level of oral communication and the level of reading in a foreign language. The level of communication includes:
Baseline or threshold level: 400-500 words, about 100 stable phrases and "speech stamps". It should also be noted that, already starting from the mastery of 150-200 words and approximately 25 stable phrases, you can start communication.
Mini level: 800-1000 words and 200 stable phrases and "speech stamps".
Copper level: 1500-2000 words and 300 stable phrases and "speech stamps".
For the purposes of reading in a foreign language, the following is allocated:
Mini level: 800-1000 words.
Reading level of "specialty literature": 3000-4000 words.
Prose reading level: 8000 words [Gunnemark, 2002, p. 19].
These numbers will vary from system to system. In addition, more words are often given in the minimums, taking into account 10-20% of the error. That is, no matter how we learn, we cannot remember a certain percentage of words. And often those words that are not remembered in any way, we simply do not need. We do not use them in our daily communication. We know them, but we do not use them, they are in our passive. That is, they do not belong to our language comfort zone.
Lists
It is better to learn words not individually, but in whole lists. They can be grouped according to absolutely any principle (numbers, synonyms, antonyms, profession names, etc.), but the main thing is the list. Then the memory remains that there are many of them and they are remembered faster.
Atkinson Associations
There is a pair: a word in the native language and the same word in a foreign language that we need to remember. Memorization takes place in several stages:
You need to take a word in your native language and present it. If this is a dog, then remember when you last saw it, where exactly, what it did, what feelings you experienced, etc. If this is a verb, for example, to love, then remember when you experienced this feeling, to whom, etc.
Take a word in a foreign language (for example, in English "love - love") and write down the transcription: ЛАВ. Think about what Russian word it looks like. On the word LAVA.
Connect the first representation with the word "lava". It turns out a small video clip "LYUBOV 'as volcanic LAVA".
Repeat a foreign word 3 times: love - love, love, love.
Routes
Many people like to walk. In the park, around the city, shopping ... And this hobby can also be combined with the study of a foreign language. For example, while walking in the park, you can study the trees. These are maple, pine, birch, linden ... Further - flowers. Dandelion, clover, chamomile ... You can go to the grocery store. And if you go to the supermarket, you can learn not only food, but many other words as well. While we are going in one direction - we teach, we return back the same way - we repeat. You can walk with a regular dictionary or use an electronic dictionary, or you can take a friend with you who knows the language. He will remember him with pleasure, and he will teach you too.
Lexiland
It is not always possible to plot real routes. Therefore, there is a good way to draw routes on a piece of paper. For each of the topics, you can make a mind map. Divide topics into subtopics and subtopics into sections. You need to take a separate sheet of paper and start drawing. Drawing helps a lot, as two hemispheres are involved - the right and the left. For example, the topic "City", the subtopic "Zoo", the section "Wild animals". We sketch a zoo and plot a route: a cage with an elephant - we draw an elephant, then a monkey - we draw a monkey that makes faces at us. Bear, fox, hare ... The worse a person draws, the more this method is suitable for. It is not necessary to draw very beautifully, the main thing is that the objects are recognizable. Thus, we do not lay out real routes, but draw our own special Lexiland.
Town
In order to quickly learn a foreign language, you can select for this some city that you know well and in which you are perfectly oriented. For example, I need to learn food. You can mentally go to a specific store and remember the rows. That is, all food products are mentally located in this store. And when you need to remember bread or milk, you can mentally go to this store, see the counters and instantly remember the words. If these are buildings, then these buildings will again be in this city.
The City method also works well for studying some morphological or grammatical groups of words. For example, you need to learn the articles. In German, out of three: der - masculine, die - feminine, das - neuter. Then you should take one area of the city and put all the "men" with the article der there. In another area - all "women" with the article die. And in the third - the whole neuter gender with the article das. You can also divide by parts of speech: nouns - in one region, adjectives - in the second, verbs - in the third. Etc.
Cards
To do this, you need leaflet cards, which you can buy at any stationery store, or cut yourself. To make your brain more fun to work, you can buy colored cards. But you can get by with simple whites. If there is no box, then it is advisable to buy rubber bands to fasten the leaves.
Next, we write words on these cards. On one side we write the word, on the other - the translation. We don't write any transcriptions to get used to writing. If the word is difficult and its pronunciation is very different from the spelling, you can sign the problem areas below. But don't transcribe the whole word. Repeat for several days.
Trainer for all polyglots
This is working with cards. In order to compose a card index, you need a box with five cells. It is best to buy such a box, but if this is not possible, then you can do without it. You can simply lay out the cards into 5 piles: the first is one finger thick, the second is two fingers, the third is three, the fourth is four, and the fifth is five. That is, in the card index, we implement a system of five repetitions.
How to work with a filing cabinet?
Take a stack of words and first learn the meaning of words from a foreign language to your native language. Then you need to go through the meaning from a native to a foreign one. If the word is familiar - put it back, unfamiliar - put it in the middle of the pile so that it will soon catch your eye again. And in this way all the words are viewed. There are always 10 to 20 percent of words that are not remembered. They should be put aside and left in the first compartment. Those that are familiar - move to the next. And so, until all our words go from the first cell to the last. Familiar - move to the next, unfamiliar - leave in the previous one. One word takes about a week of work. But since in this way it is studied and repeated not one word at a time, but hundreds at once, it takes about 10-15 minutes a day. Except for the first time, when not only words are visible, but visualizations for each are invented, so that the word is not static, but acquires dynamics.
As an option for this. The goal is often set - to learn the lexical minimum of the language in a week (say, 500 or 1000 words). You can simply run all words in five cells using a five-repetition system for five days. But there is another option: write 100-150 words on cards every day and repeat them for seven days. That is, on the first day, write down and learn with the help of visualization 100 words (spend 2-3 hours on this first, 1-2 hours when the system becomes clear). On the second day, repeat them (20-30 minutes), plus write down and learn 100 more words (1-2 hours). On the third day, repeat 100 words of the first day (5-10 minutes), 100 words of the second day (10-15 minutes), plus write down and learn another 100 words (1-1.5 hours). Etc. Every day the amount of time for each subsequent repetition decreases and the amount of time when new batches of "100 words of the day" cards are prepared. Thus, in a week or two, you can master the lexical minimum of 500-1000 words without any problems. The main thing is to learn and repeat them every day for five days (you can repeat them several times in one day to ensure quality) and not to confuse the piles. You can even sign on each pile: "100 words of the 1st day", "100 words of the 2nd day", ... so as not to get confused. And always carry them with you. As soon as there is a free minute - take and repeat. First, from a foreign language to a native language, then vice versa. When the words have already been learned, there is no need to burn the cards or throw them away, as many advise. They can simply be put off somewhere for a while. And when, for example, after 2 years, that language is again needed for real communication, you can take all these cards (500 or 1000 words) and quickly repeat them within 2-3 hours. It will still be much faster than starting over from scratch.
Words in action
For example, when preparing a dinner, you can comment on the ingredients and all actions performed in a foreign language. Or in the gym and you can teach movement. It's just that many have a kinesthetic memory, that is, memory is associated with the actions that we perform.
Cards - an application for a smartphone, etc.
These are programs for telephone devices. The method is good for those who spend a lot of time on public transport or just “play” with the phone. It is recommended that you find such cards, download them to your phone, and spend time with benefit learning.
Stickers
Sticking sheets of paper with words in a foreign language on all objects that surround us in everyday life, and soon you will notice that the vocabulary has increased markedly.
Metronome
To implement this method, you need a list of words in a foreign language (preferably at least 2000, you can take a regular dictionary as a last resort) and a metronome. The metronome can be downloaded from the Internet.
Progress:
Set the metronome to 80 beats per minute (heart rate).
For each beat of the metronome, have time to read the word and its translation (at first it will be very fast, but you can quickly get used to the tempo). And familiar words are marked with a dot.
At the next stage, only unmarked words are scanned. And so - until there is a dot next to each word.
Thus, somewhere in 1-2 days, you can “run through” the entire dictionary necessary for passive use (reading). Words are memorized in this way at the level of recognition.
Language comfort zone
Each of us has our own language core or our personal zone of language comfort. These are the words we use the most. There may be 500, and maybe 1500. Depends on each individual person, on the level of education, field of activity and much more. Let us recall the heroine of the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov, Ellochka the ogre, who needed not so many words for normal communication. Funny, but she had enough. Using words from our personal zone of linguistic comfort, we feel comfortable and can express everything that we need in order to be understood at the everyday level.
The main thing is to identify your language comfort zone. And you can do it yourself.
The first option for identifying the language core. If you are a writer (write articles to the press, write letters to friends by e-mail, keep an electronic diary or your blog, write comments on other notes, etc.), then you can simply take and copy all these texts for the last weeks-months (the more, the more accurate the data) into the WordStat program. The program calculates the personal frequency dictionary in the native language. And that's it! It remains to translate this kernel into a foreign language. The program can be downloaded for free, and the words can be translated using an electronic translator.
Second option identifying a personal language comfort zone is more painstaking, but more faithful. This is a recording of your voice on a dictaphone. That is, during the day, record everything that you have said on a dictaphone (there are even such programs when the dictaphone records only when a person speaks, and when a person is silent, the dictaphone does not record). Then you need to translate the entire record into text and, through the WordStat program, calculate the core of the language. On the one hand, there is a lot of work, but once you can spend time on identifying your personal zone of linguistic comfort, so that later all foreign languages “fall” on this core, and any foreign language can be learned quickly and with pleasure.
Recording words on a dictaphone
You need to take a dictaphone and dictate words into it for 30 minutes: first in your native language, and then 5-7 times in a foreign language. For example, read - read, read, read, read, read ... The next day, listen to the dictated words. And so for five days.
Single-root words
These are groups of words with a common root. For example, read - reader - reading room - library card. Replenishment of the dictionary in this way by specialists is assessed as a fairly effective method, especially for passive use (recognition in texts).
Phrases
We teach not just “square”, but “Red Square”, not “ride”, but “ride a bike”. Thus, words are memorized in context, and not one, but two or three at once.
Opposites
Black - white, small - large ...
Synonyms
Beautiful - beautiful - wonderful ...
Creation of your own thematic dictionaries
Especially suitable for compiling professional dictionaries. For example, a doctor needs a vocabulary of his professional terminology. You should take and compile a dictionary in your native language, and then simply translate it through a google translator.
Mind maps
You should take a sheet of paper of at least A4 size (better - A3) and write the topic in the center. For example, the theme is "Store". Now write subtopics: "Products", "Clothing store", "Shoe store", "Stationery", etc. Further, each subtopic can be divided into even smaller ones. For example, “Clothes” is “Women's Clothing”, “Men's Clothing”, “Children's Clothing”, “Shoes”, “Accessories”, etc. If necessary, you can divide. And then write the words. For example, "Men's Clothing" is a shirt, trousers, jacket, tie, etc.
As a result, 100-200 words of one topic (one mind map or one large topic rarely includes more than 200 words, most often 100-150) are divided into 5-10 subtopics, which are further divided into 2-3 sections of 10-15 words. Everything! The mind map is ready!
Crosswords
Composing crossword puzzles helps a lot in learning words. Plus, the meaning of the words (for explanation) matters. Both the word and the meaning are remembered. You can do just translated crosswords: word - translation.
Scanwords
Compilation of scanwords also helps. Moreover, it is much easier than composing crosswords. Suitable even in the initial stages of language learning. You can take, for example, the topic "Family" and make a crossword puzzle on it.
Conclusions:
- Gunnemark E.V. The art of learning languages. St. Petersburg: Tessa, 2002, 208 p.
- Nuridinova S.Sh. Teaching vocabulary as the most important component of speech activity in a foreign language lesson at the initial stage. In: http://bibliofond.ru/view.aspx?id=467659
- Poloneichik I. Video course "Forced mastering of foreign languages", 2010.
- Karalius A. Kaip efektyviai mokytis užsienio kalbų. 2012, 101 p.
Words are composed of image, pronunciation and spelling. To “memorize a word”, you need to go through all 3 stages.
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Learning a language is impossible without memorizing new words. But besides the banal and boring cramming, there are many simple, and most importantly, effective ways to learn unfamiliar words.
First you need to figure out how exactly you perceive information best. There is a small but very important checklist for this. If you are an auditor, then the “reading the notebook” method will work much worse for you than the “listening to the list of words to the text” method. And you can not even think about it and look at this stupid notebook for a long time and stubbornly, until the victorious end and the feeling of your own worthlessness, and not understand why nothing is remembered!
Traditional methods
- Yartsev's method (visuals)
We take a notebook. We write out the word - translation in 2-3 columns. We give a number of synonyms \ antonyms \ examples. From time to time we read lists, we just read, we do not cram nothing.
I don’t know how it works, but, for example, I didn’t learn German, I just read a notebook from time to time. The teacher did not arrange dictations, never checked us on the lists. And I still, many years later, remember a bunch of words.
It turns out that you don’t strain, you don’t try to pour 100 words into yourself in 30 minutes, you just regularly refresh the material from time to time. But you should immediately warn that these words should be found in textbooks, articles, i.e. you must, in addition to reading the notebook, somehow activate them.
- Card method
The second popular method. We take and cut a bunch of cards or buy square blocks of paper for notes. On one side we write the word, on the other - the translation. For advanced users, here are some examples. We drive the cards in a circle, put aside those that we know well. From time to time we repeat what we have passed in order to refresh. On the downside, if there are a lot of words and little time, you will spend a lot of time creating the cards themselves.
As entertainment, you can arrange them in piles of 10 in different places of the apartment, bump into them from time to time and repeat them. Audials should definitely add speaking out loud to this method. Cards are great for children, it can be turned into an interesting game.
- Prescribing method
Classics of the genre. You take a word and spell it out many, many times. Works great for Chinese characters. Minus - green melancholy. But the method has been tested for centuries.
- Half Page Method
This is one of my favorite ways. You bend the sheet in half, write a word on one side, and a translation on the back. You can quickly check yourself. It works well for me as a visual. I easily remember in which part of the sheet a given word was written. Minus - you get used to a certain word order.
- Interior Designer Method
If you are learning some specific vocabulary that surrounds you, you can make a kind of "labels" everywhere - stick stickers with the names of objects. You can also stick on the monitor the most nasty words that do not want to be remembered. The plus of this method is the fun. Minus - the brain can begin to ignore all these pieces of paper, and then they will hang somewhere for a long time.
Optimization methods
- Grouping method by grammatical features
If you have a large list of words, the worst thing you can do with it is to learn it haphazardly. It can and should be processed and grouped. For example, first you write out verbs, and you write them out not in a row, but group them by the type of endings, or write out masculine nouns, then feminine and separately exceptions that do not fall into these lists.
Thus, since most of our words do not belong to exceptions, you begin to see the logic of the language and memorize words in conjunction with similar ones.
- Grouping method by meaning
You write out and memorize the word and its synonym / antonym at once. This is true for both beginners and intermediate students. Now you have learned the word "good", find out right away how "bad" will be. And if you still remember "excellent, so-so, disgusting", then you will greatly enrich your vocabulary.
- The method of learning cognate words
We take words, group them around the root, for example, "business / do / done", and learn several parts of speech with the same root at once.
- Etymological method
Works well for those who have learned multiple languages. When you study several languages within one language branch, you begin to see similar roots. This actually comes with experience, and you do not have to learn a huge number of words again. At some point, you just already know enough. And if I understand that this word does not mean anything to me categorically, I go into the etymological dictionary and dig into where it came from. While I do this, I remember it.
- Word strings
You take a list of words to learn and make a story out of them (even if it's crazy). So you will learn not 30 words, but 5 sentences of 6 words each. If you approach this business creatively, you can have fun and usefully spend time.
Ways for those who don't like old-fashioned methods
- Spaced Repetition
The technique of retention in memory, which consists in repeating the learned educational material at certain, constantly increasing intervals. In fact, you install an application on your phone, and the program will automatically show you words in the specified order and with the desired frequency. You can use either ready-made word lists or create your own.
Pros: it is deeply engraved in the memory.
Cons: Takes a lot of time. If you have already memorized the word, it will still pop up from time to time in some programs.
In Memrise you can choose ready-made word lists or create your own. If the word is categorically not remembered, you can use special funny pictures that users create using mnemonic techniques, or upload your own. Memrise also recently added a new option - you can not only hear the voice acting of a word, but watch a video of how people pronounce these words.
Service for working on written speech for those who have already mastered the basics of language practice. The user writes the text in the target language, after which the native speaker of the corresponding language is taken to check the written and makes his own edits.
"Magic" methods
Various marketers and language gurus are very fond of luring in magical methods. Usually the essence of the methods lies in the "secret techniques of special services", which, objectively speaking, are described in a heap of literature. And they are asking for unhealthy sums of money.
- Mnemonics
Mnemonics is one of the most popular ways, the essence of which is to come up with funny and absurd associations to a word that you just can't remember. You take the floor and come up with some kind of associative image that should be very vivid. But in this image there must be a "key" to the memorized word.
Example: "grief" - woe to a wounded tiger, vultures circle over him.
For auditors
Rule # 1 for you: Always say what you are learning out loud. If you use cards, speak it out. If you are reading the list, read it out loud. Hear the words, for you this is the fastest way to remember them! Naturally, you have to write them down, but it will go faster than if you read and write in silence.
- Listening to words
You can record audio recordings of word lists and repeat after the announcer. Good textbooks usually have a well-read word list for the lesson. You can also listen to high-quality podcasts in which there is a detailed analysis of the dialogues.
- Multiple repetition
A method similar to writing words in a row, quite boring and boring, but effective - repeat aloud several times. There is an opinion that a word can be considered learned if you have used it 5 times in context. So try to give 5 different examples of how this word is used. Of course, out loud. You can fix it by writing it down.
Don't just learn the list. Always learn words in context, choose examples and phrases. Work with a dictionary.
- Memorize dialogues
Memorizing small dialogues and texts with useful vocabulary by heart is one of the surest ways that you remember and use the word correctly in the context you need at the right time. Yes, it will take more time and effort, but in the long run you will have a set of ready-made structures in your head that you will be happy to use.
- Ask someone to check you
Take your husband / mom / child / friend and ask them to chase you down the list. Of course, you will not be given grades, but an element of control and discipline will appear.
- Learn what is really needed
In one of my textbooks, the word "hoe" appeared in the vocabulary before the words "short and long" appeared. Do not learn "hoes" and any unnecessary garbage until the moment you do not learn really relevant and vital vocabulary.
How to determine relevance? There are many tutorials and lists from the Top 1000 Words series. First, we learn the frequency, then - "hoes", not earlier. If you have not yet learned how to count and do not know the pronoun, it is still too early for you to learn colors, no matter how much you would like.
- Get creative with the process
If everything pisses you off, words do not enter your head and you want to quickly close these lists, experiment. Someone is helped by drawings, someone walks around the apartment and recites aloud, someone communicates with their cat. If you are interested in something, do not be lazy to go into the dictionary. Study what is close to you. Don't get hung up on methods that don't work.
