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Questions
about Spain?
Write to David at:
dbolton99b@yahoo.es
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Memory Techniques:
How to Learn faster, and Remember better
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I have been a musician for many years now, and my experiences in
that area have often helped me in the field of language teaching. It often
happens to me that I will be walking down the street, and a piece of music
is constantly going through my mind, on a semi-conscious level. When I then
think consciously about it, I realize that the piece in my mind was the one
I had been rehearsing several hours before. When you practice an instrument,
your session doesn't really stop when you get up and leave the instrument;
rather, your mind continues to "work" on the piece throughout the day.
Usually, it's the last piece you work on that sticks in your mind the
most.
The same thing happens with foreign languages. When we learn, for
instance, a list of ten vocabulary words in a foreign language, we can
expect to think about them again during the day, though we may not be fully
conscious of this.
However, there are two major differences between a vocabulary
list and music:
1) A vocabulary list consists of words, of course. After learning the list,
we will probably talk to someone, watch TV, or simply think. All of these
are activities that involve words - and most likely, the words in our
foreign-language vocabulary list will not be heard, spoken or thought during
the course of our normal daily activities. As a result, the
"sub/semi"-conscious learning effect will usually not be as great as in the
case of music, since....
2) Music is a much more emotional expression than are mere word
lists. We move to music, we feel when we hear it, it
inspires, elates and touches us directly on an emotional level.
It is comforting, pleasant and pleasurable... usually much more so than a
list of vocabulary words!
Nonetheless, it IS possible to apply this knowledge about the
effect music has on us when learning words.
I remember when I had my first French class back when I was
in college. The professor was an elderly European gentleman who had the
liveliness of a Spaniard and the charm of a Frenchman (He had been born and
raised in Spain, but had lived the greater part of his life in France).
One day, he was teaching possessive adjectives****. Instead of simply
reading us the list, he chanted it in a sing-songy way, with the following
rhythm
("^" = short, -- = "long", --- = "very long")
^ ^
-- ^
^ --
mon ton son notre
votre leur
^ ^ --
^ ^
--
ma ta sa
notre votre leur
-- -- --
--- ---
---
mes tes ses nos
vos leurs
(click to listen)
I remember the looks on some of the students' faces when the
old fellow started rattling this off, his hands keeping time during his
little "recital": some thought he was half crazy!
But do you know what? Many years later, I could still
remember all the forms of those possessive adjectives in French. If
he had simply read us the list, I would have forgetten them by the next day.
But the fact that he acted out that list, chanting them as if
they were part of a nursery rhyme, helped to implant that list into my mind
in a way that no simple reading could have. Now, over 30 years later, I
still remember them whenever I think of that unorthodox, yet excellent
teacher.
Such methods are infinitely more effective in helping you
memorize lists than mere reading and repeating!
Of course, it may be difficult to apply such a method when
learning large numbers of vocabulary words. After all, if we chant every
list we have, they will soon become confused in our minds, and this would
defeat our purpose. However, the main priciple can still be applied, that
being, that if we add EMOTION and IMAGERY to the material to be
learned, we will remember it much better.
Here are a few tips:
If you must learn a small list of grammatical forms - such as
the possessive adjectives above - chanting them rhythmically is a great way
to help you implant them into your memory.
Where new vocabulary is concerned, I recommend the following:
1) When you first read the words, say them aloud. That way,
your mind will not only receive the impression of the printed word on the
page, but the SOUND of that word as well, and it will thus be easier to
recall later
2) Combine and Conquer. Never leart lists of words by simply
reading them over and over again. Instead, combine groups of words to
make sentences. Here's an example, using a list of Spanish words.
el escritorio = the desk
el suelo = the floor
la chica = the girl
delgado/a slender
la caja = the box
caerse = to fall
coger = to get, pick up
Let's make a sentence:
Cuando la caja se cae del escritorio al suelo,
la chica delgada la coge.
When the box falls from the desk to the floor, the slender
girl picks it up.
Seven new words in a single sentence. Now, learn this
sentence by memory in Spanish, imagining the situation it describes as
vividly as you can: A box on the desks falls to the floor, and a slim girl
picks it up.
(Of course, for the two verbs you would have to know - or look up - the
correct forms in order to make such a sentence.)
The fact that the new words appear in a context will
be of great help in remembering the individual words. Weeks later, perhaps
you'll see the word "delgado", and won't remember what it means. But you
might remember the "chica delgada" that was picking up the box...and
when you do, you'll most likely recall the meaning of "delgado", when you
think of that slender girl with the box.
Of course, sometimes we will have to learn lists of words
that don't combine as easily. "basura" (= trash), "filósofo" (philosopher)
and "gotear" (= drip) for instance. Combine them anyway to form a sentence:
you'll soon see that the more ridiculous the sentence turns out, the
better you'll remember the words in it:
"La basura está goteando encima del filósofo"
"The trash is dripping onto the philosopher".
Certainly not a very practical sentence, but the unusual image evoked will
assure that you don't forget those words easily!
It's better to keep such sentences simple at first, and not try to fill them
with more complicated grammatical structures. You should be able to include
3 to 5 new words in a sentence, maybe even more. Once you write the
sentence, memorize it, imagining vividly the "picture" it conveys. Then form
another one, using more new words.
You'll want to go over these sentences a few days later, then maybe again a
couple of weeks later - after all, as the ancient Greeks said:
"Repetition is the mother of learning". And learning your vocabulary
words in such a way will not only make them easier to remember, but more fun
to learn as well!
Next article:
4)
Divide and Conquer - Mastery
though piece-work
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