This is part two of a two-part blog on memory aids for language learning. In the first blog (written November 21,2012) I covered subconscious memory aids such as employing colors, smells and music to expand the power of your mind to recover information. Here, in the second part, I will focus on consciously developed techniques such as: mnemonics, the memory palace, labeling and intermittent review.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics is a well-known system designed to help people remember. It may consist of acronyms, images and linking words. How many of you remember learning the colours of the rainbow in elementary school with the acronym ROY-G-BIV? (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). A funny example from my first-year Spanish course at University was how to remember the word for swimming pool in Spanish. The word is spelled piscina and it is pronounced (pis-I-na). My professor said it’s easy to remember as young children often “piss in a {pool}!” I have developed quite a few acronyms for German. For example, I use DOG-WUF to help my students remember the accusative prepositions: durch, ohne, gegen, wider, für and um. Students can even invent their own mnemonic devices often with great success.
Memory palace
Another trick that works for some people is called a memory palace. This technique allows people to memorize something by picturing a scene in their minds and then linking specific words to the images. For example, you might picture a family photo you are familiar with and then go in and imagine everyone wearing a piece of clothing bearing the name of their relationship to you in the target language. For example, your grandmother may be wearing a shirt with an “Oma” logo on the front. Some people develop this technique further and imagine themselves walking through various scenes in a story with each scene providing new clues to words they wish to remember.
Labeling
Sometimes, simply labelling items around the house helps. You can buy predesigned labels online or make your own. When studying a gendered language, it’s important to include each noun’s gender on the label. This is a great way to build vocabulary for items around the home especially in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Some people even label their office or classroom environment. Try to engage the labels by creating sentences in your mind as you go about your daily tasks.
Intermittent Review
Sometimes frustrations arise when you see or hear a word you know you’ve encountered before but simply can’t remember what it means! This is often true of words that don’t appear frequently in common conversation. It’s important to write down any words you have trouble with on a special page in your binder or notebook titled “troublesome words.” This page should be reviewed every time you go to study. In general, any new vocabulary you learn should be revisited within 24 hours, then again in three days, a week and finally a month. Studies have shown that students who follow this review pattern have upwards of a 90% retention rate for newly learned vocabulary.
Have you had success with any of the above memory aids or any others? Feel free to share below.
