It would seem a simple math problem from the fourth grade: if you study 30-35 every day English words in a day, How many words of English can you learn in a month and a year?
Of course, you can easily calculate: you can learn about a thousand English words in a month and, accordingly, 12,000 words in a year. I wonder what experience and practice say?
As vocabulary is reduced, so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of the things you can identify! Not only understanding is limited, but also experience. Man grows by language. Whenever he limits language he retrogresses!
With reduction vocabulary the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of objects you can name decreases. Not only is understanding limited, but also experience. Man grows through language. Whenever he restricts language, it declines.
~ Sheri S. Tepper
As practice shows, you can learn something, but keep it in active stock and it won’t work to be used regularly in speech. Words without practice and associative connections are quickly forgotten, which is something the creators are silent about.
The truth is you always have a chance remember a large number of English words- it all depends on the characteristics of memory and techniques for memorizing English words, which we will talk about today.
How to learn a lot of English words quickly
Learning English words is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Signing the names of unfamiliar words is one of the effective methods for memorization.
Want to learn a lot of English words in a short time? The German scientist Ebinhaus found that with mechanical memorization, that is, when a person does not understand the meaning of the material and does not use mnemonics, after an hour only 44% of the information remains in the memory, and after a week - less than 25%. Fortunately, with conscious memorization, information is forgotten much more slowly.
First of all, you need to determine how it is easier for you to assimilate new information: by hearing, seeing or writing it down?
This will not take much time, but will greatly facilitate training and selection. effective techniques for you in the future. One test that will help you determine how easier it is for you to remember new information is presented on this site. By answering 30 questions, you can know exactly what type you are.
Let us briefly recall that visual learners easily remember new words by seeing or reading, auditory learners by hearing, and kinesthetic learners need to be on the move, for example, writing down information on paper.
IN modern world Most people have a predominant visual type of perception new information. Remember how long the annoying commercials seen on TV, or the posters and banners that litter the streets of the city are stored in our memory for a long time.
You also need to know that there is no such thing as 100% visual or auditory. But some channel is still dominant, and it is this one that should be used if your goal is learn a lot of English words quickly.
Visual method for memorizing English words
Characteristics and scheme of information perception by visual people.
If you have read the novel “Martin Eden” by Jack London, then most likely you remember that main character I learned a huge number of academic words, posting leaflets with new words in my home.
Visual method to remember English words is to paste stickers with new words on all the objects that surround you. How does the visual method work? You constantly come across an abundance of English words, read, memorize and, of course, use English words.
Buy cards in the store or make them yourself with new words, translations, transcriptions, and even examples of use. These cards are convenient to take with you if you have a long commute to work or constantly get lost in queues. They can be classically made on paper or downloaded to your phone.
On a note:
On the Internet you can find download applications for mobile phones, which use a visual method to expand vocabulary. The most popular are Words, Easy Ten and Duolingo: Learn languages for free.
Bright pictures with captions, memorization simulators, screening tests that use these mobile applications will help you learn a lot of English words in a short time. And most importantly, they are always at hand!
If your level is not beginner (Pre-Intermediate and above), you can watch films, shows and videos with and without subtitles, writing down not only new words, but also useful colloquial phrases.
Educational audio materials in English and podcasts
Characteristics and scheme of information perception by auditory learners.
If you belong to the rare category of people (about 10%) who love and remember with their ears, then this is the method for you.
The main conditions for vocabulary expansion- listen constantly English speech, be it at home in the kitchen or in the car in a traffic jam. New words and expressions can be written down and repeated periodically.
With this method, you will not be afraid to perceive speech by ear, and your listening skills will improve.
TPR Method for Vocabulary Expansion
Characteristics and scheme of information perception by kinesthetics.
The third type of information perception, which includes kinesthetics, prefers movement to static learning. If you are a kinesthetic learner, don't forget to write down new words on paper. It is better if you have a diary dictionary that you can refer to from time to time.
Often used in teaching children TPR method(Total Physical Response). But, believe me, if you are a kinesthetic learner, this method is also for you: with its help you can easily learn English words and phrases.
The essence of the method is to memorize new words, phrases and lexical structures using gestures, commands, pantomime and games. For example, for the word ball, you need to perform an action associated with this object, for example, playing with a ball.
Simple and effective ways to memorize English words
Mnemonics and memorization of English words
A clear example of how mnemonics works.
One of the most effective ways to memorize English, and foreign words in general, is mnemonics. The method of mnemonics (or mnemonics) is based on creating images in your mind. You take information that needs to be remembered and turn it into an image through association.
First you need to understand that the brain remembers not the images themselves that arise in the head, but connections between several images. This is very important to remember, because immediately during memorization you need to focus on this.
Mnemonics actively develops memory and thinking. The main task is to create images that are combined in the imagination in various ways. The images must be colored, large And detailed.
Learning English words using mnemonics is incredibly easy! We match the foreign word as much as possible consonant word(or several words) from your native language.
Let's look at how mnemonics work when memorizing English words with an example:
puddle ["pʌdl] puddle
Approximate pronunciation (phonetic association) - "badl"
Mnemonic model: “I kept falling and falling into a puddle” .
Examples of using mnemonics in teaching English:
If you are using mnemonics for expanding vocabulary, it is important to remember that you need not just to connect words with each other and express them in the form of a sentence, but also to imagine a specific situation in which this happens or is said.
For example, don’t just say: “A nervous man is walking down a narrow alley,” but imagine nervous man, maybe your friend who is walking, looking around and flinching at every sound, along a narrow dark alley. In this case, you will definitely not forget this foreign word.
On a note:
The association or combination of words that has arisen is necessary only for 2-3 repetitions from memory in order to remember a foreign word and its translation. Then it disappears as unnecessary, so you don’t have to worry about all sorts of nonsense being stored in your memory.
There is no doubt that in order to memorize foreign words quickly and efficiently, you need to practice, find your own approach, learn to create your own associations, and quickly at that. At first, the process of creating associations will be slow, but be patient and continue training. As a rule, the speed and quality of creating associations improves after the first thousands of memorized words.
It remains to add that with the help of this technique it is possible remember the words of anyone foreign language .
Mind Palace for Expanding English Vocabulary
Many people use cards with text and pictures (flashcards) to remember new words, but these cards are not always at hand, especially at the right time.
There is a great way to remember new words and expressions - the power of your mind. It is called Method of location (geometric location method).
You may also come across names such as “mind palaces”, “memory palaces”, “method of loci”, “spatial mnemonics”, “Cicero’s method”.
When Sherlock Holmes, the world-famous detective, wanted to remember something important, he closed his eyes and plunged into the palace of his mind ( 'mind palace'). Just like Sherlock Holmes, you can also use this Method of loci to memorize new words and expressions. You can clearly see how this looks in the video.
Video “The Hound of the Baskervilles” - “Palaces of the Mind” of Sherlock Holmes.
How does the locus method work?
We are building an imaginary place ( imaginary place) in our mind and place objects and people there that will help us remember new words. You can store images both on shelves and chaotically. The main thing is that you yourself know where everything is and can quickly remember. The best activators are either completely ridiculous or very logical. And it’s even better to combine them correctly.
Remember simple rules, which in no case should be violated in the process of creating a connection:
- Imagine images large(even if the objects you need to remember are of different sizes, make them one: be it a ship, a coconut or a bee. Small images should not be imagined. The connections between such images will be recorded very poorly.
- The images must be voluminous. For example, holographic images or images created using three-dimensional graphics programs. Such images can be rotated and viewed from different angles.
- Images must be presented colored. If these are tree leaves, then they must be green, the tree itself must be brown, etc.
- The images presented must be detailed. If you imagine the image of a “phone,” you need to mentally examine it and clearly see what parts the phone you are imagining consists of. If this is a cell phone, then you can identify the following images in it: antenna, display, buttons, cover, strap, leather case, battery.
Then we apply the main one mental operation in mnemonics it is "connection of images". Let's look at how this is applied in practice in learning English words.
Let's say we need to remember the words associated with the word run, as well as its shape, so we will come up with the following story in our minds: the imaginary setting of the city is the imaginary place is a city .
This is just a small example of how to memorize english words, Related run, and its forms. Of course, I can add other phrases with this word, of which there are actually many, and as my imaginary city grows, I can use more and more words, and thereby expand my vocabulary.
More details about memorization technique “memory palace” you can learn more from the video:
The imaginary place can be anywhere, even a room in your house, but try to come up with a situation that will be close to you, and the words will be remembered much easier.
In this manner easy to learn words on different topics, for example “food”, “kitchen”, “clothing”, etc. Arrange the items as you like, and then it will be easier for you to remember the name of the item based on its location in your “memory” palace.
And of course, develop deduction, attention to detail and creativity. Develop associative thinking.
Another piece of advice applies to all “memory palaces,” regardless of the purpose of their “construction.” If you want to remember something for a long time (and not in the “pass and forget” mode), you will have to periodically “walk” around the “palace”.
Audiolingual method in English
Automation of skills occurs during training through repeated repetition of speech patterns.
Audiolingual method is one of the methods of language teaching in which it is necessary to repeatedly listen and pronounce words, phrases and sentences, which leads to their automation.
This method has its pros and cons, but is suitable mainly for auditory learners, since there is no visual support. The main focus here is on oral speech.
When using the audiolingual method, no explanations are given, since all the proposed material is simply practiced and memorized in the form set expressions so that students can use them in the future without hesitation.
In this case, training is based on practicing certain static models that students cannot change at all or almost at all. In this respect, this teaching method is the direct opposite of the communicative method.
let's consider positive and negative sides audiolingual method.
| Positive sides | Negative sides |
|---|---|
| During development this method attention was focused not only on the content of the material offered to the student, but also on the very process of the student memorizing this material. The very system of presenting new information and repeated repetitions lead to inevitable memorization of what has been learned. In the process of repetition, not only the material is memorized, but also pronunciation is practiced, as well as the language barrier is removed. Memorizing stable expressions leads to the fact that, if necessary, they come to mind automatically, as when communicating in your native language. |
The main disadvantage of the audiolingual method (not without reason) is considered to be that it does not pay due attention self-study grammars. Students, especially initial stage learning, are deprived of the opportunity to understand why a phrase is constructed in one way and not another, or why a word is used in one form and not another. As they learn, students have to independently construct certain grammatical structures for themselves based on the material they have learned. This undoubtedly contributes to a more solid assimilation of such structures, but only if the student is able to construct them. And this is not always possible, since there are exceptions to the rules that can confuse a person who is not familiar with the basics of the grammar of the language being studied. |
Tips on how to improve your English vocabulary?
Knowing many words will allow you to express yourself in many different ways.
First of all, you need to replenish your vocabulary systematically and regularly, preferably every day. There are many ways and they all work.
Choose the one that suits you best and you can easily expand your English vocabulary. Let's look at each of them in more detail.
Expand your English vocabulary with lists
Words surround us. Simply looking up words in a dictionary may not be as interesting or exciting. Pay attention to English words around you - during TV series and programs in English, reading the news - everywhere, at any time.
Important!
Regardless of whether you do this or not, we recommend writing down what part of speech a particular word is (verb, noun, adjective), as well as derivatives of this word. For example, “fish” - fishing, fishy, fisherman, etc. It will also be helpful if you add sentences with examples of these words.
You can also use the notepad on your mobile phone. As soon as you hear an unfamiliar word, write it down. Make sure you have enough space around it to make notes accordingly.
When will you have free time, add its meaning or translation and perhaps the context in which it can be used.
Learn English words in practice
As you make lists of words, it is very easy to forget the words that were there at the very beginning. All words are required use in your speech. The more we use them, the better we remember them.
Re-read your lists, for example, at the end of each week. How well do you remember old words?
If any words are hard to remember, but they are very common, then there is a high probability that you will encounter them in the future. So add them again to new lists and over time you will remember them.
Games will help you remember English words
Scrabble- effective method Learn English words and have fun with family and friends.
Who said learning new words is not fun?! Games like Scrabble or Vocabador offer great ways to learn new words .
Games are great way learning not only because it's fun, but also because it gives you context for new words. Believe me, you will very quickly remember the word your friend laughed at.
We would also like to draw your attention to the free game Free Rice. This game gives you a word, and you need to find the right definition for it. If you answer incorrectly, the next word will become easier. If it's correct, it's more complicated.
By playing this game, you not only improve your vocabulary, but also help the world in the fight against hunger. How? Try playing it!
Increase your English vocabulary with context
As mentioned earlier, it's better (and easier) remember new words in context. One way is to write a sentence with this word. Not only will you remember this word, but you will also be able to easily use it in conversation.
Another way - remember words in groups. If you want to remember a word humongous (very large), it will be easier for you to remember it from a chain of words: getting bigger and bigger-large, huge, humongous. This also makes it possible to memorize more words at one time.
For example, large, humongous, gargantuan. What do you think the word means? gargantuan?
Dictionaries and social networks for memorizing words
Of course, you can look up an unfamiliar word in the dictionary! Moreover, modern online dictionaries offer many additional features.
In many online dictionaries There are interesting articles, games, and also a “word of the day” section.
And if you feel confident that you can read literature in the original language, read the article.
Websites for learning English words
Below you will find the best sites to increase and practice vocabulary, which can be most useful for you.
BusinessEnglishSite
BusinessEnglishSite - site for learning business vocabulary
This is one of the best and most popular sites to study. Here you can fill up your vocabulary useful phrases, expressions and even business jargon.
All words are divided into topics, for example, "Accounting", "Project Management", "IT" etc.
For each topic there are consolidation exercises that train not only vocabulary, but also grammar.
Blair English
With Blair English you can learn English words from scratch
All exercises and lessons on this site have been specially designed to increase and enrich your English vocabulary .
Here you will find over 190 free interactive exercises on a variety of topics such as IT technology, Business, Communication and many others.
The site also has a base of exercises to improve listening and pronunciation skills.
Lingualeo
Lingualeo - a resource for practicing words
A very famous interactive resource that is interesting not only for children. It helps make language learning fun and visual, and also contains unlimited words for different levels.
To feed the lion cub and get a new portion of words, you will need to register.
British Council
British Council - the most British way to learn words
The British Council website has not left us without practicing truly British phrases, idioms and expressions. You can also learn several new words a day there.
Words filtered by topic and level, which makes navigation extremely convenient, and the process of cramming English words an exciting experience.
For teachers, there are lesson plans for various levels with handouts.
Test Your Vocabulary
On this site you can, not with 100% probability, but at least approximately understand what vocabulary you have and what you need to improve.
The test interface in English is simple. The site is designed for users who are learning English or even native speakers.
By ticking the words whose translation you know and answering a few questions about yourself, you will very likely find out how many english words is in your active supply.
Instead of a conclusion
As you can see, techniques and resources for enriching your vocabulary in various fields- plenty. The most important thing is to constantly work on it, and here everything depends on you. Daily work then it will be paid in full when you communicate without problems with English speakers.
In contact with
International specialist in Human Design systems and Gene Keys, author of the book “Design of a Cloudless Life”, meditation teacher. Lives between Russia and India, consults, conducts sessions, seminars and retreats, works with clients from all over the world. Writes healing fairy tales in English and Russian. Sometimes consults at the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune (India).
I haven't started teaching English language from diapers. Since my sister studied German and was very successful in it, I decided back in kindergarten that this was my path. I wanted to imitate my sister in everything: thanks to her, I learned to read at the age of 4, so choosing German was also easy. So, my sister and I studied Deutsch on our own for several years, and it was fun. And then fifth grade came, and they didn’t ask me what I wanted, baby, and they enrolled me in the English group. After all, I felt that this was my destiny :)
Today I want to talk about ways to teach foreign words. They went through many tests, were tried on me and my students, some methods were improved, others were discarded as unnecessary. So, I’m sharing what worked for me personally and my favorite students.
1. Mnemonics or simply associations.
To be honest, I didn’t even know that this method was called such a tricky word. I used it on my own back in school, and over time I began to get more sophisticated :) Now I’ll explain.
Everything is very simple: we take a word, attach an image to the word. The method works well for visual learners. I also often imagine, together with a word and an image, how this word is spelled side by side. This technique is especially useful for abstract words. For example: heat- desert, Love- Cupid with an arrow, open- hand opening a bottle of lemonade or beer. We all have our own associations, and even if they seem very strange to someone, but it works for you, let's be strange :)
The next stage is to consolidate this image, word and the connection between them in the brain, that is, repeat it over and over again until it is postponed. You should not treat this as hard and tedious work. I am for any process to be easy and playful. I use mnemonics especially complicated words, which by no means want to be immediately remembered.
2. Make cards for words.
The good old way with which I prepared for the terrible GRE exam, which is necessary for admission to an American university. We write the Russian version on one side, the English version on the other. Important: do not write all the meanings of this word, the first two are always enough to start with, unless you have a specific term in mind. Cards can be made on your phone or on paper. They are convenient to carry with you and check yourself in your free time.
3. Cover items with stickers.
We reserve this for creatives and beginners. A word is best remembered when, instead of translating it, you have a picture before your eyes.
4. Vision in context.
English is contextual. When people ask me how to say “go,” I always answer: “depending on where, depending on why, and depending on how long.” Until we see the new word in context, there is little we can do with it. So that the word does not remain a dead weight, we make written sentences with the word or expression, or better yet three, then read them out loud.
5. Dictate on audio.
It is important not only to recognize a word (expression) when we see it, but also to recognize it when we hear it. To do this, you need to pronounce it many times. Good way- dictate yourself into a voice recorder and then listen to it. Of course, it is first important to find out how to pronounce this very word correctly, so as not to follow the sad example of Vitaly Mutko and his speech at FIFA under the killer title "From the Botom ov May Hart":) After 30 minutes the word should be repeated. They say repetition before bed is the most best time for memorization, since this is the best time to work with the subconscious.
6. Smart cards.
We take one topic and brainstorm. For example, fruits are melon, pear, apple, plum, grape, etc. This method can be combined with the “card” method. And remember that the more time we spend on one word, the faster it is put into the passive dictionary and the faster it will enter the active one.
About active and passive vocabulary. When we learn/see a new word, it is first stored in a passive internal dictionary. This is the first important stage. That is, you begin to recognize this word when you see it, especially in context. Only after this does this word have a chance to “go” into active dictionary, i.e. you will be able to retrieve it from memory and use it in speech.
7. Find an accomplice.
Surely there is someone in your life who would like to learn a foreign language with you. It's stimulating. It’s especially fun to make up an associative series together with a friend - it’s a lot of fun :). At one time, I didn’t have an accomplice, and I studied English on my own. But I use this rule in other cases, it always works! I'll tell you someday.
8. Use emotions.
When memorizing a word, the emotions that you put into a new word are very important. If you associate it with some living pictures that evoke emotions, preferably positive, but not necessarily :), the word will at least be stored in the passive dictionary. It can be tied to personal memories, which is also very effective. You can evoke smells, tastes, fill the picture with color, or combine it with your favorite music. This method is well suited for memorizing certain concepts that are difficult to attach to something specific.
9. Spelling.
You must not only know how to pronounce a word, but also be able to write it. To do this, take a sheet of paper and write it many times. The concept of "spelling" is very important in the English language. If you have a friend Ashley whose name is spelled Ashly and not Ashleigh, then God forbid you spell her name wrong. There will be no offense :)
10. A bunch of concepts.
When you learn individual words it's one thing, but when you link them together it becomes even more effective. You can, for example, select 10-20 words and write a coherent story consisting of these words. He can be stupid, funny, serious - it doesn’t matter, have fun with it! Personally, I find this method very entertaining.
11. Opposites.
We choose those words that have antonyms and remember them first separately, then in pairs. For example, good - bad, awful - awesome. You can do the same with synonyms (nice - fine - good), with professions (to teach - teacher, etc.), using word formations. More on this in the next paragraph.
12. Word formation.
Here you can study suffixes and prefixes with which new words are formed. For example, believe (believe) - believable (probable) - unbelievable (incredible) - believing (believing) - belief (faith) - disbelief (disbelief).
13. Combination of all methods.
This is the most The best way. All of the above methods complement each other and help.
Now all that’s left to do is get started :) Next time I’ll tell you about the resources with which learning and improving English can become a powerful tool for self-development!
What do you do when you encounter an unfamiliar word in an English text?
You ask your teacher for its translation or look it up in a dictionary and write it down above the word. Perhaps write it down in a dictionary if you have one. Close the dictionary and put it aside along with the word.
Almost everyone who studies a foreign language does this. But how effective is this method? How many words in your dictionary do you actually remember and use, and how often do you open it to review words? If, while learning English, you notice that you remember a minimum of words and lack the vocabulary to express your thoughts, then you need to change something in your learning strategies. There are different methods and whole techniques for memorizing, not every technique is suitable for you personally, since everyone has their own characteristics of memory and perception of material, and if for one it is enough to see a word once to remember it, then for another it will require hours of practice.
I want to offer you some tips on memorizing foreign words, but before you get acquainted with them, remember how you memorized words before, what you paid attention to, and if you wrote them down, what exactly. As you read each point, think about what you have already tried to do to increase your effectiveness in learning new words, and what you might consider adopting!
1. Organize your words
Organized and logically designed material is remembered better. Keep a notebook in which you write down all the unfamiliar words that you come across. Come up with categories for yourself and distribute them by topic, by part of speech, by complexity. As you wish. If a word fits into many categories, write it in all of them. It will be better remembered.
2. Remember the sound of the word
When you write out a word, say it out loud several times. Don't forget about. Without transcription and understanding of pronunciation, at best, you will only have a visual image of the word: you will remember what it looks like, distinguish it in the text, but after hearing it, you may simply not recognize it or remember it.
3. Do not confuse the meaning of the word and the translation of the word
What's the difference? - you ask. Translation is the specific meaning of a word in a certain context, how best to convey the meaning in Russian.
4. Be selective
Don’t try to embrace the immensity and remember all the words in the dictionary at once. Choose only those words that you really need. Think about how often this word is used in real life. If you come across a word in the text that you almost never use, an outdated word, a highly scientific term, then you do not need to write it down and remember it. If the word comes across to you in the future, then this is a reason to think about it. Textbooks, for example, are structured in such a way that after a word has appeared once, it will be repeated again, and you will notice that the word is familiar. In addition, it is better to learn words “in portions.” By dividing the material into parts that you can master at once, you remember more effectively. The recommended number of units is 7 - 8, but no one forbids you to experiment with your memory.
5. Repeat what you've already learned
Do you know what this is? This graph is called Forgetting curve. Psychologists have proven that 20 minutes after familiarization with the material, 20% of the material is forgotten, after an hour - 50%, and after a month, only 20 - 30% of what you have studied will remain in your memory. The rest of the words will go into the category: “Something familiar / I’ve seen this somewhere.”
What should you do to not forget so quickly, but rather to remember and consolidate the words in your memory? Psychologists recommend constant repetition, as often as possible. To achieve the effect, you must repeat at least 4 times:
1st time immediately after finishing reading;
2nd time 20 minutes after the first repetition;
3rd time - 8 hours after the second repetition;
4th time - 24 hours after the third repetition.
The repetition should be meaningful, not just skimmed, although even skimming a list of words will activate your memory.
6. Use your leading channel of perception
As you know, there are three main channels of perception: visual(visual), auditory(sound) and kinesthetic(tactile, tactile). If you understand how you perceive information, it will be easier for you to learn. In the process of working with new material, observe yourself and try to determine how it is easier for you to perceive the material (by hearing, writing, looking at pictures, working with cards). Having identified your key channel of perception, you will no longer waste time on memorizing in an ineffective way for you, you will be able to focus your energy on the channel that is best developed for you.
7. Practice
I really hope that these tips will help you memorize English words more effectively and without difficulty. Or maybe you have your own unique method of learning vocabulary? Share with us, and your advice will definitely be useful to someone else!
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Many who begin to learn a language, from the very beginning, wonder how to memorize foreign words easily, quickly and with pleasure, so that they can immediately speak a foreign language.
Technology for memorizing foreign words
First of all, one most important note - this technology for memorizing foreign words is configured in such a way that you need to quickly learn words in the “foreign - Russian” direction, that is, we look at a foreign word and remember its meaning in Russian, but not vice versa!
Once you decide to quickly speak a foreign language, the question arises: how to memorize hundreds of foreign words a day? This is not always possible, because words themselves cannot jump into your 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 select, divide and remember foreign words.
1) Select a portion of words to memorize, numbering one hundred!
I would like to note right away that 100 is the absolute maximum, at least for me. Maybe, if this technique starts working for you, you will be able to quickly learn words right away and overcome both 200 and 300, but for starters, it’s 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, to quickly learn words, initially take the amount that is divisible by 5 without a remainder!
3) Remember the words
Of course, you need to memorize as much as possible, because the art of quickly learning words requires great precision! In total, memorizing the words from the first part will take you no more than 30 seconds!
Mechanism of short-term memory
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 both allows and does not allow us to quickly learn words. Why? Because short-term memory is like RAM on a computer, only in humans it gets overloaded very quickly.
Well, judge for yourself how to quickly learn words if this memory holds information for only 30 seconds, and it remembers from 2 to 26 pieces of information for this half a minute! This cannot be compared even with the first computers of the 80s.
But! Man is not a machine, so his memory has some other interesting capabilities! For example, it doesn’t matter to her how long the word you remember is! That is, if we have seven letters, seven words and seven phrases, memorization will be the same! Moreover, preference is given to longer information. So it’s better to quickly learn not individual words, but entire expressions!
Deterioration of short-term memory
And one more important circumstance - short-term memory may deteriorate; short-term memory will not work if, having started to quickly learn words, you begin to repeat the word that you just memorized many times! The memory will simply become full and freeze.
In other words, if you repeat one word for more than 30 seconds, it will simply be erased from your short-term memory and will never move into your long-term memory! And in reality, even if you learn words very quickly, a person is unlikely to be able to repeat one word 10-20 times in half a minute at such a speed.
Hence the conclusion - make the primary element longer - quickly learn not the word itself, but the phrase in the context. This is more pleasant for the memory and more useful in order 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, you will immediately begin to forget everything.
How does the memory process occur in the brain?
How does the process of memorization occur in the brain and what can improve it or, conversely, damage it. We do not repeat, but remember! Moreover, look - we remember from 2 to 26 units in “one sitting”! Therefore, do not overload initially - after all, you do not have additional blocks of RAM. Take breaks! If you remember the words from one part, don’t rush to the next!
Slow down and switch to some neutral process that is not related to the desire to quickly learn words. The pause should be at least ten minutes! You need to “recharge” your short-term memory and open the long-awaited door to your long-term memory.
During these ten minutes, you unconsciously begin to quickly learn and repeat the words that you just memorized. A slowly “cooling” brain gives you a unique opportunity to increase the time new words are found in short-term memory by up to a day 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) Repeat the words!
10 minutes after memorizing the first part of the words, put a piece of paper on the translation, run your eyes over the words and check how you remember them. Don't worry if you missed something. Catch up on everything in the next steps!
2) Let's knock on the rhythm!
Let's take something that ticks evenly and loudly, for example, a metronome - mechanical, electrical, computer or something like that. If you don’t have one, feel free to arm yourself with a pencil and start knocking a rhythm of 1 beat per second. In the same way, we set the rhythm on the metronome to 60 beats per minute.
And so, with each such blow we look at the word that we remember 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 a word, we leave it and move on to the next one. Our task here is to maintain the rhythm!
Why are we even doing this? And then, just to turn on the internal resources of the brain and long-term memory, which activates the ability to quickly learn words. We seem to slightly introduce ourselves into a “linguistic trance”, as we concentrate on the rhythm, and all our fears and internal criticism stand out, 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 hour - 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 a total portion.
3) We work with the following parts of words
We move on to the second and subsequent parts of words from our portion and repeat the first stage. Remember to pause for 10 minutes after memorizing each part for the first time! And so we quickly learn the words and study the entire portion!
4) Check the entire portion!
We do this very simply - we read all the words that we memorized and repeated. This step is important because we summarize our “brainstorming” and “clean up our tails,” that is, we remember those words that we have already forgotten.
As a result, it should take you no more than one hour to quickly learn words. How many words you have time to remember 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 begin the process of loading the learned material into long-term memory. This is done using interval 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 interval repetitions. Spaced Repetition- this is the repetition of a learned portion of words at certain intervals, after which this tasty portion is remembered seriously and for a long time.
When you started learning words quickly, you already repeated them once - each part 10 minutes after memorizing it. Now you repeat the entire portion according to the following scheme:
First repetition – after 24 hours
Second repetition 24 hours after the first
Third repetition – 24 hours after the second
The fourth, final repetition - 2-3 months after the third!
Don’t 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 be sure to complete all four intervals!
Okay, you've completed the first portion, but what about the rest? After all, the next day you will take the next portion, on the third day - another, and then - again and again! How not to drown in this avalanche of words that suddenly rushes into your consciousness and completely confuses 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 repeating them.
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 date directly into the box serial number portions and that's it! Just don’t forget which number hides which portion of words. By the way, the portion number can be initially written down in the very source of these words.
Is it possible to learn a foreign language on your 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 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”. You know, I read that simultaneous interpreters change their work every half hour because their brain simply cannot withstand longer due to constant stress and concentration.
Something similar can be felt here! At first, everything is quite difficult and unpleasant. Everything inside refuses to quickly learn words and longs for the usual 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, there is a temptation to quickly learn words and pump 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 only if you see that your method has worked. What this quantity should be is up to you to decide, but think for yourself! For me, the optimal portion is 50-60 words, well, this is like the permitted speed in populated areas.
Now let's talk about how often you need to use this technique. Who wants to quickly learn words “with a breeze” at 200 per hour, evaluate your capabilities to begin with. After testing it out, I am deeply convinced that it should not be your primary way of learning foreign words.
It would be very uncomfortable for me if every time I memorized and repeated, I accelerated all my neurons, and then calmed them down for a long time. This is somehow fraught, I think... The technique is definitely effective at the basic stage of vocabulary acquisition. This is where you need to quickly learn words in order to quickly start speaking a foreign language and learn to perceive a foreign language by ear!
You can also 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 a lot of words and most of them are specific terms.
In a word, use this technique to quickly learn words periodically to keep your brain computers in working and battle-ready condition, as well as to increase your motivation to learn foreign languages.
And as for motivation... throw out of your head all the thoughts that with this method you will learn and quickly forget all the words! This should not prevail in consciousness! Set yourself a goal - to master the skill of quickly learning words and to increase the portion of words you study to... the certain number per day, according to your capabilities.
That's all! And I am more than sure that the ability to memorize foreign words easily, quickly and with pleasure will come to you very soon and will stay with you for the rest of your life!
photo tumblr.com
THREE SCIENTIFICALLY BASED METHODS THAT WORK
You teach and learn these words, but there’s no use! After a couple of days everything is forgotten.
Take a scientific approach to memorization! We present to you three scientifically based techniques that will allow you to quickly and permanently memorize foreign words.
HOW MANY WORDS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
First, let's figure out how many words you need to learn in order to begin to understand most foreign speech, and even express your thoughts yourself. A five-year-old child living in an English-speaking country uses 4,000–5,000 words, and a university graduate uses about 20,000 words. However, a person learning English as a foreign language has a vocabulary of only 5,000 words, despite several years of study.
But there is also good news: A vocabulary of 2,000 words is enough to understand 80% of foreign speech. The researchers came to this conclusion based on an analysis of the Brown Corpus. A linguistic corpus is a collection of texts on various topics.
Interestingly, after you have learned 2,000 words, increasing your vocabulary for each subsequent 1,000 words allows you to increase the amount of text you understand by only 3-4%.
HOW TO QUICKLY REMEMBER A WORD?
The first question that interests everyone is how to quickly memorize foreign words?
Scientists have concluded that information is remembered faster when It has emotional coloring . Accordingly, it is a good idea to study words through games, riddles, and films. If you liked the song, don’t be lazy to look at the translation of unclear words. These words will forever be associated with the song you liked, which means they will leave an emotional mark in your memory.
A great technique is mnemonics. Create colorful associations - this will allow you to remember even hard-to-pronounce words. Usage example: The word weather is similar to Russian word wind, we build a wind-weather pair in our heads, forever remembering that weather translates to weather. There are special reference books in which you can find various mnemonic techniques for memorizing English words. However, it is better to come up with such associations yourself, since our associations and emotions are strictly individual.
HOW TO NOT FORGET A WORD SO QUICKLY?
So, you have learned a couple hundred words, but after a week about ten of them remain in your memory. What is the problem? This is explained by the existence of short-term and long-term memory. Short-term memory mechanisms allow you to store information for 15-30 minutes, then, noticing that this information is not used, the brain gets rid of it as something unnecessary. How can we make it clear to the brain that we really need these words? The answer is repetition. It’s like with Pavlov’s dog: the light comes on and saliva comes out. However, it is released only after 5-10 repetitions of the food + light chain. If you stop feeding food when the light is turned on, the association of the light bulb with food will be destroyed in the dog’s brain, and saliva will stop secreting.
So how many times does a word need to be repeated for it to move consistently from short-term to long-term memory?
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus developed the Forgetting Curve, which measures the amount of information lost over time in the absence of repetition. Within the first 20 minutes after learning the words, we will already remember 60%, and within 1 hour we will lose more than 50% of the information. Then, over time, more and more information will be erased, and by day 3, only 20% of the information will remain in memory. Thus, if you miss at least one day in the repetition - forgotten words you won't get it back.
The conclusion is obvious: no repetition. Use words in speech, come up with stories using new words, play cards on your smartphone for at least a couple of minutes a day - all this will help you retain the words you have learned. Otherwise, the time spent on their initial study will simply be wasted.
We suggest using the following repetition schedule:
- 10-15 minutes after learning the words;
- After 50-60 minutes;
- The next day;
- After 1 day;
- In 2 days.
After this, most of the information will be fixed for life.
HOW TO EXPRESS THOUGHTS FASTER?
I really want foreign words to pour out of my mouth without requiring excessive brain strain and several minutes to formulate a phrase. There is an opportunity to speed up the formation of foreign speech - this is the development of muscle memory. By muscles here we mean the muscles of our articulatory apparatus. These muscles, like the muscles in the legs when riding a bicycle or the muscles in the fingers of a pianist, have a memory that allows them to perform automated movements almost unconsciously.
In order for muscle memory to form, it is important to pronounce them out loud when learning words, making movements with your tongue and lips. It is also useful to simultaneously imagine an image of the subject being studied. Over time, you will no longer think about what word to say - your muscles will do it automatically.
Thus, the correct organization of the brain’s work in the formation of short-term, long-term and muscle memory will allow you to quickly and permanently replenish your vocabulary.
Good luck with your studies!
Fun English for children and adults!
