In the next few posts I am going to talk about some tricks that can be used to help improve your recollection of vocabulary. Some language learners will be aware of these concepts and others may use similar ideas unconsciously, but it is worth taking a closer look at them to see how they can be used to maximum effect.
The most straight forward memory trick for learning new vocabulary is word association. Word association is simply a process of linking a foreign word to its native meaning through a connecting word (one that sounds and means something similar to the foreign word but also has an association with the native word). For example in French the word for “Women” is “Femmes” the most obvious word association is probably “feminine” which sounds like “Femmes”, has a similar root meaning and is also clearly linked to the word “Women” in English.
Women -> feminine -> femmes
OK it’s not rocket science to try and link foreign words to those that are familiar to you, you no doubt do it naturally on words like this, what is important to think about however is what is going on when you make this association.
This is more easily demonstrated when you look at a less obvious example. In Arabic for example, the word for “tourism” is “seeaha” – kind of a tricky pair to link the same way as above – but to me the word instantly makes me think of tourists looking at some magical site and saying “see… aha!” OK it’s a stretch but it only need make sense to you personally. What this type of association demonstrates is that more than anything else, memory tricks like this are usually about providing a mental hook, a reason for your brain to actually engage with the word you’re looking at as opposed to just seeing it on a page.
I’m sure you have at some point had a pile of flash cards that you just could not seem to memorise? More often than not the reason you cannot remember the words in your pile is simply a matter of mental engagement. Your brain has an annoying habit of switching off when it sees a stack of similar looking notes flashing before your eyes; word associations (like bright colours or pictures) force it to see each word distinctly. Even if the association itself means something only to you, it instantly gives you a personal take on things that kicks your brain into gear.
The initial hook is usually enough to embed the word into your short term memory, so that you’re not starting from scratch the next time you see the card. Then, by simple repetition, it will become embedded into your long term memory, the association only required for a mental confirmation if the meaning becomes hazy later on.
So, let’s put this to the test. When you’re next going through your pile of flashcards, choose ten in which you will specifically try and use word associations and then ten others you will just try to memorise through repetition then compare the results. Naturally some words may prove too difficult to link (in the next post I’ll talk about “mnemonics” which offer a little more flexibility), don’t spend too much time on them for now. Associations will get easier with practice, but for now just pick some easy ones to get started and see how you go, the additional time to think about the association is usually far less than time spent going over flashcards repeatedly without the mental hook.
Good luck! Please do let us know how it goes in the comments below.
Simon
Tags: polyglot tricks, Vocabulary
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Hello, Although leaning French now, I once dabbled with Italian.
Some years ago, Paul Daniels (The Magician) wanted to learn a language and found none of the available courses helpful, until he came across a method using word association. He learnt enough Spanish in one week using this method, enabling him to present a TV programme in Spanish, in Spain. He then used his name for marketing & produced a series of different language courses in cassette tape format, using native linguists. The opinion was, the more bizarre the association, the better the memory would remember. EG: The Italian for Rat, is Topo and the association was to imagine a large Rat on top of a pole. Give it a try, it really works. Bonne Chance. Jk
When I went to a web site that offered this type of learning a language and gave us free examples; I found I learned the words faster than the flash cards. The flash cards are actually great for me. Once in awhile I find that I’m not in tune to memorize by flash card and when that happens, I go onto something esle.
@All, sorry for the slow response to your comments, we have a new anti spam system and it’s confusing our internal notifications!
@Jk, great example and great plug for the methodology thanks!
@Rita, that’s great to hear thanks for your comment. Keep an eye out on some new tools that Bitesized is going to be releasing that will hopefully do a similar thing!
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