Memory Techniques to Learn English
7 easy ways to remember more English words
There are various memory techniques which people use to learn new things. In this post, I will share with you some ways to learn new English words and use them in practice.
How to remember new English words?
Improving your memory is not an easy task but you can use some memory techniques to learn English. Here’s a simple fact for you: the better you are to memorise what you have learned in your lessons and self-study sessions, the more successful you are likely to be as a language learner.
OK, what I’ve just told you is not a big surprise. However, improving your memorisation ability is a difficult task. The first thing we have to remember is that it is not enough just to store new words and phrases in our minds, we also have to be able to access them quickly from memory when we need them. I’m sure you’ve been in a situation when you know you’ve learnt the word, but can’t recall it when you need it!
Let’s see what you can do to memorise new words and be able to use them in practice.
7 memory techniques to learn English
Just writing it down is not enough
Sorry to say this, but simply writing down vocabulary in a notebook, perhaps with a translation into your own language, often doesn’t help much. As the American language expert Earl Stevick once said: “If you want to forget something, put it in a list.” The human brain does not store information in lists – it uses a far more complex system, based on making connections with other words and concepts. So what can you do? Here is an answer.
Find connections
Here’s my most basic tip: when you learn a new word, don’t just find a translation. You should also look for synonyms (words with a similar meaning) and antonyms (opposites). That will help your brain to build the spider’s web of information that it needs to store that new word. The next step should be to learn words in the same family – for instance, the word achieve (verb), relates to achievement and achiever (nouns) and achievable (adjective).
Learn collocations
It is also very useful to learn how your new word collocates with other words. When words collocate, it means that they join together naturally, like they are good friends. As an example, homework frequently connects with do. We do not typically connect homework with make or prepare. Therefore, if you say, “I’m going to make my homework tonight” it does not sound natural to an English speaker. (“I’m going to do my homework tonight” would be better). By learning collocations you learn more words and know how to use them together in the way native speakers do. I recommend this website for learning collocations: freecollocation.com.
Organise your notes
Taking the steps I described above will mean that you make a lot of notes whenever you learn a new item of vocabulary. To help you organise all that information, I recommend a website called Quizlet. It allows you to make electronic flashcards which can then be used for memorisation activities, such as matching games. It also prepares instant tests for you that are based on your flashcards.
However, having said that, I still recommend taking notes by hand, as this way you activate more connections in your nervous system and you will remember more!
Personalise the new language
As I mentioned before, having good memory also means that you can quickly take new information from your mind when you need it – for example, when you are talking to a friend. That process is called retrieval, and it can be very frustrating when our brains cannot activate this process. How many times have you thought to yourself: “I know what the word is, but I can’t remember it!” There are no easy ways to improve your retrieval system, but it can help if you try to personalise a new language, which means putting it into contexts that relate to your own life and experiences. For example, if you learn the phrasal verb keen on, you could write it in sentences like, “I’m keen on reading history books.”
Add more context
You should also read and listen to English as much as possible so you will see and hear your newly learned vocabulary in new contexts. Maybe later on, that context will emerge in a speaking situation, and your memory will be prepared to find the correct vocabulary.
Use it or lose it
And finally, you should use new words and expressions when you think you have an opportunity. Don’t be shy about making mistakes, we all do it! If you don’t say or write a new language that you learn, you might forget it. “Use it or lose it” – that’s a phrase you should always remember!
Final note
The above are not all of the memory techniques you can use to learn a language, there are more than that. However, these ways, in my opinion, are very useful if you want to make a connection between memorising new words and using them in practice.
What memory techniques work best for you? Can you see how your learning style influences what works for you? Which memory technique do you find the most enjoyable? Share in the comments!