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.

The ability to memorize is crucial to learning a language as an adult. Unfortunately, some students give up, claiming they simply can’t learn because they have a “bad memory.” In reality, healthy people are born with similar potential but not everyone has the skills or techniques to maximize their memory capacity. As everyone learns differently, trying out a few of the techniques outlined below is best, as the first one you try may not be right for you.  In this blog, I will focus on subconscious memory aids including: colors, smells and music. Part II will focus on consciously developed techniques such as: mnemonics, the memory palace technique, labeling and intermittent review.

Colors

Colors can be extremely useful in helping your brain store information. For example, you may wish to designate a certain color such as red to all the feminine nouns in your target language. Then, when you go to recall that noun, its gender will come to you automatically as you will picture it in that context. Not only gender can be memorized like this, you can also use varying colors of ink or paper for verb conjugations or case systems such as those found in German.

Smells

This is a great technique for high school and university students who need to remember a lot of information come exam time. Choose a scent you easily associate with a specific language. For example, perhaps you associate lemons with Spanish as it has a tropical undertone. Then, every time you go to study Spanish, cut open a fresh lemon and allow the smell to permeate the air. Then, before heading into your exam rub some lemon scent on the inside of your wrist. While you are in the exam, smell this periodically when you are struggling, close your eyes and the information will come flooding back! This also works with essential oils and perfumes for those who are not fragrance sensitive.

Music and other audio

Some people need absolute quiet to study, but most of us actually benefit from background noise. Personally, I found listening to Latin music extremely helpful in my early studies of Spanish. It put me in an upbeat mood and opened my mind to the possibility that one day I would understand all the lyrics if I kept at my studies. I began playing specific artists while studying specific themes. For example, salsa beats for verb conjugations. Soon enough I was conjugating along to the beat of the music! Other audio, such as dialogues in the target language or vocabulary tracks, can also help you immensely in learning a new language.  Even if you are not actively repeating what they are saying,  consistent exposure enables the student to get a feel for the pronunciation and rhythm of the language.

If you have had success with any of the above techniques or others please share by posting a comment here or on my Facebook page (link below).