When studying new vocabulary
words, the biggest hurdle
to cross is remembering
all that you've learned.
For any given test,
you could be asked to
memorize hundreds of
terms. In the end, how
do you keep them all
straight? How can you
remember better? The
following are five memory
tricks to help you do
just that.
1. Create context. With mnemonics,
or memory tricks, the
underlying tenet is
that context helps us
remember the unfamiliar
or abstract more easily.
For instance, the acronym
Roy G. Biv is a well-known
mnemonic used to name
the colors in a spectrum
or rainbow: Red, Orange,
Yellow, Green, Blue,
Indigo, Violet. For
vocabulary, tricks range
from a short story to
a song tune, a keyword
to a drawing. In each,
what is constant is
the fact that context
is created for the new
word. Through context,
we're able to more easily
retain, remember, and
later recall the "new."
2. Vocalize new
words. A multi-sensory
approach to memorization
will likely increase
the chances of recall,
given that your brain
will be able to form
more associations. For
instance, with keyword
mnemonics, the "keyword"
is a known word/words
that sound similar to
the new one: fjord and
Ford. By saying this
word link out loud,
along with the sentence
that's thought up for
it (e.g. "The Ford trucks
got stuck in the mud
of the fjord."), your
brain will have a solid
auditory reference to
go along with the visual
one.
3. Use flashcards. From early on in our
education, flashcards
have been used to test
our memory. When learning
new words, this technique
can prove effective,
as it requires you to
recall information quickly,
triggered simply by
seeing a word. By design,
flashcards help reinforce
the link between word
and definition in our
brains. What's more,
flashcards are go-anywhere
study aids that can
be used alone or with
a study partner.
4. Study before
going to sleep. If you study a batch
of vocabulary words
before going to bed,
the information will
stay "fresh" in your
mind during rest and
the odds are good that
you'll retain much of
it the next day. Test
yourself in the morning
to see what you remember.
At worst, you will have
a fine start on the
current day's lesson,
since the words have
already been introduced.
5. Don't overload
with words. While
we'd love to learn all
the new vocabulary words
we need to in one sitting,
to do so is unrealistic.
Some prep lists can
be 1,000 words or more.
The best approach is
to study words in manageable
batches like 25 or so.
It'll give you an attainable
goal for an hour or
two of work.
By contrast, if you
do decide to take on
hundreds of words at
once, not only will
you be unable to form
the necessary associations
for each term, but your
task will seem never-ending,
leading to frustration.
Instead, stick with
the batches of 25 or
30 words and reward
yourself with a meaningful
break between sessions.
A point of reference?
When you take summer
school, the class sessions
are longer, but the
breaks in between are
as well. As important
as it is to exercise
your brain, it's just
as important to give
it a respite every once
in a while. |
