To memorize foreign words to them. How to effectively learn foreign words if they are not remembered for a very long time

The problem is that any learned information is quickly forgotten if it is not repeated. However, language is such a thing that, in principle, it requires repetition, because for the most part we use the same words, 85% of oral speech consists of only 2000-3000 common words. In short, do not try to learn the language "for later", use it, and everything will be ok.

In "How to Learn English language» Sergei Nim is described general scheme memorization of words: words are memorized in three stages. Here's a quote with a little abbreviation:

"Stage 1: Memorizing a word

At this stage, you simply memorize the word by reading the meaning and trying to remember it. When it comes across in the text, you will remember it, though not instantly, but after a short recall. Okay, now you know the meaning of the word, can it be considered learned? It would seem, yes, because you remember him. But recognition has not yet been brought to automatism, besides, our memory is arranged in such a way that if you no longer meet memorized words in a text or speech, if you do not use them or at least repeat them, then the words will be forgotten completely and very soon. Learning a word is like hooking a fish: if you “hook” a word and don’t pull it out of the water, it will quickly jump off the hook.

Stage 2: Passive Vocabulary

You will recognize words that occur in text or speech, but you cannot yet actively use them yourself. Words are recognized instantly, automatically, like native ones, that is, without recall and translation in the mind. In order for words to move from the category of memorized to passive vocabulary, you need to fix them in memory by repeating them many times or (even better) meeting them in the text or hearing them, and in different contexts. Passive vocabulary is best formed by reading and listening to a large amount of materials, it is always more active, because it contains many words that are needed only at the recognition level, which you yourself almost never use in speech.

Stage 3: Active Vocabulary

You can easily recognize words and use them without hesitation in speech. Words pop up automatically, just like in your native language. Such automatism is achieved by practice in a productive speech activity - oral speech and letter. Conversational practice is especially important for the development of this skill, because when writing there is always time to think and even look into the dictionary, while oral speech is most often spontaneous.

So, cardboard cards with words, mnemonic techniques (like associative linking) are good at the first stage to “hook the word on the hook”. From useful software, I can single out and - programs for memorizing words. But all this is good only for the initial memorization. In the bowels of the passive vocabulary, words are "sewn" only with the practice of reading and listening, and in the active - with the practice of oral and writing. You can't just learn the words "for later". You need to put them into practice.

In general, language learners should not be confused by this. We learn languages ​​in order to use them. Separately, it is worth noting (there is also a book about this) that words interact according to the laws of grammar, you also need to know it at least at a minimum level.

Why do young children who learn their native language, as well as polyglots who easily master several languages ​​at once, not experience any special difficulties? They use specific learning strategies. Take advantage of their secrets and you.

1. Use the power of emotions
Say what comes to your mind when you mention the word honey(honey)? Only a textbook or an English-Russian dictionary? But the people who remember foreign words most quickly and easily, are able to associate them with something important for themselves.
For example, the same word honey can bring to mind the image of a beloved girl (after all, this is how Americans call those they love). And if you come across a new word in an interesting story, then it will be associated with the emotions that you experience while reading the story. An interesting conversation in a foreign language will also help you remember a new word quickly.
Why it works: Any positive emotion activates our ability to learn. After all, they signal that the word refers to something meaningful to us.

Recommended: Learn a foreign language with the help of interesting texts, films, books. Chat with people you are interested in. Then the very experience of such learning will become a positive emotional factor that will help you remember the words.

2. "Build" the new word into your experience
When young children learn their native language, they begin to notice a new word in a variety of situations, environments, and contexts. For example, when you hear the word "white" for the first time, Small child begins to repeat it when he sees white snow, white paper, white sugar.
And this is what helps him remember the word quickly and easily.
Why it works: In this way, the brain forms associations with different parts of the previous experience, the new word is associated with what the child already knows well, becomes more familiar and familiar. And to reproduce it in memory, you no longer need to strain, you just need to remember sugar or snow.

Recommended: Use a new word more often in various situations - try to use it by retelling the text, doing homework while practicing in foreign speech with fellow students, with native speakers.

3. Believe in your abilities
Tell me, do you have a good memory? Do you find it easy to memorize foreign words? Whatever your opinion about your own abilities, sooner or later it will turn into reality. People who successfully learned a foreign language believed in their ability to do so.
Why it works: Beliefs about yourself often turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. By mentally repeating that languages ​​are difficult for you, you are programming your brain to resist learning. "Why memorize these words - your unconscious is sure - after all, nothing will work out anyway."

Recommended: If it seems to you that it is not given to you to learn foreign languages, try to understand where this belief came from. “It is confirmed by past experience,” you say, “and at school I missed the language of the troika, and at the institute I passed the exam twice.” In fact, these events have nothing to do with your abilities at all. The reason for the failure could be poor health, lack of time to prepare, or the fact that you did not need knowledge of the language at that time. Learn to separate individual failures and your abilities in general, and believe in your strength.

4. Remember forever
How long will knowledge last? foreign language after your courses? many listeners ask. "If I don't use the language, won't I forget it a year after I graduate?" The answer to this question also largely depends on the beliefs and motivation of the person himself. Successful language learners usually believe in their ability to quickly recover knowledge. “When I have such a need, I will quickly remember everything that I need,” they say.
Why it works: Our beliefs shape not only the ability to perceive information, but also the ability to store it. We can believe that we have a good, in principle, memory - only a little short. “It will fly in one ear and fly out the other,” we say in such cases - and reality, as always, confirms our expectations.

Recommended: Form in your mind an image of a quick recovery of lost skills. Determine the period of time during which your skills will recover. For example: “A week of work on the language will be enough for me to remember everything”, “Two hours of communication with a foreigner will be enough for me to start speaking fluently and confidently again.”

5. Remember the goal
Studies have shown that people who have a good reason for learning a language are able to master it much faster than others. For example, one of the Moscow doctors managed to master a foreign language in just a month - knowing that this would allow him to go on a foreign internship. Students who are told that certain words will be required in the next lesson, according to statistics, remember them better than those who are not mentioned about it.
Why it works: Any undertaking is impossible without good reason, desires, motivations. Motivation is empowering. People who start learning a foreign language because it is fashionable often drop out of school halfway through. And if you have a goal, the chances of successfully mastering the language are much higher.

Recommended: Remember why you are learning a foreign language. Perhaps you dream of going to study in the US, or watching your favorite movie in the original version, you want to get a promotion, or you dream of giving lectures in a foreign language. When memorizing words, choose, first of all, those that you actively use in Russian.

6. Learn unconsciously
A small child easily masters his native language in the process of playing, communicating, learning about the world. A person who finds himself in the country of the language being studied quickly "absorbs" dozens and hundreds of new words, along with the peculiarities of pronunciation and grammar. But they do not sit over textbooks and do not memorize words on purpose!
Why it works: It's no secret that a common person uses only a tiny fraction of the potential of his own brain. But people who successfully master any language were able to use the hidden possibilities of their unconscious. It is known that the unconscious learns several times faster than the consciousness. This happens at those moments when consciousness is "loaded" with other activities. For example, while you are watching a movie or chatting with a friend, you are focused on the topic of the conversation. Meanwhile, your unconscious remembers new words.

Recommended: Learn foreign words in practice. For example, read an interesting story, watch movies, listen to audio materials, news, communicate with people in a foreign language more often. Then your consciousness will be busy with the plot, and the unconscious will be able to easily learn new words and expressions.

7. Learn new words through groups of phrases
Learn new words in context and in phrases, for example, not just tea- tea, but “pour tea”, “brew tea”, “put sugar”, “drink tea without sugar”, “stir with a spoon”, “ green tea”, “black tea”, etc.

Why it works: Using this method, you build entire semantic groups in your mind, and when it comes to tea parties, remembering just one expression from the above, you immediately recreate the entire semantic group in your memory and can successfully and for a long time communicate on this topic.

8. Use flashcards and illustrated dictionaries (pictures and visual aids)
Flashcards will help you memorize words as quickly as possible. You can, for example, plan to learn 10 words a day. Prepare cards with these words and take them with you. During the day, sort through the cards, trying to remember all the new words.
Why it works: When a word in your mind is associated with a visual image, 2 types of memory are already working. Trying to remember new words, use pictures or picture dictionaries. There are not only dictionaries in pictures of a general orientation, but also specialized professional dictionaries, for example, for engineers, physicians and other specialties (medical, foreign for engineers, foreign for pilots, etc.).

Recommended: You can illustrate the new words planned for memorization yourself. For example, you need to learn the word lumberjack - woodcutter. On one side of the card, write a word in a foreign language, and on the other side, draw what you associate with this word. It can be a tree and an ax in the hands of a little man. At the same time, the method of associations is also included in the work.

9. Use the sticker/tag method

Another interesting way to memorize new foreign words. This method is best for memorizing nouns and adjectives. Take a stack of stickers, write down the names of everything that surrounds you, and paste over all these objects with foreign names. Only a week will pass and the words learned in this way will forever remain in your memory so that even after 20 years you will be able to remember that mirror- it's a mirror. And if you add the definitions of clean, dirty, muddy to the mirror - clean, dirty, dull, then a whole group of semantic meanings is remembered.

10. Remember the Magic Seven Method
Each new word or phrase is recommended to be memorized using 7 repetitions in arithmetic progression. This so-called echo rule.
Why it works: Scientist J.A. Miller determined that human memory is somehow dependent on the number seven plus or minus two. That is, we are able to retain in memory an average of 7 units, which can be words or semantic units, that is, images. By folding a few words into an image, you will be able to remember much more information. 11. Use the storytelling method
Take 10 new words and make a coherent story with them in a foreign language. In fact, if we are to compose a story, it is better to take thematically related lexical units and make up with them what is called a “topic” in school. In such a text, everything looks reasonable and logical. At the same time, you can practice the use of words. True, it is better to compose your own topic on the basis of a preliminary study of several texts on a given topic. Just so that you can observe in what expressions and in what context this or that word is used, and then use the knowledge gained to compose your own story.
Why it works: First, because you use new words in context. Secondly, and more importantly, the use of new words occurs in a creative way - you come up with YOUR story, so it will be easier for you to remember the words you use and the grammatical and lexical structures.
Example: Let's say we need to learn the words: mist- fog, harbor- harbor, dew- dew, lark- lark, birch- Birch tree.

The thick mist settled over the harbor in the morning. The lark was sitting on the birch and drinking dew from the leaves. Thick fog spread over the harbor in the morning. The lark sat on a birch and drank the dew from the leaves.

12. Expand your synonyms
Another way of remembering is through the expansion of the synonymic series. Its essence lies in maintaining a notebook of synonyms, in which new words must be constantly added as they are studied. Try as often as possible to select synonyms for words heard or seen somewhere and from time to time repeat synonyms in a notebook. Possession of an extensive synonymous series allows you to more accurately express your thoughts in a foreign language, moreover, as a result, your speech speed will also increase.
power - force - energy - ...
small - little - tiny - ...

beautiful - handsome - pretty - ...

13. Use Method"Polyglot»
With this method you will learn to memorize 100-200 new foreign words a day quickly and easily! This method is a sequence of mental actions and operations that form the skill of memorization.
Method structure:

1. Provide a translation of the word.
2. Choose a consonant Russian word for pronunciation.
3. Connect the image of the translation with the image of the consonant word.
4. "Take a picture" is a foreign word.
5. Write a foreign word.
6. Check the quality of visual memory.
7. Write down on a card for further repetition.

Example: Let's use the Polyglot method to remember English word « beard» - beard- bied.

1. "Beard" is a translation.
2. and bied is the pronunciation of the word (the second option is “Russian transcription”).
3. beard is the spelling of a foreign word.
4. To “take a picture” of a foreign word means to highlight the word on all sides with yellow cards (size 6x7 cm) so that only the word “beard” is in the “window”. And now we set ourselves to remember the graphic image of the word (Remember the spelling!) And read the word aloud 2-3 times.
5. Writing and checking the quality of visual memorization means writing the word backwards, from right to left, so that the word is read correctly. In our case, it should look like this:

.... d
... rd
.. ard
. ear

We are sure that the numerous strategies and techniques for memorizing new words presented above will significantly reduce your efforts in learning a foreign language and make it more effective and enjoyable. You just need to set a goal, believe in yourself and start working. And then, one day, the ability to easily communicate or lecture in the language will become a reality for you.

It's no secret that the process of learning new material is half the battle. How to memorize foreign words and what to do to repeat them, we will tell in our article.

Before we go looking for a universal way to learn new vocabulary, let's figure out why we tend to forget what we've learned. Has it ever happened to you that you forgot the words of your native language? Most likely, the answer will be negative. You do not forget the word "milk" when you go to the store, remember the names of all the objects around you. And all because we actively use words in everyday speech, i.e. we repeat, but not purposefully, but arbitrarily as the language situation arises. This is the basic principle of reliable memorization - repetition.

Memory levels or where words are stored

“Keep everything in your head”, this phrase is quite abstract, but clearly describes the “place” of storing the learned vocabulary. But memory, as it turns out, is different.

1. Sensory memory is activated when we first hear or see a word. Its duration is small - fractions of a second. The development of auditory or visual memory divides people into visuals and auditory, for the former, the transfer of information to short-term memory is faster through visual perception, for the latter - auditory.
2. The next stage is working memory, its duration is up to 20 seconds, so it rightly bears the title of short-term. In it, the received information is processed for long-term storage, in addition, it depends on how quickly the necessary material will be retrieved from long-term memory.
3. Long-term memory is the bowels of our brain, it contains everything that was once accumulated by us. If foreign words manage to get there - victory! You won't forget them.

As statistics show, 80% of the new material studied is forgotten after a day. This means that a properly organized repetition is required.

The main rule of long-term memorization

The more often you use vocabulary, the more securely it becomes fixed in your memory and the less likely it is to lose it. The best repetition option is active use in live speech with native speakers. Communication activity is determined individually, but should not be less than 3-4 times a week.

How to deal with "forgetting" those who cannot afford such communication? You will have to make an effort to create artificial conditions for the language environment. It can be audio books, books, films, news, retellings - all methods are familiar to you.

• The first repetition of what has been learned must be organized immediately after the study.
• The second - after 20-30 minutes.
• The third - in 24 hours.
• Fourth - 15–20 days.
• Fifth - 2-3 months.

Yes, yes, each word should be repeated at least 5-10 times, but it is this approach that will become the key to reliable long-term memorization.

1. Disable autopilot. Thoughtlessly "running through" the dictionary page with your eyes? This approach leads into the unknown and is considered completely ineffective. Memorization requires the connection of associative thinking, imagination and, of course, attention. An excellent result is given by inventing short stories with an array of learned vocabulary; it does not have to be meaningful and literary. The more absurd and more fun it is, the more secure it will be.
2. The well-known retelling also belongs to the category of active repetition. However, remember that retelling has nothing to do with memorization, it requires you to be aware.
3. Those who love to read have an undeniable advantage. When working on long works, many words are repeated many times, or if on the first pages you need the active help of a dictionary, then, having noticed a word 3-4 times, you will definitely remember its meaning. Thus, the principle of repetition described above, which frightens many from 5 to 10 times, is implemented imperceptibly and completely painlessly.
4. Fun and effective, this category includes watching movies and series. In terms of repetition, the latter are preferable, since they most often repeat vocabulary, which means you have a chance to securely consolidate it. Pay attention to the content of the series, for example, the cult “Doctor House” is unsuitable for these purposes, since it contains a huge amount of specific vocabulary that only a student may need medical university. A completely different matter is the simple colloquial speech of "Friends".
5. “I love”, “I don’t love” - we combine. Of course, there are words that require moral strength to repeat. This is where the Restorff effect comes in handy, which involves repeating words on a favorite topic with a small inclusion of “not favorites”. The latter, standing out from the crowd, will be remembered very well. So, the theme of fluffy kittens (10–15 words) can be “diluted” with technology (2–3 words), “travel” can be added with “protection environment". We hope the essence of how it is easier to remember words has become clear to you.
6. Roman room method or Cicero's chain. Julius Caesar, being a man far from stupid, actively used this method for personal training. The essence of the method is the clear structuring of information. When studying vocabulary, walk around the room and determine the place for each word, something can be “put” on the nightstand, something will comfortably sit on the windowsill, and there are words that can be “thrown” on the floor. Of course, you will do all this exclusively in your head. When repeating words, walk around the room, "pick up" the words and speak out loud. Systematically repeat your indoor journeys, no longer performing any physical activities. The main condition is the room, with scattered words, you should be familiar with.
7. In the age of technology, it would be foolish not to use the gadgets that have become our life companions. You can use the mass of applications that developers offer, or you can record an audio lesson yourself using the voice recorder function. What to write down? We will write down words that require repetition. Say a word in Russian, after 10 seconds - his English translation. Turn on the recording at a convenient time for you and try to remember the translation of words during pauses.
8. Last but not least is a positive attitude. Let's remember what our memory holds? These are the events that were accompanied strong emotions: holidays, active pastime. No, no, we do not hint that it is necessary to repeat the words at the festive table. Try to change your attitude towards the process of learning and repetition, instead of the hopeless "repeat again" use "wow, I memorized so many new words." And if linguists forget about this point, highlighting the technical aspects of the issue, then psychologists consider it one of the main ones.

We have determined what and how to repeat, it remains to understand - when? The laws of projective and retroactive inhibition apply here. If, while studying one piece of information, you abruptly switch to the next block, then it will “record” over the previously learned one, since the latter has not yet passed into long-term memory. What we are getting at is that the process of learning or repetition should be the only action performed, no surfing the net, reading books along the way or background TV. The best solution is to repeat a quarter of an hour before bedtime and in the morning, as they say “with a fresh mind”, because it was not for nothing that our mothers at school advised us to repeat verses before going to bed.

About the rules for memorizing foreign words, see this video.