Mastering a foreign language is impossible without memorizing a large number of unfamiliar words and, preferably, every day. What are the ways to memorize? I share my experience.
I learned English words by writing them and their translations on separate small pieces of paper, pulling them out at random, repeating them like that, and they were memorized.
With the advent of smartphones and various applications on it, it has become possible to learn new words easier and faster. You can put words that require memorizing into some application, such as “My Dictionary,” and repeat them anywhere in your free minute; you can also listen to the pronunciation of a foreign word, which was impossible when memorizing words the old-fashioned way!
Unfortunately, all these methods of reproducing learned words occur in dictionary mode: the word is a translation, and have nothing in common with real communication situations. In real communication, a context will also appear: the word will acquire other words that will affect its meaning, giving the necessary shades, and all together will turn into a sentence or a whole text. People will become listeners and speakers: the understanding and production of speech will be hampered by so-called interference. Perhaps an accent, a fast pace of speech can affect the correct understanding of what is being said, and when formulating a thought, the speaker may be affected, for example, by excitement and he will not remember the appropriate word. Therefore, you need to learn to recognize and apply new words in speech, this is exactly what you need study, because it seems that you have learned a word, but when faced with a stream of speech, you simply may not recognize the word, and in a conversation you may not remember the necessary word, which, as it turns out, you once learned...
What are some tricks for learning foreign words faster and more efficiently?
Effective memorization of a word is facilitated by the reproduction and perception of all its sides, that is: an unfamiliar word must be seen, heard, pronounced and written. It is advisable not to be lazy and perform these manipulations with each new word.
As I already said, memorizing a new word will forever ensure it active use in speech. Having learned a word, you need to try to practice it in conversation. Don’t be shy to speak out in class, don’t be afraid to say something wrong or wrong - everyone makes mistakes. If you are learning a language on your own and have no one to practice with, find a pen pal, you can register on any site you like, where people from all over the world are looking for foreign friends, and chat!
An indicator of successful memorization of a new word, in my opinion, is recognizing it in speech. Or, on the other hand, to master a word forever, it is very important to learn to recognize it in speech. Therefore, you need to listen to oral speech and read some literature in a foreign language. Podcasts and regular books will help you with this.
It is very important, when studying a foreign language in a group under the supervision of a teacher, to learn new words using technical means or paper media (as described at the beginning of the article), and then practice them, do not hesitate to speak out in class. When learning a language on your own, it is important learning words, uniting themby topic, for example, first we learn vocabulary on the topic “house”, then “appearance”, then “food”, etc. At the same time, we definitely learn to recognize and use new words in speech.
That's all, good luck in learning foreign languages!
Do you have problems remembering English words and expressions? Do you find it difficult to remember idiomatic and slang expressions? Are you constantly struggling with grammar rules?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone: most people who study face such problems.
Even native speakers have difficulty remembering how to spell a particular word, since there is often no direct connection between the spelling of a word in English and its pronunciation.
The secret to remembering new words and their spelling—for both native and non-native speakers—is to develop a good memory. If you are one of the people with poor memory, read on.
This article will explain several techniques that will help you memorize words and grammar in a much easier way.
First of all, you need to understand how memory works.
So how does memory work?
Our memory stores information. As soon as we see, hear, smell, taste or touch something, our memory places this data in a specific place.
In some cases, however, when we need to retrieve this information, we cannot find it. Sometimes, even when we try to remember something, this piece of information simply cannot be “removed” from its proper place in our memory.
Can I improve my memory?
Yes! You can use aids - mnemonics.
These include pictures, sounds, rhymes or acronyms that make a connection with a word, expression or spelling that is difficult to remember.
Imagine: the sea after a storm with parts and debris from a wrecked boat floating in it, algae and other debris floating aimlessly on the surface.
This is what happens to poorly organized memory. It is difficult to find anything in such a huge pile of disorganized information.
Now imagine a port or harbor where every boat is anchored or docked in the right place. Everything is organized and in its place.
TO 
The picture is a little unrealistic, but hopefully it will help you imagine what a well-organized memory looks like. Following this analogy, a mnemonic is an anchor that fixes a piece of information in a certain place, preventing it from “sinking.”
Let's look at a few different ways to use these memory anchors to learn a language.
Using mnemonics to remember the spelling of words
Spelling mnemonics are used by both native speakers and language learners because it is very easy to get confused when it comes to spelling English words. If you can't remember how to spell a certain word, create a mnemonic link to something that will help you remember.
Here's a great example: many people are not sure about the correct spelling of the word "vacuum" (vacuum cleaner). They know that there must be a double letter in the middle, but which one, “c” or “u”? The following video presents a wonderful mnemonic technique designed to help with this:
Hear, here! How to remember English homophones
Weather or whether? Hear or here? There, their, or they’re?
It is especially difficult to remember the spelling of words that sound the same but have different meanings. And again mnemonics help us!
For example, you confuse the words compl i ment and compl e ment There is a mnemonic to help you understand the difference between these words. Let's take a look at it and you'll never have trouble with these two homophones again.
Compliment is translated as “compliment”, “praise”. This is an expression of delight, admiration.
He told her he admired her music, and she returned the compliment by saying that she was a fan of his poetry. He told her he loved her music, and she returned the compliment by saying she was a fan of his poetry.
Complement, on the other hand, is something that complements or enhances - an addition.
The necklace was a perfect complement for her dress. The necklace was the perfect complement to her dress.
Both words can be verbs and nouns. Also, both can have other meanings depending on the context, but these meanings are the most important.
The difference in spelling between these words is that the word compl e ment has an e in the middle, and compl i ment — i. For those who are fluent in Russian spelling, there will not be much difficulty here, since in our country the word compliment is also written through And. But what if you are confused with the Russian language too? How then can you remember how to spell each word correctly?
Here's a mnemonic for you: antonym compl i ment — i nsult (insult). Insult starts with i, so compl i ment in the middle is also a letter i .
When one thing complements another (one thing complements another), it improves it in some way. Enhance starts with the letter e, so just remember the phrase: if one thing enhances another, it complements it- and you will remember the letter e in the middle of the word.
A barefoot bear drinks beer
Another way to remember words that have the same sound and pronunciation is to create a mnemonic sentence that includes all the words you are trying to remember.
The sentence should make some sense and be simple enough to visualize and remember. For example: A barefoot bear drinks beer. The sentence is a little silly, but it's memorable and helps teach the difference between homophones.
Idioms and slang expressions
A picture that expresses a literal interpretation of an idiom can be an excellent mnemonic.
For example, so that the meaning of the expression " to be all ears» stuck in your memory, imagine a man with large elephant ears facing you. This image will help you remember the meaning and main idea of this idiom.
What do people use to hear? Ears, of course. So, if a person has big ears, it means that he is listening carefully to what you say.
By the way, how do you like this literal depiction of the phrase to be all ears?
Now you will probably remember this expression forever. I hope you are not reading this article at night, as some troubles are possible.
What about grammar?
If the structure of English grammar is different from your native one, it can be difficult to understand the logic behind the “alien” grammatical concepts.
Learning grammar rules can take a lot of time and effort before you truly master them.
Mastery means that you feel absolutely confident in it and use the rules of grammar 100% correctly.
Look at 4 rules that will help you understand these very “alien” grammatical rules. Perhaps they will remind you of your own experiences.
- I read the rules and read/see/hear examples of their use. I understand the meaning (or at least I think I do). The rule makes sense. More or less…
- I start doing the exercises and now I realize that I don't quite understand them. I need to see/hear/read a few more examples before I start using them myself.
- Now I understand the idea, but there are so many expressions here! I hear native speakers use this concept incorrectly. Are they just wrong, or is there something that neither my textbook nor my teacher have conveyed to me yet?
- Now I know (hopefully) how to use this part of the grammar. I can use it correctly and know several different cases when it should be used. Now I own these rules.
This raises a very important question: is it possible to skip a step or two in this process?
Answer: Yes. It's difficult, but possible.
How to Use Mnemonics for Grammar
It is important to be able to visualize (present) a new concept; a mental picture will help you understand and remember it.
Here's an example. In Slavic languages there are no auxiliary verbs for the perfect tense (I have read the book) or for the continuous tense (I am reading the book).
If we draw an analogy with English, in Russian, for example, there is no difference in the sentences “I read” and “I am reading” (in both cases - “I am reading”), since we understand the difference from the context. But there are no differences in verb forms.
In order for us, Russians, to understand the difference between the simple present and simple perfect tense in English, we need to try to imagine two pictures.
For repeated actions (for example, Present Simple: “I read every day” [I read every day]) imagine a kangaroo jumping up and down on a calendar: I read Monday (jump), Tuesday (jump), Wednesday (jump) and so on.
Well, or this mnemonic for the phrase “I read every day”
For actions that are happening right now (for example, Present Continuous: “I am reading”), you can imagine a river filled with words and phrases in front of you. You are sitting on the bank of a river, text floats past from left to right, illustrating that the reading process is happening right now.
At first, the difference between these two actions may seem very confusing - one is repetitive and general in nature, and the other is unfolding right now in front of you.
But the pictures definitely help to visualize the difference and eventually internalize it as well.
And one more grammatical example
Let's look at another example of a difficult grammatical concept: stative verbs.
These are verbs that are not usually used in continuous forms, even when we are talking about temporary situations or states. Have you ever been confused by the logic of stative verbs? How can one and the same verb denote both a phenomenon and an action in the same situation?
Example: compare “The girl is smelling the rose” and “The rose smells good.”
How can we know whether it is an action verb (in which case we can use the Present Continuous) or a state verb (in which case we cannot use the Present Continuous)? Visualization will help us again.
Imagine every little step in this process: you are a girl, you take a flower in your hands, bring it to your nose and calmly inhale the delicate aroma of a rose. Where is the action here?
I hope you see the action and understand that, in fact, in this case the action is associated with this whole process.
Now imagine that you are a rose.
What are you doing? What is your action? If you think about it for a couple of seconds, it becomes clear that the flower is not doing anything.
Let's look at a couple more examples:
The cook is tasting the soup. The soup tastes good. (The cook tastes the soup. The soup is delicious.)
I'm feeling your forehead. Your forehead feels really hot. Are you sick? (I feel your forehead. Your forehead is very hot. Are you sick?)
Can you imagine yourself as a chef? What about soup? Can you imagine that you are a forehead?
How to create mnemonics
1. Not all words and expressions are equally important. Therefore, not every vocabulary item “deserves” to have a mnemonic created for it. Identify the words and expressions that really have professional or social meaning for you, and create mnemonics for them first. Don't worry about words that are too rare and "mysterious" that you can't remember.
2. Create mnemonics in English, not in your native language. If your mnemonic is a picture, then try to think of it only in English.
3. Don't overdo it: Don't use too many mnemonics. If you do this, you will have to spend a lot more time memorizing mnemonics instead of reading, writing, or speaking English. We all have limits on how much we can remember, so know your limit.
4. Not every mnemonic makes sense to other people. Mnemonics can be divided into two groups: private and public. Public ones are those that can be easily understood by other people. Personal ones, on the other hand, will only be clear to you. Your own mnemonics will be difficult to explain to other people, but don't worry about it: the only thing that matters is your own ability to quickly retrieve a word or concept from your memory.
photo tumblr.com
THREE SCIENTIFICALLY BASED METHODS THAT WORK
You teach and learn these words, but there’s no use! After a couple of days everything is forgotten.
Take a scientific approach to memorization! We present to you three scientifically based techniques that will allow you to quickly and permanently memorize foreign words.
HOW MANY WORDS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
First, let's figure out how many words you need to learn in order to begin to understand most foreign speech, and even express your thoughts yourself. A five-year-old child living in an English-speaking country uses 4,000–5,000 words, and a university graduate uses about 20,000 words. However, a person learning English as a foreign language has a vocabulary of only 5,000 words, despite several years of study.
But there is also good news: A vocabulary of 2,000 words is enough to understand 80% of foreign speech. The researchers came to this conclusion based on an analysis of the Brown Corpus. A linguistic corpus is a collection of texts on various topics.
Interestingly, after you have learned 2,000 words, increasing your vocabulary for each subsequent 1,000 words allows you to increase the amount of text you understand by only 3-4%.
HOW TO QUICKLY REMEMBER A WORD?
The first question that interests everyone is how to quickly memorize foreign words?
Scientists have concluded that information is remembered faster when has an emotional connotation. Accordingly, it is a good idea to study words through games, riddles, and films. If you liked the song, don’t be lazy to look at the translation of unclear words. These words will forever be associated with the song you liked, which means they will leave an emotional mark in your memory.
A great technique is mnemonics. Create colorful associations - this will allow you to remember even hard-to-pronounce words. Example of use: the word weather is similar to the Russian word wind, we build a wind-weather pair in our heads, and forever remember that weather is translated as weather. There are special reference books in which you can find various mnemonic techniques for memorizing English words. However, it is better to come up with such associations yourself, since our associations and emotions are strictly individual.
HOW TO NOT FORGET A WORD SO QUICKLY?
So, you have learned a couple hundred words, but after a week about ten of them remain in your memory. What is the problem? This is explained by the existence of short-term and long-term memory. Short-term memory mechanisms allow you to store information for 15-30 minutes, then, noticing that this information is not used, the brain gets rid of it as something unnecessary. How can we make it clear to the brain that we really need these words? The answer is repetition. It’s like with Pavlov’s dog: the light comes on and saliva comes out. However, it is released only after 5-10 repetitions of the food + light chain. If you stop feeding food when the light is turned on, the association of the light bulb with food will be destroyed in the dog’s brain, and saliva will stop secreting.
So how many times does a word need to be repeated for it to move consistently from short-term to long-term memory?
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus developed the Forgetting Curve, which measures the amount of information lost over time in the absence of repetition. Within the first 20 minutes after learning the words, we will already remember 60%, and within 1 hour we will lose more than 50% of the information. Then, over time, more and more information will be erased, and by day 3, only 20% of the information will remain in memory. Thus, if you miss at least one day in repetition, you will not be able to return the forgotten words.
The conclusion is obvious: no repetition. Use words in speech, come up with stories using new words, play cards on your smartphone for at least a couple of minutes a day - all this will help you retain the words you have learned. Otherwise, the time spent on their initial study will simply be wasted.
We suggest using the following repetition schedule:
- 10-15 minutes after learning the words;
- After 50-60 minutes;
- The next day;
- After 1 day;
- In 2 days.
After this, most of the information will be fixed for life.
HOW TO EXPRESS THOUGHTS FASTER?
I really want foreign words to pour out of my mouth without requiring excessive brain strain and several minutes to formulate a phrase. There is an opportunity to speed up the formation of foreign speech - this is the development of muscle memory. By muscles here we mean the muscles of our articulatory apparatus. These muscles, like the muscles in the legs when riding a bicycle or the muscles in the fingers of a pianist, have a memory that allows them to perform automated movements almost unconsciously.
In order for muscle memory to form, it is important to pronounce them out loud when learning words, making movements with your tongue and lips. It is also useful to simultaneously imagine an image of the subject being studied. Over time, you will no longer think about what word to say - your muscles will do it automatically.
Thus, the correct organization of the brain’s work in the formation of short-term, long-term and muscle memory will allow you to quickly and permanently replenish your vocabulary.
Good luck with your studies!
Fun English for children and adults!
And now you need to ask where the nearest pharmacy is, but this word - "pharmacy" completely slipped my mind... You find it in the dictionary and indignantly hit yourself on the forehead: “Pharmacy! Exactly! How could I forget this?!”
Sound familiar? English words are forgotten or simply end up in the PASSIVE vocabulary. The question arises: how to learn English words quickly, easily and, most importantly, effectively? Get ready: a huge one awaits you, but the most complete and useful article on this topic.
To compile 8 rules for learning English words, we surveyed 6 experts. Two methodologists: Olga Sinitsina(Head of Methodology and Content Department) and Olga Kozar(founder of the English with Experts school).
And four language practitioners: Alexander Belenky(traveler and famous blogger), Dmitry More(professional translator and author cool video blog), Marina Mogilko(co-founder of the LinguaTrip service and author of two vlogs) And Ksenia Niglas(Cambridge graduate, Fulbright scholar and also popular video blogger). They will use personal examples to illustrate our rules.
Table of contents of the article (it really is very big):
What English words should you learn first?
Our answer will be useful to both beginners and seasoned students, because we often step on the same rake...
Rule #1 – Learn only the words you need!
When you learn a new language, the temptation is so great to memorize something like this: "superficial", "fade", "piercing" etc. Perhaps you will be able to shine if you come across sophisticated interlocutors.
But why do you need a word "savor", if you don't know 3 verb forms "eat"? For what "fulminant" if you don't know the words "speed"? Do you need sophistication if the basic vocabulary still doesn’t fly off your teeth?
In the later years of university, we studied specific vocabulary on the topic “International Relations” (my specialty is “International Relations and American Studies”).
At the end of the 4th year we went to the states under the Work and Travel program. One day I see my classmate sitting thoughtfully. I asked what happened, and he said: “For four years now we have been going through all sorts of complex concepts like “a treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons” or “detente of international tension.” But today at work I realized that I don’t know how to say “bucket” in English.
By the way, those complex terms were never useful to me. So not all English words and topics are truly useful.
WE RECOMMEND: Don’t waste time and memory resources on words that you don’t actively use in your native language. It’s better to use the saved energy to practice and repeat words that have already been studied and are truly needed. Go through and remove excess from there without a twinge of conscience.
What then to teach? Base + area of interest
The required vocabulary is compiled according to the formula: base(high-frequency words that are used by all people, regardless of profession, interests, religion, etc.) + words related to your interests and language learning goals(why do you need English?).
At the same time, it is better to look for vocabulary in trusted sources, since sometimes something that in fact is not is passed off as high-frequency.
I remember how at school we learned many different words associated with the traditions of English-speaking countries. These words have never been useful to me in my life.
For example, the word “shamrock” stuck in my memory, but I never used it.
It’s easier to ask as the situation progresses what a certain word means than to try to prepare yourself for all sorts of traditions (and to ask, you just need frequency vocabulary - approx. author).
Where will we look for basic English vocabulary?
1. Study lists of high-frequency English words. No need to go far: Lingualeo has lists of words and frequency words. If your language level is already higher, then take larger lists, for example, The Oxford 3000.
2. “Take out” words from adapted literature. This is why it is called adapted because rare and complex words are replaced with simple and high-frequency ones. You will find a selection of 16 cool books adapted by English-speaking experts.
3. Study news in an adapted language. The principle is the same as with books: read the news (you can find them on the website learningenglish.voanews.com) and write down unfamiliar words. Use ours to immediately translate them and add them to the dictionary.
It is better to have news, literature, etc. adapted by English-speaking experts: you will be sure that this vocabulary is actually used in life.
I remember a school course where we were taught that breakfast is breakfast, lunch is dinner, dinner is supper.
In practice, it turned out that not only does no one speak supper, but no one even understands.
It turned out to be a fairly local British word.
In fact, lunch is lunch, and dinner is dinner.
Where to look for words for your area of interest
As an answer, I’ll tell you a case: in the summer of 2016, our communications director went to the Olympic Games in Rio as a volunteer. She was appointed as a translator for the beach volleyball section. Her English is excellent, but she did not know sports terminology.
To prepare, Katya watched volleyball videos in English from the Games in London. So all the necessary vocabulary was at her disposal.
Dmitry More shared the same experience: to prepare for the wheelchair volleyball project, he watched recordings of the Paralympic Games, read articles in English, etc. Ksenia Niglas learned vocabulary for her bachelor's work in the same way. I think you understand our recommendation :)
Another cool tip from Marina Mogilko:
I recommend it to guys who are learning English for a specific area according to its theme and watch-watch-watch in the original, because such a movie is filled with the necessary vocabulary.
There, these words are constantly repeated, and if you hear a word in context 3-4 times, it is etched in your memory.
So, while watching House, M.D., I picked up medical vocabulary, and with the TV series Suits I unconsciously memorized legal words.
Rule #2 – Learn more verbs!
Especially at the beginning of learning a language. Any noun can, in extreme cases, be described with the words “such a thing that ...” - and then a description of the actions.
Gina Caro in her book “English for Our People” describes an exercise: look around and describe in English, using verbs, all the nouns that come up:
a bed is the thing on which I sleep, a chair is where I sit, a table is where I eat, etc.
All the verbs that come up are good verbs, they are worth remembering. The only noun you'll need is thing.
Rule No. 3 – Learn stable phrases!
These are combinations of words that are natural for a native speaker. For example, take a photo, but not do a photo, fast food, but not quick food etc. We have already dedicated this rule, in which you will find a list of phrases + dictionaries, where there are even more of them.
Why is this important: a person who does not speak a foreign language well first thinks in Russian, and then translates these thoughts into English. But the norms for combinability of words in these languages are different.
Imagine: you need to explain that your car has a flat tire. You go to Google Translate and type in the word "lowered" (or "lowered"), and the translator will give descended (or deflated). But there is a stable phrase for this situation.
One day, when I was traveling in America, I got a flat tire. For a long time I could not figure out how to explain this.
And only then did I hear from the specialist consulting me the expression “flat tire” (which translates to “flat tire”). Then I remembered it firmly.
Although before that I associated the word “flat” with the word “apartment”. But this is the British version, in America an apartment is called only apartment.
WE RECOMMEND: learn more stable phrases. Google collocations examples or common collocations and study the results. Or just read it. In addition to learning phrases, we recommend memorizing entire phrases. Teach them in the form in which you will use (1 l. unit). This is the advice of the polyglot Kato Lomb, whom we are talking about.
How to learn English words quickly and easily
From the previous part of the article it is clear that the sources of new words are English-language materials and sets of words / dictionaries. And so you learn, for example, a phrasal verb to get down. At this stage, typical mistakes begin.
Rule #4 – Learn words only in context!
Suppose verb to get down I first came across it in a song by KC & The Sunshine Band. You wrote it down on a card and noticed that in addition to the meaning used in the song “let’s have a blast, let’s light it up” the verb has others: make someone unhappy, take note of someone, leave the table after eating and etc.
"How cool! In one word I will cover so many necessary meanings!”- you think and begin to memorize all the meanings en masse.
And the wonderful musical context with disco rhythms has already been forgotten, and the word has become a set of letters with a dozen unrelated meanings... Alas, most likely you will not remember this word when you need it.
WE RECOMMEND: learn to ignore that this or that word has other meanings besides the only one that you need right now. Let this word exist only in the context in which you met it. If elsewhere you see to get down with a different meaning, well, you’ll go back to the dictionary. But even then, don't get stuck thinking it's the same word. Let them exist separately in your mind, each in its own context.
If we found the word in English-language materials?
Then keep this context in mind. Parse the lyrics of your favorite song, add the word to your study list, and the context will always be with you.
I added this word is from a song by The Rolling Stones .The line at the bottom of the vocabulary card will always remind me of the context.
If we take a word from a list like “Top 100 Frequent Words”?
Then we immediately put the word back into context. According to scientists, we need to see each word 7-9 times in different situations in order to remember it. There are a huge number of sources for these situations. For example, English-language explanatory dictionaries always provide words with good examples. These are Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, etc.
By the way, in them (explanatory dictionaries) it is best to look up the meaning of a new word for you (namely MEANING, not TRANSLATION), because this way you will be protected from all sorts of uncomfortable situations.
One day one of my students came to class after training and when asked “How are you?” answered “My press hurts.”
Indeed, if you go to, say, Google Translate and type in the word “press”, it will give the answer “press”. But the problem is that the “press” is a hydraulic press. And the one that hurts is the abdominal one.
And in the English-English explanatory dictionary you will immediately see that “press” is not what you need.
Another source of context is search engines in English-speaking countries, for example, google.co.uk or google.com.au. You type a word into a search engine and see in what situations it is used.
The third source is English language corpora (specially prepared text databases with standard English). The most popular: “Corpus of British English” and “Corpus of American English”. You need to work with them the same way as with search engines: you type in a word and study examples.
Once you have found a suitable example (context) for yourself, you can add it to your word.
Learn English words online
WE RECOMMEND: never learn the “lonely” word! When you start learning a new word, first of all, find good examples for it, the right context. To, firstly, remember it better; secondly, use it correctly and combine it with other words.
Rule No. 5 – Use intralingual connections!
Some English words may have distant relatives in other languages - French, German and even Russian. Also, the word probably has close relatives in its own language - these are words with the same root, like ours: table, dining room, feast etc. You can look for such “connections” in special etymological dictionaries, for example etymonline.com.
Also look for synonyms (similar in meaning) and antonyms (opposite). The explanatory dictionaries above will help you with this. And catch another one: dictionary.com.
WE RECOMMEND: for new words, especially rather complex, abstract ones, look for context within the language itself: cognates, synonyms, antonyms. All this will help create strong neural connections and associations.
Rule #6 – Come up with your own word examples!
You did everything according to the rules: you found an example, together with it you “placed” the word in your head, but it is still forgotten... Why? Because it is better to remember what is relevant to you, your personal experience.
When you have learned a word, immediately come up with your own examples for it, or better yet, act out a whole dialogue. Let's remember our to get down(in meaning "break away, light up").
- Let's let's have a blast This Friday! -Will you have time to free yourself? After all, if we want for a long time have a blast, then you need to start early. - Yes. I want to start have a blast at 8, and finish only by morning! etc.
So, along with learning a new word, you will also review the grammar.
When you yourself have used a word several times, it is remembered forever.
I remember the story of the word oatmeal. On my first trip to Britain, I didn’t know this word. In the meaning of “porridge” I always used the word porridge, as we were taught at school. But no one understood me, because porridge is a very formal, bookish word (no one uses it).
I was corrected once, corrected twice. Then I repeated this word myself several times - that’s all. I haven't forgotten him anymore.
WE RECOMMEND: After you have seen examples of the use of a word, come up with your own context. Based on it, come up with several examples (coherent dialogue or individual sentences) and speak them loudly and clearly. If it’s difficult to come up with a situation, then remember the last time you used this word in real life, and reproduce this situation in English.
How to learn English words online: simulator
How not to forget a new word?
If you learned the word in accordance with these rules, then it will settle in your head for permanent residence. But! If you do not use it in your speech for a long time, over time the English word will migrate from active to passive vocabulary. How to avoid this?
Rule No. 7 – Come up with a bright association for yourself!
This will especially help with abstract concepts, long and difficult to spell words, etc.
For example, our service has a special field for entering associations. For those with associative thinking and developed visual memory, this is simply a godsend: close your eyes and remember this phrase.
Here's my stupid example for the word admiration. “Admirate” is a fiction based on the word “die.” Silly, but it works for me.
Rule #8 – Use spaced repetition!
In repetition, the main thing is not the character (HOW to repeat), but the timing of the training (WHEN to repeat). It is better to do this when you are about to forget what you have learned. These moments of forgetting were established by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who derived the so-called “forgetting curve.”
Let's say you've learned the word. Repeat it a few minutes after that, then after a couple of hours, then every other day, then after 2 days, then after 5 days, then after 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 8 months, etc. .d. After a while, the word will stick firmly in your head.
Let's summarize. How to learn English words every day - program
- Learn only the words you need! This is the base + specific vocabulary for your area of interest. Also learn more verbs, stable combinations and whole phrases. You can find all this in special sets, dictionaries and materials in English (adapted for the base, thematic for special vocabulary).
- Learn words only in context! If you “get” a word from an article, song, etc. – then keep it in mind with this context. If you take a “lonely” word, look for a context for it. And under no circumstances try to learn all the meanings of a polysemantic word at once! You will only get confused and lose touch with the main thing - the context.
- Try to immediately apply the word in life! If there are no communication situations in English yet, then come up with your own examples: act out a scene with this word, remember a real life situation related to it. Remember that for strong memorization you need to encounter the word 7-9 times in different situations, preferably in those that are related to experience close to you.
- So that the word is not forgotten, come up with a vivid association for it: graphic, auditory, funny, stupid - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that it matches your type of thinking (are you auditory? visual? kinesthetic?) and works for you.
- Keep repetition frequency to a minimum by using the spaced repetition method.
Have you even noticed how many pages you have written?!
You may think this is too long. Is it easier to just memorize the cards and hope for their “magic” effect.
You promised to tell me how to learn words in English fast!
But the same Lingualeo is TOOL, which gives you the opportunity to add an example (context), your own picture and association. The ability to take a word out of that very context () and drive it away from all sides.
But This tool can be used in different ways. You can mindlessly run through word cards in the hope that they will come to mind when needed. Or you can take responsibility for learning and take it seriously.
Then you will not only recognize the word in the picture (passive dictionary), but also be able to use it in speech (active dictionary).
P.S. As you can see, this article does not provide “magic tricks” or “easy methods” (by the way, such do not exist). Instead, she talks about the seemingly obvious rules of how our memory works, which many have forgotten about in the pursuit of speed. If the article turned out to be truly valuable and useful, share it with your friends and make their English learning more effective.
Of course, the basis of the language system is grammar, but without an established lexical base, knowledge of grammatical norms for a beginner is unlikely to be useful anywhere. Therefore, we will devote today’s lesson to replenishing our vocabulary and mastering techniques for quickly memorizing new vocabulary. There will be quite a lot of expressions in the material, so we recommend dividing these English words for study into each day in advance, working on 2-3 dozen new phrases and be sure to repeat already studied examples. Before moving on to practice, let’s find out how it is recommended to learn foreign words correctly.
Learning vocabulary is half the battle; it is also important to try to constantly use it, otherwise it will simply be forgotten. Therefore, the main principle of learning English words is not to strive to memorize absolutely every word you come across. In modern English there are about 1.5 million words and stable combinations. It is simply unrealistic to learn everything, so try to choose only the vocabulary that is most used and necessary for you personally.
Let's assume that you have already decided on your area of interest, selected the necessary vocabulary material and started learning it. But things don’t move forward: words are slowly remembered and quickly forgotten, and every lesson turns into unimaginable boredom and a painful struggle with oneself. Here are some tips that will help you create the right learning atmosphere and learn a foreign language easily and effectively.
- Combine words by meaning, creating thematic dictionaries: animals, pronouns, action verbs, communication in a restaurant, etc.. Generalized groups are more easily stored in memory, forming a kind of associative block.
- Try different ways to learn words until you find the method that works best for you. These can be popular cards, interactive online simulators, stickers pasted on various objects in the house, and applications for tablets and phones. If you perceive information better visually and auditorily, then actively use educational video and audio recordings. You can study in any way, the main thing is that the learning process is a pleasant pastime, and not a boring duty.
- Immediately remember how to pronounce the word. To do this, you must either refer to the transcription or use interactive resources. A program for learning the pronunciation of English words will not only help you remember the sound of the expression, but will also check how correctly you pronounce it.
- Don't throw away words you've already learned. This is a very important point. It seems to us that if we learn words for a long time, we remember them once and for all. But memory tends to delete unclaimed information. Therefore, if you do not have constant speaking practice, replace it with regular repetitions. You can create your own notebook with days and rotating repetitions, or use one of the interactive English learning apps.
Having worked through these tips, let's do a little practice. We bring to the attention of students the most popular vocabulary of the English language. These English words are suitable for studying every day, as they are divided into several tables and presented in the form of small semantic groups. So, let's start expanding our vocabulary.
Let'slearnsomewords!
English words to learn for every day
| Greetings and farewells | ||
| hello | , [hello] | Hello, welcome! |
| hi | ,[hai] | Hello! |
| good morning | [ɡʊd mɔːnɪŋ],[good morning] | Good morning! |
| good afternoon | [ɡʊd ɑːftənuːn], [good aftenun] | Good afternoon! |
| good evening | [ɡʊd iːvnɪŋ], [gud ivnin] | Good evening! |
| good bye | [ɡʊd baɪ], [good bye] | Goodbye! |
| see you later | , [si yu leite] | see you! |
| good night | [ɡʊd naɪt], [good knight] | Good night! |
| Pronouns | ||
| I - my | , [ai - may] | I am mine, mine, mine |
| you - your | , [yu - er] | you are yours, yours, yours |
| he-his | , [hee - hee] | he - his |
| she - her | [ʃi - hə(r)], [shi - dick] | she her |
| it – its | ,[it - its] | it is his (oh inanimate) |
| we – our | , [vi - aar] | we are ours |
| they - their | [ðeɪ - ðeə(r], [zey - zeer] | they - theirs |
| who - whose | , [xy - xyz] | who - whose |
| what | ,[wat] | What |
| PhrasesForacquaintance | ||
| My name is… | ,[may name from] | My name is… |
| What is your name? | , [wat from yer name] | What is your name? |
| I am…(Nancy) | ,[Ay um...Nancy] | I...(name) Nancy |
| How old are you? | ,[How old ar yu] | How old are you? |
| I am...(eighteen, thirsty) | ,[Ay em atin, sit down] | I am ...(18, 30) years old. |
| Where are you from? | ,[ware ar yu from] | Where are you from? |
| I am from…(Russia, Ukraine) | ,[Im from Russia, Ukraine] | I'm from (Russia, Ukraine) |
| Nice to meet you! | ,[nice tu mit yu] | Nice to meet you! |
| Close people and family members | ||
| mother | ,[maze] | mother |
| father | ,[phase] | father |
| daughter | ,[doute] | daughter |
| son | ,[san] | son |
| brother | ,[braze] | Brother |
| sister | ,[siste] | sister |
| grandmother | [ɡrænmʌðə],[grenmaze] | grandmother |
| grandfather | [ɡrænfɑːðə],[grenfase] | grandfather |
| uncle | [ʌŋkl],[unkl] | uncle |
| aunt | [ɑːnt],[ant] | aunt |
| friends | ,[friends] | Friends |
| the best friend | [ðə best friend], [the best friend] | best friend |
| Places and institutions | ||
| hospital | ,[hospital] | hospital |
| restaurant, cafe | ,[restrant, cafey] | restaurant, cafe |
| police office | ,[palace office] | police station |
| hotel | ,[wanted] | hotel |
| club | ,[club] | club |
| shop | [ʃɒp],[shop] | shop |
| school | ,[whine] | school |
| airport | ,[eapoot] | airport |
| railway station | ,[railway station] | train station, railway station |
| cinema | ,[cinema] | cinema |
| post office | ,[post office] | Postal office |
| library | ,[library] | library |
| park | ,[pack] | a park |
| pharmacy | ,[faamesi] | pharmacy |
| Verbs | ||
| feel | ,[Phil] | feel |
| eat | ,[it] | eat, eat |
| drink | ,[drink] | drink |
| go/walk | [ɡəʊ/ wɔːk],[ gou/uook] | go/ walk, walk |
| have | ,[hev] | have |
| do | ,[du] | do |
| can | ,[ken] | be able to |
| come | ,[cam] | come |
| see | ,[si] | see |
| hear | ,[[heer] | hear |
| know | ,[know] | know |
| write | ,[wright] | write |
| learn | ,[linen] | teach, learn |
| open | [əʊpən],[open] | open |
| say | ,[say] | speak |
| work | ,[walk] | work |
| sit | ,[sit] | sit |
| get | [ɡet],[get] | receive, become |
| like | ,[like] | like |
| Time | ||
| time | , [time] | time |
| at … (5, 7) o’clock | [ət faɪv, sevn ə klɒk],[et fife, sevn o klok] | at...(five, seven) o'clock. |
| a.m. | ,[I Am] | until noon, from 00 to 12 (at night, in the morning) |
| p.m. | ,[pi em] | afternoon, from 12 to 00 ( during the day, In the evening) |
| today | ,[today] | Today |
| yesterday | ,[yestaday] | yesterday |
| tomorrow | ,[tumorou] | Tomorrow |
| in the morning | [ɪn ðə mɔːnɪŋ], [in ze morning] | in the morning |
| in the evening | [ɪn ðə iːvnɪŋ], [in the evening] | In the evening |
| Adverbs | ||
| here | ,[hie] | Here |
| there | [ðeə],[zee] | there |
| always | [ɔːlweɪz],[oulways] | Always |
| well | ,[wel] | Fine |
| only | [əʊnli],[onli] | only |
| up | [ʌp],[ap] | up |
| down | ,[down] | down |
| right | , [wright] | right, right |
| wrong | , [rong] | wrong |
| left | , [left] | left |
| Unions | ||
| that | [ðæt],[zet] | what, which, that |
| which | ,[uich] | which one, which one |
| because | ,[bicosis] | because |
| so | ,[sou] | so, since |
| when | ,[wen] | When |
| before | ,[bifoo] | before before |
| but | ,[baht] | But |