The best way to learn new English words. Techniques for quickly memorizing text


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 am sharing 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!

If you want to master the English language, you will have to learn English words one way or another. The more words you know, the greater your ability to understand what you read or hear and express your own thoughts. The question is where to get the words in the much-needed volume, and how to learn them quickly and reliably? After carefully studying this section, you will receive answers to these questions: we share with you not only specific English vocabulary (i.e., words), but also provide effective technologies for memorizing it (i.e., we teach you how to learn English words).

Golden rules for learning words

Before you start learning specific words, you need to understand a few rules that will make the whole process easier and allow you to learn words easily and painlessly. Knowing these rules, you will avoid serious mistakes and failures.

Learn the most common words first

For a long time, lexicologists have done a lot of work on assessing the use of words, compiling entire lists in which each word was assigned a degree of frequency. For example, scientists have found that the most frequently used word in English is the definite article the; The second most frequently used verb was the verb to be (to be, to appear), the third was the preposition to (to, in). If you are new to learning English, then... Even if you are already quite knowledgeable in English, we still advise you to look at the indicated page and make sure that all the words from the list are familiar to you. What to do if you know all the words from the proposed list? What words should I learn next? Of course, you can thoroughly scour the Internet and dig up something like the 150 most important words, the 1000 most important words, etc. However, our recommendation here is this: wherever you take the word from (from some list, from a text, from a dictionary, etc.), first of all, ask yourself the question: do I often use this word in my speech? If you use this word at least once a day, then add it to the list to be studied; otherwise, ignore it. Remember: your ability to learn words is limited, so priority should be given only to those that you really need. So, for example, you use the word “bread” immeasurably more often than the word “orangutan”. Or, for example, the verb “to eat” occurs in your speech more often than “to stall.” So decide which words to learn first.

Learn words using associations

Words are learned much easier if you associate them with sound associations. Let's say you need to remember the English word valley (pronounced Vali and translated valley). Perhaps you will remember it the first time and will remember it all your life. But the reality is much harsher - most will forget this word the next day. The word valley will naturally fall out of your head, because it has not yet acquired connections - attachments with what is already in memory. It hasn't caught on anything yet...
So, our task is to associate the word valley with what will keep this word in memory. Firstly, valley (we remind you once again that this word is pronounced Vali and translated valley) is consonant with the word lie around, A lie around possible in valley. So we created the first association - we tied the word valley through sound similarity to the concept lie around, which, in turn, is related to valley. By the way, teaching methodologists even came up with a special term for this way of memorizing words - the phonetic association method. Here is another example of how this method works: the word valley is consonant with ate(meaning coniferous trees). Is it possible to see ate V valley? Why not... Here again we attached valley through sound similarity to the concept valley.
. Learning words using such dictionaries is a pleasure.

Learn words in groups

Words are easier to learn if they are not scattered on their own, but are combined into groups based on some attribute. For example, words can be combined by:

  • topics:
    • shopping: store, market, counter, goods...
    • free time: cinema, theater, club, party, friends...
    • travel: plane, tickets, flight, hotel, sights...
  • associative rows:
    • phone: call, buttons, dear, applications, tariff, connection...
  • communicative intentions or speech tasks:
    • rebuttal: not true; not true; not at all …
    • greeting: hello; Good afternoon; Hello; Greetings …
  • phrases:
    • computer: buy, turn on, turn off, clean from viruses...
    • party: a success, cancelled, postponed, failed...
  • “chains” of actions connected by logic or temporary connections:
    • every day: go to work, communicate with loved ones, read the news...
    • plane: landing, pilot, economy class, flight attendant, take off, turbulence...
  • natural groups of words:
    • I have everything: good, bad, very bad, super...
  • classifications:
    • transport: water (ship, steamship, boat...), railway (train, fast train, metro...), air (plane, helicopter, hot air balloon...)
  • groups of cognate words:
    • write, rewrite, note, writer...
  • antonyms:
    • strong – weak; big small …
  • synonyms:
    • big, huge, big...
  • word-formation feature:
    • survive, rewrite, rewrite, transmit, call back...

Get to know the rules of word formation

Word formation – its importance cannot be overestimated! English word formation primarily refers to the use of prefixes and suffixes. Here's an example: it is known that the suffix -ment forms nouns from verbs. Knowing that in English “to develop” is develop, then “development” is development. If you know that in English “to attach” is attach, then how will you say “attachment”? Of course, attachment. Once you understand at least basic word formation, words will come into your head much faster. By the way, on our website there is.

Write the words

It happens that some words cannot be learned. Then it’s time to connect the motor memory. Take a piece of paper and force yourself to write the word several dozen times. The method is far from entertaining, but effective.

Use harmonies

Most often, studied languages ​​like English are our not very distant relatives, and they have much more consonant roots than we think.

Learn to find these consonant roots - there is no better way to root a word in memory. Take, for example, the English word tear and its Russian translation “tear”, “tear”. Take a closer look at the consonants: tr – etc. Agree that they are consonant with each other.

In the end, I would like to say a few words about the physiological aspect of learning words. In fact, memory in general and memorizing words in particular are chemical processes, i.e. chemical reactions. Reactions in the body can accelerate under certain conditions, for example, during physical activity. Reactions are accelerated - the processes of memorizing information are accelerated. This is why many people love to listen to some information, say, during their morning runs. The benefits of light physical activity for memory processes cannot be overestimated! If you are not eager to jog, then just walk around the room or rhythmically squeeze the expander.

Chemical reactions can also be stimulated by taking dietary supplements. One of the most common supplements is glycine, which is sold in any pharmacy. Before use, of course, read the instructions carefully.

And very lastly: words are just means of expressing some ideas, i.e. some content. If you are interested in the content, then the words expressing it will “stick” to you by themselves. Look for what interests you, be it detective stories, science fiction, memoirs of outstanding personalities, handicraft manuals, etc. You won't have problems remembering words if some of it is truly interesting to you.

Do you want to know how to learn English words quickly and easily? We'll tell you how many words you need to know, where to get them, what tools to use, and how to learn it all. Use at least a few tips and you can expand your vocabulary.

All students are interested in the question: “How to learn English words?” The more vocabulary we know, the better we understand what the heroes of our favorite English films are talking about, what is written on the Tate Modern museum plaques, and how favorable the terms of the deal are offered by our partners from the USA. Today we will give some recommendations that will help you effectively learn new vocabulary.

How many English words do you need to know?

To test your vocabulary, we recommend that you take the Online English Vocabulary Size Test (immediately click on the Start button) or Test Your Vocab. It will show you your estimated vocabulary, which you can compare with the average scores of native speakers and English learners. On average, 3,000 - 4,000 words will be enough to communicate on most topics.

However, we want to warn you: you should not rely entirely on the test results. It can only give a rough estimate of your vocabulary.

2. Special textbooks

Textbooks to increase your vocabulary will help you learn new words and common expressions in which they are used. The good thing about the textbooks is that they provide lists of words along with examples of their use, so words are learned in context. We have presented a detailed one, follow it to choose the best guide.

3. Lists or dictionaries of high-frequency words

How do you know whether it’s worth remembering the next new English word you come across? It may have fallen out of use or is rarely used. You can refer to lists of words that are most often used by native speakers. We recommend you lists from the Oxford Dictionary - The Oxford 3000 British Dictionary and The Oxford 3000 American Dictionary. These are the 3,000 most important words any English learner should know. They have been carefully selected by linguists and experienced teachers. You can recognize these words in the Oxford dictionary itself by the key icon.

Tools for learning new words

1. Cards with words

This technique may seem old-fashioned, but it is still effective. All students at least once in their lives started flashcards and tried to learn new vocabulary from them. It's convenient and affordable: you don't need to spend money, because you write them yourself, and you can take the cards with you anywhere.

Before making cards, you need help:

  • select a translation;
  • become familiar with typical phrases in which the word is used;
  • study examples.

Then you need to decide whether you will make paper vocabulary cards or electronic ones.

  • On one side of the piece of paper we write the word in English, on the second - in Russian. We test our knowledge: translate a word from Russian into English and vice versa.

  • On one side we write the word in English and paste a picture, on the other - the translation into Russian. This method is well suited for people with associative thinking. In your mind you associate a new English-language concept and the object that it refers to.

  • On the one hand, we write a word in English with a Russian context, on the other hand, a word in Russian without context. When repeating vocabulary, try to translate the concept from Russian into English. And the second side of the card with the Russian context will help you with translation in the opposite direction.

  • More experienced students are advised to use English-English dictionaries, such as Macmillan Dictionary. On one side we write the word in English, on the other - its definition in English. You can also write synonyms and antonyms of the concept being studied.

  • How to learn vocabulary correctly? The best way to memorize English words is in context. Therefore, you can write on a card not just a word, but a sentence in which it is used. Examples of sentences can be found in electronic dictionaries, for example ABBYY Lingvo.

Electronic cards

If you find it difficult to tear yourself away from your computer, use your affection for good: create virtual stickers with words on your desktop and in a few days you will remember them well.

To create electronic vocabulary cards, we recommend you the Quizlet service, which allows you to learn words in different ways: choose the correct translation from four proposed ones, fill in the gaps in sentences and play games with words. Here you can track your progress: which words are harder for you than others, how quickly you learn new vocabulary. There is an application for iOS as well. An alternative resource is Memrise. Its free version has limited functionality, but it will be enough to create cards.

You need to constantly work with cards: review and repeat the learned vocabulary. Periodically change the cards for new ones, and after 1-2 weeks return the old ones again to repeat the words.

2. Notepad-dictionary

This method is good for those who constantly lose something: your cards are unlikely to last long :-)

You can structure your notebook the way you want. Let's give our version. Each page must correspond to a specific day. Write the dates on which the words are repeated at the top. To ensure that the vocabulary you are studying is well fixed in your memory, do not forget to train it. To do this, use the techniques we described in the article “”.

3. Mind map

You can easily learn English words of the same topic if you draw a mind map. This diagram clearly shows what topic the words relate to. And while you are drawing it, the vocabulary will be stored in your memory. A mind map might look like this:

4. Educational sites and applications

On the way to work on the subway or in line at the clinic, use every free moment to learn new words. You will find useful programs for your gadget in the article “”.

It is enough to practice 10-20 minutes daily to feel progress.

1. Combine words by topic

How to easily remember English words? Groups of words related to the same topic are usually well remembered. Therefore, try to divide words into groups of 5-10 pieces and learn them.

There is the so-called Restorff effect, according to which the human brain remembers the most prominent one from a group of objects. Use this effect to your advantage: in the group of words on the same topic “introduce a stranger” - enter a word from a completely different topic. For example, when studying words on the topic “Fruits”, add one word from the topic “Transport” to them, in this way your studies will become even more effective.

2. Use associations and personalization

Many students love this method: to learn a word, you need to come up with an association in Russian. For example, you need to remember the word obstinacy (stubbornness). Break it down into three syllables: ob-stin-acy, which means “stubborn, like a donkey against a wall.” The word shoot can be remembered as “the jester shoots.” You can make up convenient associations yourself, the main thing is that they are understandable to you and easy to remember. This will make it easier for you to increase your English vocabulary.

Training will be effective if you not only make a verbal association, but also visualize it: when pronouncing the word shoot, imagine this shooting jester, let the image turn out to be as funny and memorable as possible. Even better is a dynamic picture with your personal presence: you imagine how the jester next to you shoots someone (with a water pistol, so that the spectacle comes out comical, not tragic). The more vivid the picture, the easier it will be to remember the word.

3. Use the learned vocabulary in speech

How to learn English words correctly and not forget them? Are you familiar with the principle of use it or lose it? In order for knowledge to remain in memory, you need to actively “use” it. It is good practice to write short stories using new words. The vocabulary that is best remembered is expressed in a short, funny text written about yourself or about things dear to your heart.

If you take courses or study with an English teacher, try to insert new words into your conversation as often as possible: the more times you say a word, the better you remember it. Don't forget about spelling: try to use new words in writing.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Tell me and I'll forget. Teach me and I will remember. Make me do it and I'll learn.

Learn new words and immediately use them in your speech with the help.

4. Test your knowledge regularly

It is useful to take various tests to determine your vocabulary level from time to time. For example, some excellent picture tests (a joy for visual learners and children) are provided on the Vocabulary for learners of English page. After passing such a test, you will immediately see what is stored in your memory and which topics or words need to be repeated.

5. Follow your daily plan

7. Develop your memory

It is impossible to remember anything unless you have a good memory. Learning a language in itself trains our brain well and helps improve memory. But to make memorization easier, you can use the tips from our article “”.

8. Consider your type of information perception

Not all methods are equally good for you. Don't try to apply everything at once. Try text, video or audio formats and choose those that help you learn new words faster. This is how you will arrive at your own signature mix of techniques.

The main thing is to remember to move from theory to practice. Not only read useful tips on how to memorize English words quickly and easily, but also actively use them in everyday life, then you won’t have to rack your brains about how to improve your level of knowledge.

Do you consider cards and notepads with the words “yesterday”? Then try learning words using current British textbooks in online English courses at our school. Our students learn words and phrases in context, use them in a live dialogue with the teacher, and memorize new vocabulary easily and quickly. !

  • Language learning,
  • Educational process in IT
  • Vocabulary matters a lot. If you know the words, you understand what it’s about, even without knowing the intricacies of grammar. If you don’t know the words, you communicate like Ellochka the cannibal. Today we are talking about how to remember a lot and for a long time.

    Conventional learning of words has low efficiency. For example, over 11 years of the school program, students memorize an average of 1-1.5 thousand words. To speak like a native speaker, you need to know at least 8 thousand words; the Upper-Intermediate level requires knowledge of 6 thousand words. To understand CNN news, which is created taking into account the interest of a foreign audience, you need to know at least 3 thousand words.

    Using traditional methods, it is easy to learn up to 10 words in one go, but only a few can remember 30 or 50 new words in one day.

    Everyone who learns a foreign language faces the following problems:

    Words are quickly forgotten if they are not repeated;
    - it is very difficult to learn many words at once;
    - people simply don’t know how to learn words effectively;
    - when a word enters short-term memory, a person stops working with it.

    Why is that?

    German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted research on “pure” memory - memorization that is not influenced by thinking processes. To do this, the scientist proposed a method of learning meaningless syllables consisting of two consonants and a vowel between them, which do not evoke any semantic associations.

    During the experiments, it was found that after the first error-free repetition of a series of such syllables, forgetting occurs very quickly. Already within the first hour, up to 60% of all information received is forgotten; 10 hours after memorization, 35% of what was learned remains in memory. Further, the process of forgetting proceeds much more slowly and after six days about 20% of the total number of initially learned syllables remains in memory, and the same amount remains in memory after a month.

    After a series of experiments, Ebbinghaus developed the Forgetting Curve (also called the Ebbinghaus Curve) in 1885. Based on it, the following conclusion was made: for effective memorization, repetition of memorized material is necessary.

    To remember information for a long time, after studying it, you need to repeat it at least five times:

    1. 20-30 minutes after the first study;
    2. after a couple of hours;
    3. the next day;
    4. in 1-2 weeks;
    5. 2-3 months after the fourth repetition.
    Using traditional methods (and repetition is one of them) it will not be easy to achieve a great effect. Effective methods are little known, so learning many words at once is very difficult.

    Other traditional methods

    - Learn with the help of a dictionary, in order
    Boring and ineffective. The words start the same but have different meanings, making them difficult to remember. Also, you don't know in what context the word is being used.

    If you want to use a dictionary, it is more convenient to make a list of words on a specific topic, for example, select the category “Clothing” or “Travel”. A community of related words is easier to remember.

    - Learn using sticker cards
    On one side of the card we write the word in Russian, on the other - in English. You need to spend time making cards, but you can carry them with you and repeat the words whenever you have a free minute. If you don’t want to bother with paper, you can download a special application to your smartphone.

    - Learn words in context
    For example, when watching TV series or movies. For beginners, it’s better to start with TV series; you can watch them with subtitles. There is no need to memorize an unfamiliar word separately. Write down or copy an entire sentence from the subtitles at once. This way you will remember in what situations it can be used.

    Method of associations or “Mnemonics”

    The Mnemonics method is gaining popularity.
    The main principle of this technique is to remember information by building visual connections between a word and its meaning.

    Facts about mnemonics:

    Scientists have found that the human brain is best at creating visual connections.
    - The method appeared 2.5 thousand years ago. It was used by the ancient Greeks, including the famous thinker Socrates.
    - Mnemonics gives quick results. Any person, if desired, can achieve a memorization speed of 100 words per hour or higher.

    Why mnemonics?

    - The visual lobes, which are most involved when using this technique, are the most powerful in the human brain, since they contain the most neurons.
    - Any word in a person’s head has a meaning in the form of a specific picture. By building associations, neural connections arise; they can be compared to a wire connecting a word to a picture, for example, when we hear the word “dog,” we imagine a dog.
    - Associations are the shortest way to access any information. For example, you heard a familiar song, and you remember a situation in which you heard it before.
    - This technique has shown really excellent results in practice - after a few training sessions, you can remember 100-300 words per approach.

    Algorithm

    Step 1
    Present a bright, concrete picture. Let's say you want to learn the word fist, you need to vividly imagine a clenched fist.

    Step 2
    Find an association with a similar sound to a Russian word. Fist in English fist. You can, for example, imagine a pistachio clenched in your fist. Absurd and funny associations are best remembered: the brighter the better. It is also worth creating your own associations, as they will be more vividly remembered.

    Step 3
    Combine the association with the picture. The picture depicting the word and the association picture must be visually connected. For example, remembering the word crown, you can imagine a crane lifting a crown. If the crane and the crown are simply next to each other in your imagination, there will be no effect; it is better to imagine that the crane is lifting the crown by the edge or on a rope. It is better to imagine a huge crown, since large objects are better remembered. You can also add a certain sound or music playing in the background, which you would associate with the crown.

    Step 4
    Repeat the memorized word out loud 4-5 times in English, raising your eyes slightly upward, as if looking at the bridge of your nose. Scientists have found that with this eye position, the largest number of neurons are activated. You need to keep your eyes open, if you remember with your eyes closed, then you will remember with your eyes closed.

    Step 5
    Repeat the words - at least after an hour or two, every other day and every month. High-quality associations are stored in memory for a month. If you do everything according to the algorithm with repetition, you will remember the words for years.

    Common mistakes

    - Trying to learn everything at once
    Many people start studying intensively, wanting to learn English in a week or a month, and quickly give up. It is much more effective to allocate a little time, for example, half an hour, but every day. This way the brain will have time to process the information and there won’t be too much interruption that the word will be forgotten. At the same time, your memory will be in good shape, and there will be no overload.

    - Immediately learn complex words that do not correspond to the level of knowledge of the language
    If a word is difficult to even pronounce, there is no point in learning it. Beginners need to learn the most commonly used words, which is about 400 words. More than half of them are verbs. Start easy and increase difficulty.

    - Don't repeat what you've learned
    Without repetition, new words are forgotten.

    - Memorize without understanding the context
    You won't be able to use new words if you don't know in what situations they are used.

    - Learn incorrect pronunciation
    You must first listen to the correct pronunciation, even if you know the reading rules well. A good site for listening is wooordhunt.ru.

    - The more practice, the better.
    Experience has shown that after 300 words learned, errors disappear, associations appear in the imagination very quickly and the ending of a word is well remembered, even if the association is consonant only with its beginning.
    - It is important to learn quickly, without delaying.
    For example, choose a thematic list, set a timer and read all the words in one minute.
    - Increase the load gradually.
    - Move from simple to more complex words.
    Choose the simplest ones that are easiest to learn. Then take five minutes to learn them and rest for five minutes. Then learn more difficult words from this list.
    - Combine words into groups by topic and part of speech.
    It is better to learn nouns first, then adjectives, then verbs.

    And the most important thing

    • Share your successes with friends to keep you motivated.
    • Reward your successes to get used to the fact that learning is good.
    • Develop memory in general, not only in English.
    • Practice the words you've learned in conversation clubs to finally consolidate the words in context.
    By the way, we just have an excellent free section on the site. In it we tried to take into account all the components of successful memorization of words. You can choose from ready-made sets of words, as well as create your own. In addition, a lot of useful things await you: from videos and a blog to conversation clubs and classes with a teacher via Skype.

    Bonuses for Habr readers

    Online courses

    We are giving you access for a year to the English course for self-study “Online Course”.
    To gain access, simply go to .

    Individually via Skype

    Among our students there are already students from GeekBrains, ITVDN, Softengi, Netology. Join us! And we wish you only successful interviews and career success.

    Tags:

    • englishdom
    • English online
    Add tags

    Memory is an important aspect of our life. With its help, we can keep in mind the information we receive throughout life.

    The data that our brain processes comes to us directly through our senses, is processed, filtered, and only then do we remember the necessary information.

    You can memorize everything from the words of songs to a large amount of text.

    Methods for memorizing text can be different: from simple memorization to using techniques that help you learn the text.

    Psychologists distinguish the following types of memory:

    • visual;
    • motor;
    • auditory

    Depending on which of these types is better developed in you, methods for memorizing texts are selected.

    How to remember large text

    It is impossible to say exactly how best to remember a text, since there are many of them, and they all have varying degrees of complexity and types (scientific articles, poetry and literary texts).

    Also a very important factor for memorization is memorization time.

    OVOD methodology

    • Main thoughts;
    • Careful reading;
    • Review;
    • Finishing.

    Now about this in more detail:

    1. First, read the text, trying to highlight the main idea in it. At the same time, do not set yourself the goal of instantly remembering it all in its entirety. Analyze what you read, remembering only the main things that are discussed. If possible, it is advisable to write down the main ideas. Then try to reproduce what you read.
    2. At the next stage, read the text more carefully, pay attention to the little things and details. As you read, connect the text with its main idea, which you identified at the previous stage. There are many memorization techniques you can use here. At the end, repeat the details and main content of the text.
    3. Then you should review the text. Start reading from the end, while analyzing how correctly and accurately you remember the details. You should also already have a rough outline of the text. Remember keywords using the association method.
    4. At the very end, we repeat the memorized material, retelling it out loud to ourselves or our interlocutor. As you do this, highlight any details you missed. Try not to peek at the text.

    Analyze the places where you made a mistake, try to remember them using an association with something.

    On Vikium you can train your memory with special exercises

    Memorizing a large text is possible by using different ways of perceiving information. It depends on the type of memory you have. One person can remember text simply by listening to it, while another uses visual perception for this.

    Features of memorizing text in your native language

    These memorization techniques are based on creating an image of what you are remembering. They can be divided into categories:

    • we write down what we learn;
    • graphic method;
    • dividing the text into parts;
    • constant reminder.

    When memorizing texts with a large number of terms or formulas, simply rereading the material will not be enough. For this we use the recording method.

    After reading the text, highlight the main points and terms. Then we write them down sequentially. In this case, you can draw an outline of the text and make a description based on it, highlighting the main quotes, theses and terminology.

    If you do not have the opportunity to write down, then highlight the main points directly in the text, using a pencil or other highlighting methods.

    A schematic representation of the main ideas of the text allows you to remember information much faster. To do this, you can use graphic diagrams, drawings, sketches and pictograms.

    This method is effective in memorizing complex technical texts.

    Methods for using pictograms to memorize large texts

    1. We highlight key words and expressions.
    2. Then we draw pictograms for each highlighted word, so-called pictures, which will allow you to remember it. These may be your associations with them, but the icons should not be too bulky. When drawing pictures, you cannot make inscriptions. Just draw what you associate with this word or expression.
    3. Use the resulting icons to remember the text. The sequence of pictures should coincide with the main idea of ​​the article.
    4. Psychologists recommend memorizing large texts by dividing them into small parts. The material should be divided into no more than 7 parts, each of which should have a semantic connection.
    5. Memorization should be concentrated on the middle part of the material, since the beginning of the texts generally contains little specific information, and the end is logically clear in the course of the main text.
    6. If time for memorization allows, then you can use the constant reminder technique. The text that needs to be remembered is divided into parts and printed on paper and placed in places where you constantly stay, for example on the refrigerator, in the bathroom or in smoking areas.

    Specifics of memorizing text in English

    The process of memorizing foreign texts is much more difficult and takes more time. In order to quickly memorize text in English, you can record it on an audio player and listen to it while doing normal things, or when traveling on public transport.

    At the same time, it is important not just to listen to the material, but also to think about it, analyze and highlight important points. Also, the text will be remembered faster if you describe the plot using drawings and explanations to the text.

    An important factor is the time of day when you memorize the material. The optimal time for memorization is four hours before falling asleep and four hours after waking up.

    Memorizing texts without understanding their meaning is much more difficult and takes longer. Material in English should be retold in your own words, and not reproduced word for word. Try to memorize in parts, delve into the essence and draw parallels between the content and your life.

    Developing memory

    To be able to remember a large amount of information, we must train our brain. You must develop your ability to remember.

    There are many memory exercises. You can choose which one suits you.

    • Every morning after you wake up, you can count from 100 to 0, and try to do it as quickly as possible. Try to eliminate the calculator from your daily life. Count in your head when shopping in stores, do mathematical memory training. Perform different operations on numbers, this will give plasticity to your brain and increase your memory capacity.
    • The “60 names in 60 seconds” exercise will help you develop your memory perfectly. To do this, you should name every second a word, for example, 60 capitals of the world or the names of plants. At first you won’t succeed at this pace, but don’t despair, talk through it and remember. Every day you will do better. Train and after a week you will feel the results.
    • The simplest method of developing memory is simply memorizing texts. At first you should memorize small volumes, gradually moving to larger ones. The main thing is not to stop the learning process, but to do it systematically.
    • The method of studying foreign words will improve the ability to memorize texts. During the first week you should memorize 10 words every day. You can teach them in pairs, writing down the words on a piece of paper where you indicate the word and its translation. Then you gradually increase the number of words per day, for example in the second week 20 words per day, in the third 30 words.

    The main thing for quickly memorizing texts: constantly train your memory, try to perform non-standard tasks, for example, if you are right-handed, then brush your teeth with your left hand. This will allow your brain to develop new neural connections and make it more flexible to remember.

    Words are remembered 10% better if, when memorizing, you shout them out or simply pronounce them loudly.

    To simultaneously memorize two or more texts that are not related by topic, try to change the environment while memorizing them. Teach one material in the room, and the other outside or in another room. This will prevent the brain from mixing information.

    After the material has been memorized, you should sleep as much as possible, which will allow you to remember the information much longer. It is often recommended to study texts before bed, which promotes better learning.

    Play sports, it improves blood circulation in the brain and memory.