Knowing English in the 21st century is not just a way to expand your horizons and once again prove your erudition, but also a real necessity. Without the ability to communicate and express yourself freely, the doors to the world outside the post-Soviet space are actually closed to you. And even more so, there can be no talk of any career advancement either. But if the logical foundations (rules for constructing sentences, questions, punctuation) can be memorized without any problems, then the question of how to memorize English words remains one of the most difficult for most people.
Say NO to cramming
The root of the problem lies in the education system itself - at school and university we are forced to memorize new expressions. I retold the text, translated the passage, roughly speaking, “shot back” - and you can safely forget. But that's not how you expand your vocabulary. Therefore, it is worth listening to the opinion of experienced teachers and psychologists and learning how to learnEnglish words are correct.
Do you know why it's hard for you?
In fact, when we learn English words (or try to do so), we often simply do not realize why we need all the information we receive and what function it will perform for us in the future. In fact, it is enough to overcome this barrier - and the process of memorization will become absolutely natural and pleasant.
To achieve results and understand how easy it is to memorize English words, you just need to transfer new foreign expressions from the “foreign” category to the “ours” category. The process of filtering all information occurs uncontrollably in a person - the subconscious mind itself decides which part of it to skip, which one to delay, and which one to skip in an altered, distorted form. And the first thing we have to do is "hack" this filter.
How to do it?
To make this possible, you first of all need to reduce the stress component as much as possible, which inevitably makes itself felt in the process of memorizing new information.
You may not be aware of it or even feel it, but subconsciously you are afraid of that fear of vulnerability and insecurity - fearing not to give up something, forgetting, disgracing yourself, you yourself put yourself in the position of a victim, not a predator. Change your perception of the situation and go hunting! What for? Of course, for new knowledge and a chic vocabulary!
Ready to start practicing? Then we present to your attention the most effective ways to memorize English words!
Method 1. Classic
Perhaps of all the methods, this one is the easiest, although it is inferior to others in terms of efficiency. You will need a special notebook to write down new words. Write about twenty words and other units of speech in a column so that the foreign expressions themselves are on the left, and their translation is on the right. Immediately set yourself up for the fact that you need to learn all these words, and not for a couple of days, but for the rest of your life.
How to quickly learn English words this way? How easy it will be for you to master new knowledge depends largely on you. The main secret of success is to focus 100% on learning. Although at first it will be very difficult, but it is really worth striving for.
- Read all the written English words.
- Read the translation.
- Repeat the above steps again.
- Take a break for 8-10 minutes - during this time you can do what you want.
- Close the column where the translation is written and try to remember the meaning of each word yourself. Do not suffer from excessive perfectionism - it is impossible to learn everything at once. If the translation of a word stubbornly refuses to emerge from the dark depths of your memory, just move on to the next one.
- Take another 3-5 minute break, relax.
- Reread the list of all the words and their translation, paying special attention to the expressions that you have difficulty with.
- Take another break for 8-10 minutes.
- Repeat the exercise, closing alternately English and Russian words.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated about how to memorize English words in this way. And one more little tip: after working through one batch of material, you don’t need to immediately move on to the next one - this way you will forget what you learned before. It's better to take a break and give your brain time to unconsciously repeat.
Another common mistake newbies make is to constantly repeat newly learned words. You should not do this, since you will not contribute to a better consolidation of the material in memory and will not speed it up, but, on the contrary, will interfere with the natural process of memorization. It is worth repeating the learned expressions after 7-10 hours, and then every 24 hours. It is generally accepted that after memorizing words, you need to repeat them 4-5 times.
Method 2. Subconscious
As in the previous case, first you need to make a list of 20 words that you plan to learn. We learn English words in this way only before going to bed. Your task is to focus all your attention on the process of memorization and abstract from the rest of the world.
Try to exert all your will. After that, choose some new word and try to imagine it mentally as vividly and vividly as possible. When you succeed, repeat it in a whisper, and then silently, without opening your eyes. Then you should relax and work through all the remaining words on the list in the same way.
All the information received is stored in the subconscious. Falling asleep, it is important not to think aboutthat you want to remember new expressions, distract yourself from such thoughts and sleep peacefully. In the morning you will need to repeat everything that you learned in the evening. The words you have learned will remain in your memory for a long time.
Method 3. Background
Another interesting method for those who want to know how to remember English words well. It won't be very effective on its own, but when combined with other methods, it can be fantastic.
Record about 40 new words and expressions or a simple text on a tape recorder. Adjust the volume to a medium level and just listen to the recording many times in a row. At the same time, you do not need to constantly sit nearby and listen to the pronunciation of each word and translation. Do what you want - after listening to it repeatedly, you will unconsciously remember new information.
Method 4. Relaxation
How to remember a lot of English words? We offer you another interesting option in which you can use the hidden potential of your memory. As in the previous case, new words must be recorded on a tape recorder. However, the amount of information should be increased to approximately 80-100 expressions.
It is important that soft, calm, melodic music plays in the background of the recording. Sit down, try to relax and free your head from unnecessary thoughts, dream a little. Having turned on the recording, you do not need to concentrate your attention on it and listen carefully - let it just sound. You need to repeat this little ritual before going to bed and in the morning, immediatelyafter waking up.
The secret of success is simple: when a person is in a state between sleep and wakefulness, the barriers of internal resistance are almost completely weakened, as a result of which we learn English words much faster and more efficiently than usual. This exercise should take no more than 1/6 of the total time you devote to learning a foreign language.
Method 5. Hypnotic
So, let's move on to the next method. How to quickly memorize English words without putting in almost any effort? Probably, this question was asked by every person who reads this article. This option is ideal just for those who cannot bring themselves to take up language learning seriously - in a word, a real salvation for the lazy.
Again, you need a tape recorder. This time we write down up to 35-40 words and expressions with translation. Before going to bed, double-read the material from the sheet, turn on the tape recorder and listen to the recording twice. You should not focus too much on it - just repeat the words behind the player. After that, go to bed. Within 40 minutes, your assistant (yes, you can’t do it on your own) should scroll through the recording, gradually reducing the sound. Fortunately, in this age of high technology, a computer program can also cope with this task.
In the morning, about 30-40 minutes before you wake up, the "assistant" should turn on the recording again. Now, on the contrary, you need to start with a minimum volume and gradually increase it. When you wake up, do not rush to get up frombed - wait until the recording ends. In just 20 sessions, you will be able to replenish your stock of 100-120 words and expressions.
Method 6. Motor Muscular
You've probably heard of him before. The essence is simple - each new English word is compared with some real subject and then learns. Naturally, this method cannot be used with all expressions, but it is still possible with many.
How to quickly learn English words this way? It's simple - combine them with objects from your environment that denote a particular word. Let's say you need to remember the word "pen". Take a pen in your hands, feel it, even write something while pronouncing a foreign term.
An important point: it is not enough just to imagine actions, they must be performed independently. In this case, the entire process of memorization is based on movements. To better consolidate the words, you need to perform as many actions as possible. In this case, you should focus not on the term, but on the movement that you are making.
Method number 7. Figurative
Again, in order to learn the material, no effort is needed - all information is remembered involuntarily. Just connect your imagination and draw interesting plot pictures in motion. How to learn a lot of English words in a figurative way? First, match the English word with a Russian word that sounds similar (for example, “snack” and “snow”). Now imagine how snow andappetizers are interconnected. Logic is not important - the main thing is that the picture is suitable.
You can memorize up to 25 words at a time. When you get a little used to creating pictures for individual expressions, you can complicate the task. For example, you can take any dynamic picture or photograph from a magazine, memorize it and write down on a piece of paper the names of all the objects depicted on it, both in English and in Russian, and write down a consonant Russian word next to it.
Method 8. Center-combinative
Regardless of the number of syllables, any foreign word can be divided into three parts. For each of the parts, it is necessary to select a Russian word similar in sound to the beginning. The meaning of what you get as a result of such linguistic manipulations, in fact, does not matter. After doing this with each syllable, we move on to the next step. All Russian words should be combined into one meaningful phrase, at the end of which there should be a translation of the word that you want to remember. Consider this with the example of the word “sinister” (sinister): A BLUE mist has spread over the clearing.
Some useful tips
And a couple more valuable tips for those who want to know how to better remember English words.
- It is very useful to combine 5-6 new words into one short text, and then learn it in its entirety.
- Try not to learn all the words in a row, but only those that you really might need.
- Memorize not only individual terms anddefinitions, but also features of their use in various set expressions.
- After your vocabulary exceeds 1000 words, try to memorize special formative statements and plug-in constructions that will help you make your speech smoother and more natural ("rather", "probably", "really", " should say that..” etc.).
- Use synonyms: even if you can't say exactly what you wanted, it's better than being silent for a long time.
How to remember the whole text?
Now that you already know how to memorize English words separately, you need to say a few words about the secrets of memorizing connected texts. First of all, read the article in its entirety and understand it 100% - without this, nothing will work out at all. When you have finished reading, break the text into several parts and title each of them. You also need to learn it in parts, restoring logical chains in memory. At first, you should not mock yourself by trying to “drive” articles longer than a page into your memory, you need to increase the volume gradually - only in this way the learning process will be easy and enjoyable.
