Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
To stimulate interest to learning, for productive perception of any information it is very important to memorize it. This can be learned. Use several simple steps to learn how to memorize any information.
1. Desire level / motivation to study.
It is clear that motivation can’t be tactically increased, i.e. it can be, but it will be a deep strategy – for example, to learn language just for ability to ask in the shop about the price on things or for the normal immigration in order to pass TOEFL exams. The difference is principle.
2. Emotionality of memorized information.
Emotionality can be picked with different methods – visual (draw a picture associated with the word, and then “remove” own senses, though not strong, but it’s better than the “naked” word), write sentences, phrases, build patterns (mnemonic) associations, set up new contexts.
Here a lot of things running efficiently can be dipped. But to draw a picture is not so simple, and not all words can be painted. In any case the time is necessary. Paint takes quite a long time.
The novelty and relevance of the information contribute to the cause of emotion. When you come into the country-native speaker, literally everything around becomes relevant in terms of language, there is a strong motive to merge into a new life. On an emotional level, you do not want to feel dumb neither in another country, nor when dealing with a foreigner. However, the conditions for linguistic relevance have yet to be created.
3. Consistency of memorizing.
It is difficult to raise consistency and it is hard with the logic in a single word, without context, synonyms and antonyms. You can try different associations, to build mnemonic ranks. For example: Brass – brass (boss) swims by breaststroke.
To build a mnemonic association is certainly good, but the amount of energy spent on such associations should be great. We have to spend a decent enough time on self-associations.
4. The number of repetitions.
Conceptually it is very easy to increase the number of repetitions, no one will argue. However, quite a lot of time should be spent.
5. To reduce information to the limit. It is much better watch out for the details, rather than the main sense.
So memorizing dates, phone numbers, formulas, etc. is produced as mimic diagram, i.e. when information that is difficult to connect in the story is memorized, you bind the characters of this information to the specific images by scrolling through the images in the imagination of the tape from one to one hundred. When there is no need to keep this information in a form than it can be “erased” (forgotten).
Do not forget that each number should be perceived by all five senses at once, and “revive” it. Each figure should have as many pictures (at least 2-3) as you can imagine. This is due to the need in a particular life situation to quickly and unconsciously select the desired image-figure in memory.
Follow the next rules in order to preserve knowledge:
– Highlight what you need to remember.
– Take a break from all the extraneous and focus attention on the objects that you need to remember.
– Highlight the core and secondary information in the objects, get link of objects between each other, and use mnemonics.
– In the complex material necessarily highlight meaningful milestones.
– Rely on your memory type, activate the figurative representations.
– Systematically repeat the material that will be remembered.
– Do not mix the recognition and reproduction.
– If in doubt, remember the learning environment, begin from a single fact and go to the system or from the more general knowledge to necessary at the moment.
– It should be remembered that fatigue and anxiety are the enemies of memory. For a good memory good health is significant.
– Strengthening and training the memory, in any case, do not forget about the mental processes such as attention, observation, and will. Regularly train memory by dedicating this process at least 30 minutes daily.
– The best results can be obtained if the classes will be held in the morning, between 8 and 12 a.m. Then the decline comes. A new peak of efficiency is from 7 p.m.
– A cup of tea or coffee will improve and stimulate the memory. Tobacco impairs blood flow to the brain, resulting in the majority of smokers memory fades.
