5 ways to learn English words and not forget them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Sergey Nim, author of the guidebook How to Learn English and for English Learners, shares effective ways to memorize new words.

Learning English words is much easier than it sounds. If you disagree with this, then, apparently, because at school you were forced to cram the columns of words that were remembered with difficulty, but were forgotten the next day. Fortunately, learning words is now a pleasure with simple techniques, tutorials, and readily available materials in English.

Learning English words and learning a language are not the same thing.

First of all, we note that language learning is not limited to memorizing words. Yes, you cannot erase words from the language, but their interaction in speech occurs according to the rules of grammar. In addition, vocabulary and grammar will not be "animated" without practice in reading, listening, speaking and writing. Some of the techniques listed below involve memorizing words in the context of live speech.

Cards with words

Ordinary cards made of cardboard are a powerful tool for memorizing words. Cut out cards of a convenient size from thick cardboard, write English words or phrases on one side, and Russian on the other, and repeat.

To be more effective, take sets of 15-30 flashcards and learn words in two directions - English-Russian and Russian-English - in four steps:

1. Acquaintance with words. Skim the cards as you speak the words aloud, trying to imagine the objects, actions, and even abstractions they represent. Do not try to memorize words thoroughly, just get to know them, hook them on the memory hook. Some of the words will be remembered already at this stage, but not reliably.
2. Repetition of English - Russian. Looking at the English side, remember the Russian translation. Go through the deck until you can guess all the words (usually 2-4 runs). Be sure to shuffle the cards! Memorizing words with a list is ineffective largely due to the fact that words are memorized in a certain order. The cards do not have this drawback.
3. Repetition Russian - English. The same, but from Russian to English. This task is a little more difficult, but 2–4 rounds will be enough.
4. Anchoring. At this point, time the time with a stopwatch. Run the deck as quickly as possible, achieving instant recognition of the word without hesitation. Do 2-4 rounds, trying to keep the stopwatch at a shorter time each round. Don't forget to shuffle the cards. Words can be run in both directions or optionally in one (better in Russian-English, as it is more difficult). At this stage, you will achieve instant, without translation in your mind, recognition of the word.

It is not necessary to make cards out of cardboard; there are convenient programs for creating electronic cards, for example. Using this service, you can make voiced cards, add pictures to them, teach in different modes, including games.

Spaced repetition method

The method consists of repeating words using flashcards, but at intervals. It is believed that, following a certain repetition algorithm, the student fixes information in long-term memory. If the information is not repeated, it will be forgotten as unnecessary.

The most popular spaced-repetition word memorization program is Anki. Create a deck of words, and the application itself will select half-forgotten material and offer to repeat it at regular intervals.

Convenience is that you only need to load the words, and the program itself will tell you when and what to repeat. But sometimes the interval method is simply not necessary. If you are learning a selection of such common words as days of the week and months, verbs of movement, vehicles, then there is no need to repeat them according to a special algorithm: they will already be encountered very often in the textbook, when reading, in speech.

Memorizing words while reading in English

It makes sense to learn words with flashcards when the vocabulary is still insufficient even to understand the simplest texts. If you do not yet know such basic vocabulary as days of the week, colors, verbs of movement, formulas of politeness, then it is convenient to lay the foundation of vocabulary by memorizing words from flashcards. According to linguists, the minimum vocabulary for understanding simple texts and speech is about 2-3 thousand words.

But, if you can already read in English, try to write words out of the text as you read. It will not be just vocabulary taken from a dictionary, but living words, surrounded by context, associatively tied to the plot, the content of the text.

Don't write out all the unfamiliar words in a row. Write out useful words and phrases, as well as words, without understanding which it is impossible to understand even the basic meaning. Write out just a few words per page to reduce distraction from your reading. After reading an article or chapter of a book, words can be quickly repeated.

By the way, if you just read in English without writing anything out, the vocabulary will also grow, but much slower and only if you read a lot and regularly, for example, every day for half an hour or an hour.

Learning programs can greatly simplify and speed up the memorization of words. For example, when reading texts online, you can save words with a single click and then repeat them using the Leo-Translator browser extension.

Memorizing words from video and audio recordings

While it is easy to underline or write out a word while reading, it is more difficult with a film or audio recording. But listening (listening) for vocabulary learning is no less interesting than books. In live speech of native speakers, there are fewer bookish, little-used words and more popular colloquial expressions. In addition, listening develops not only vocabulary, but also the skill of listening comprehension.

The easiest way to learn English from films and audio tapes is to simply watch or listen without being distracted by spelling out words. This is the easiest approach, but this way you are unlikely to learn something new, just fix the already familiar words well (which is also important).

If you write out and then repeat new words, then you will not only enjoy the movie, but also replenish your vocabulary. Of course, while watching, it is very inconvenient to be distracted by pause and writing down words, but you can take short notes, and then return to them and analyze the material in more detail. As with reading, you do not need to write out all the incomprehensible words in a row.

It is much easier to study audio and video using dedicated sites. Most of all, popular online services are suitable for this, and in which a special interface is used for convenient viewing of videos with the ability to quickly (click on a word in subtitles) translate and save words.

Memorizing words while writing and speaking

Reading and listening is passive speech activity, speech perception. Written and spoken language is the active use of language. When you write or speak, vocabulary develops in a different way: you have to practice using already familiar words, translating them from passive (at the level of comprehension) to active vocabulary.

While writing, whether it is an essay or informal chatting, you have to constantly select words and try to understand, more accurately express the idea. A situation often arises when you want to say something, but do not know the right word or expression. It is not difficult to find it with the help of a dictionary, but do not let this valuable find be immediately forgotten - write down such small discoveries and repeat in your free time. Practice in vigorous speech activity is great for identifying such gaps.

Of course, you won't be able to look into the dictionary during an oral conversation, but conversational practice forces you to work out already familiar words and constructions. You have to strain your memory, remember everything that is stored even in the most distant corners of it in order to express a thought. Conversational practice for learning a language is like training for the body: you strengthen, develop your "language form", transferring words from passive stock to active one.

Conclusion

The first two methods - flashcards and spaced repetition - are suitable for memorizing collections of words, such as “In the city,” “Clothes,” and so on. Methods three through five are designed to memorize words during speech practice.

If you want words to be not only remembered, but also not forgotten, regularly practice reading and listening. Having met a familiar word several times in a living context, you will remember it forever. If you want not only to have a passive vocabulary, but also to freely express thoughts - communicate in the language. This will help you turn dry knowledge into confident skills. After all, we do not learn languages in order to know them, but in order to use them.