2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
How can you finally learn English? You learn, you forget, you learn, you forget … The process stretches to infinity! Today we'll talk about how to quickly and FOREVER memorize thousands of words. And this is not mnemonics or "memory palace". The principle on which the Memrise program works was discovered by science quite recently.
Interval Memorization - Have you heard of it? No?
It turns out that a person forgets along a special curve. It looks like this:
We learned something new. And in two hours we can forget up to 80% of what we have learned!
Interval memorization (IZ): if you repeat the material in strictly defined intervals, then it will not be forgotten. First you repeat after an hour, then after six hours, then after a day and so on … The further you go, the longer the intervals and the less time you spend.
Isn't it great?
This principle turned my life upside down. He influenced how I learn the language and how I read books.
Cards
For IZ, cards are usually used. Paper (which is inconvenient) or programs like Anki and SuperMemo.
It looks like this:
But the creators of Memrise went the other way … They simplified everything as much as possible. No cards. A simple principle: one question, one answer. Moreover, the correct answer is determined by the service itself (in Anki, for example, you do it yourself).
In addition to IZ, the service has two other life hacks for memorization:
- mnemonics (there it is called "add a meme");
- visualization - by the way, you can tie a bright picture.
Let me show you with an example.
The word mittens (mittens) can be remembered by imagining how your friend Mitya put kittens on his hands instead of mittens.
We make it out in the program:
Knowledge check
Actually, for the sake of this, everything was started.
Knowledge in Memrise is tested (repeated) in two ways.
You either choose from 4-8 options:
Or type in a word on the keyboard:
Pay attention to the circle in the upper right corner - a nasty timer.:)
It's on the PC.
Smartphone app
It must be said about him separately. It's generally a cool idea to repeat it on your smartphone. This is exactly the thing that makes IZ a bomb! Because now you can repeat words anywhere!
Did you have a minute in line? We took out a smartphone and memorized 5-10 words. Incredibly convenient!
It looks like this:
The smartphone app is clipped compared to the PC. It is only for repetition and nothing else.
Memrise: what you liked
- Simplicity. You start using it right away, no need to go into help.
- Synchronization. Words from the PC fly to the smartphone. Everything works well.
- Convenience of creating memes. Memrise itself offers pertinent images from Google Images:
Memrise: what did NOT like
- If we take a bunch of "Russian - English", then the words in the dictionary are minuscule. Yes, he knows cat and dog, but he doesn't know the word triangle. In short, he knows nothing of what I need. I have to google the translation. And to score by hand. Why was it impossible to connect the same Google dictionary?
- No pronunciation. This is very bad. Instead, you are encouraged to write down what the word sounds like yourself.:) Pronunciation is in ready-made sets (about them below), but they do not suit me.
- You cannot add a mnemonic rule and a picture at once. Only during the first training by clicking on the "Help me remember" link.
Total: working with words is inconvenient.
Other
The program has a bunch of ready-made sets (courses). By the way, these are not necessarily words. You can also teach:
- historical dates;
- capitals of the world and so on.
There is a social function (and where is it not now?). You can kind of compete with others and set records. But I didn't like it. I don't pay attention to glasses. They didn't give me anything for them.
Is it worth paying
The paid version costs $ 9 per month.
What do you get for this:
- Memorization statistics that show which hours you memorize best. To be honest, I don't see any value in this.
- Compound word statistics. This makes sense. For example, you can create a meme not for all words, but only for the most difficult ones.
I am using the free version. It is more than enough.
Total
The service is nice, I wish it to develop.
I studied 300 words during the writing of the article, that is, I increased my vocabulary by about 10%. Not bad.:)
And yes, it is never a substitute for active learning. That, in fact, is what Memrise hides, that there you can make much deeper cards …
Practice your language! And Memrise is just a crutch to start.
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