An effective technique for memorizing English words. How to learn English words: simple and modern tricks

Learning English words is much easier than you think. If you do not agree with this, then, apparently, because at school you were forced to cram columns of words that were difficult to remember, but were forgotten the next day. Fortunately, now with the help of simple tricks, tutorials and easily accessible materials in English, learning words is a pleasure.

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

First of all, we note that learning a language is not limited to memorizing words. Yes, you cannot throw words out of the language, but their interaction in speech occurs according to the rules of grammar. In addition, grammar will not be “brought to life” without practice in reading, listening, speaking and writing. Some of the techniques listed below involve memorizing words precisely in the context of live speech.

Cards with words

Ordinary cardboard cards 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, Russian on the other and repeat.

For greater efficiency, take sets of 15-30 cards and learn words in two directions - English-Russian and Russian-English - in four stages:

1. Introduction to words. Look through the cards, pronouncing the words aloud, trying to imagine the objects, actions and even abstractions they represent. Don't try to memorize the words thoroughly, just get to know them, pick them up 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 in a list is inefficient, largely due to the fact that words are remembered in a certain order. Cards do not have this disadvantage.
3. Repetition of Russian - English. The same, but from Russian to English. This task is a bit more difficult, but 2-4 passes will suffice.
4. Consolidation. At this stage, mark the time with a stopwatch. Drive the deck as quickly as possible, achieving instant recognition of the word without hesitation. Do 2-4 rounds, trying to get the stopwatch to show less time with each round. Don't forget to shuffle the cards. Words can be driven in both directions or in one direction (preferably in Russian-English, as it is more difficult). At this stage, you will achieve instant, without mental translation, recognition of the word.

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

Spaced repetition method

The method consists in repeating words with the help of cards, but at some intervals. It is believed that by 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 program for memorizing words using the spaced repetition method is Anki. Create a deck of words, and the application itself will select partially forgotten material and offer to repeat it at a certain frequency.

The convenience is that you only need to load the words, and the program itself will tell you when and what to repeat. But sometimes there is simply no need for an interval method. If you learn collections of such common words as days of the week and months, verbs of motion, vehicles, then there is no need to repeat them according to a special algorithm: they will already occur very often in the textbook, when reading, in speech.

Memorizing words while reading in English

It makes sense to learn words with the help of cards 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 motion, politeness formulas, then it is convenient to lay the foundation of vocabulary by memorizing words from cards. According to linguists, the minimum vocabulary for understanding simple texts and speech is about 2-3 thousand words.

But, if you can already, try to write out words from the text while reading. 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.

Do not write down all unfamiliar words in a row. Write down useful words and phrases, as well as words without understanding which it is impossible to understand even the main meaning. Write out only a few words per page to reduce distractions from reading. After reading an article or a chapter of a book, words can be quickly repeated.

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

Memorization of words from video and audio recordings

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

The easiest way to learn English from movies and audio recordings is to simply watch or listen without being distracted by writing out words. This is the easiest approach, but this way you are unlikely to learn something new, just reinforce 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 pressing pause and writing out 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 down all the incomprehensible words in a row.

It is much easier to engage in audio and video with the help of special sites. The popular online services LinguaLeo and Puzzle English are most suitable for this, which use a special interface for easy video viewing with the ability to quickly (click on a word in subtitles) translate and save words.

Memorizing words while writing and speaking

Reading and listening are passive speech activities, speech perception. Written and spoken language is the active use of language. When you write or speak, vocabulary develops differently: you have to practice using the words you already know, moving them from a passive vocabulary (at the level of understanding) to an active one.

When writing, whether it's an essay or informal chatting, you have to constantly choose words and try to express your thoughts more clearly, more accurately. Often there is a situation when you want to say something, but do not know the right word or expression. With the help of a dictionary, it is not difficult to find it, but do not let this valuable find be forgotten right there - write down such small discoveries and repeat in your free time. Practice in active speech activity helps to identify such gaps.

During an oral conversation, of course, you won’t be able to look into the dictionary, but conversational practice makes you practice already familiar words and constructions. You have to strain your memory, remember everything that is stored even in its most distant corners in order to express a thought. Speaking practice for learning a language is like training for the body: you strengthen, develop your “language form” by translating words from a passive stock into an active one.

Conclusion

The first two methods - cards and spaced repetitions - are suitable for memorizing collections of words, for example, "In the city", "Clothes" and so on. Methods from the third to the fifth are designed for memorizing words during speech practice.

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

This method of memorizing new words found a dense ranks of admirers, but also the same number of opponents. The thing is that the latter express doubts about the efficiency in the speed of remembering an associative pair. Let's take a closer look.

Let's start with how our brain works when we see a written word. Ideas, images, pictures and even feelings are formed in its bowels, a stable connection is formed between what the eyes saw and what the brain formed. Long-familiar material gets a connection with the new.

Close your eyes and imagine a tree, let it be a sprawling oak or a slender birch. Now let's learn the word "tree", add three leaves to your tree. So, in your head, the image is a tree with three leaves, which is now forever imprinted in your head like a tree.

How to make an analogy in the context of a whole sentence? Write the expression or sentence in the center of the sheet. Recorded? From the sentence, direct the rays in different directions, each of which will end with a word, or better with a picture. Do not think at the moment about how accurate and correct the associations are, the main thing is to write it down.

Now, every time you hear one of the words, the whole association and visual image of the sentence will be restored in your head.

Advice! To make the method even more effective, pronounce what is written, especially if you consider yourself a category of people who perceive information better by ear.

Work "in pairs" - remember phrases

Great if you have learned to quickly memorize individual words. But it is important to understand that English, like other languages, is not separate, disparate concepts, it is a system of connections for expressing thoughts. Therefore, examples of words should be looked for in context.

If you have already started a personal dictionary, and we believe that you have it, write down the words in the form of phrases. To remember the word "ugly" write down "ugly duckling" and immediately remember the work of Hans Christian Andersen "The Ugly Duckling". The next step is to compose at least 3-4 sentences with the learned phrase.

Memorize new words with pictures

According to statistics, more than 70% of people on earth are visual, which is why the learning process should be associated with the visual perception of the image. In your dictionary, opposite each word, and especially those that are difficult to remember, draw small pictures. Well, well, you shouldn't grumble that you can't draw, it's even better.

Every day our brain receives a huge amount of monotonous information, such unusual and funny pictures will become a kind of “surprise”, and surprises are very well remembered.

Write for health

A large number of words are difficult to remember and we will not deny this fact. If you have to memorize a large array of words, make up a story with them, even an absurd story will become your reliable assistant.

Let's take an example. Words needed for memorization: piano, shoes, tree, boy, bird, pencil, bus.

look! There is a piano, it is sitting under the tree and wearing shoes. As for me, the tree is so strange, little boy has stuck pencil through it. A small bird is sitting on the pencil and looking for a bus.

In translation, the text is very bizarre and could pass for an unfortunate joke, but our goal is new words, and for this it is quite suitable.

This method is suitable for learning adjectives, of which there are a huge number in English. To form pairs, you can choose antonyms or synonyms (words that are close and opposite in meaning).

The simplest example is the well-known adjectives good/bad and bad/bum. Our brain is so arranged that we remember opposite and similar things faster than disparate single concepts.

Word by composition

To parse a word by composition, you will have to remember the school curriculum, but a short memory of such concepts as a suffix, prefix and root will greatly facilitate the process of learning new words.

Let's take the word "microbiology" as an example, it is not necessary to be a polyglot to understand that the prefix "micro" means something small, and the suffix "-logy" in Latin means science. And now a chain is already being established - a science that studies something small, "bio" - living beings, which means that we have a word denoting the science of microscopic organisms.

You can guess the translation of new words by studying the meaning of the most common prefixes and suffixes. The former include ir-, im-, micro-, dis-, con-, un-, il- (usually have a negative or opposite meaning), the latter -ly, -able, -ive, -tion, -ent.

• Il-- used with words beginning with the consonant l:

  Logical - illogical (logical - illogical); legible - illegible (legible about handwriting - illegible).

• Ir-- used with words beginning with the consonant r:

  Responsible - irresponsible (responsible - irresponsible); replaceable - irreplaceable (replaceable - irreplaceable).

• Im-- usually used before adjectives beginning with the consonant r:

  Polite - impolite (polite - impolite); personal - impersonal (personal - impersonal).

Choose the right time

Psychologists who are working on the study of memorization processes have long ago deduced the most optimal scheme for memorizing new material.

It is necessary to use a new word immediately after meeting it, then after 10 minutes, after an hour, after a day, and definitely after a week. After that, the probability of forgetting the word is minimized.

Stickers and flashcards are a great solution for learning words

You may not like the following idea, but it will definitely make your learning fun and entertaining. Stick stickers with English names on everything that is in your apartment. Thus, you will learn not only a huge array of vocabulary, but also learn how to quickly reproduce a graphic image.

The method has one, but a very significant drawback - it is limited to the topic "House".

If you do not want to limit yourself, replace the stickers with cards with words written on the back. At your discretion, words can be divided into topics or according to another principle convenient for you.

The undoubted advantages can be called the fact that your training material will always be at hand and you can plunge into the learning process even on a long journey.

Folklore for vocabulary replenishment

If you want to learn new words not only quickly, but also fun, use sayings, proverbs, short rhymes and tongue twisters. All this is a great way to expand vocabulary and form the correct pronunciation. In addition, you have a great opportunity to get acquainted with the culture of the people whose language you study with such diligence.

Remember the game "Snowball", where a new word was added to each line, the English language is also full of such poems, for example, the well-known "The house that Jack built". This method of memorizing words not only expands vocabulary, but also trains memory.

We listen and read

And of course, do not forget about the lexical load that reading and listening to texts entails. The advantage of reading is that the expansion of vocabulary becomes a necessity, and memorization occurs due to the repeated repetition of words in the text. Therefore, choose for yourself interesting books that you would read with pleasure.

The audiolinguistic method will appeal to those who classify themselves as auditory and remember well the information perceived by ear. The advantage of watching movies and listening to texts is that you will quickly get rid of the accent, but it would be unfair not to mention the disadvantage - the lack of a visual image of the word in memory.

Video with tips on how to memorize new English words:

The main problem in learning any foreign language is the memorization of words. To solve this problem quickly and memorize many structures, the student takes up to 80% of the time and effort to master the active minimum. At this stage, the task of setting up a competent pronunciation, quick and correct reading, and developing the skill of perceiving foreign speech by ear is solved. learning English words Starting to learn English, a person, first of all, asks a series of questions: how to make learning easier and more efficient, how to memorize English words quickly, how to learn a lot of words? Of course, modern linguists and polyglots have created a lot of ways to learn hundreds and thousands of lexemes at once, many phrases, speech turns quickly.

I will tell you about the most popular ways to learn something:

• Associations
• memorization

The association method is very simple. For each English word or concept, a Russian word similar in sound is selected: lemon - lemon, nose - nose, tangerine - tangerine or mandarin. Our language even has words borrowed from foreign speech, and they have long been familiar to you: airport - airport, recruit - recruit, recruit, autobus - bus, aviation - aviation. Some neologisms also took English terms as a basis: browser, internet, monitor, office, printer.

Therefore, you will always find something to associate with those concepts that you have to learn. In addition, a large number of English characters, as in Russian, consist of two bases:

• Overall - everywhere: over - over, over, excessively all - everything, entirely
• Thunderstorm - thunderstorm: thunder - thunder storm - storm, storm (storm with thunder)
• Exchange - exchange: ex - former change - replacement, change
• Watermelon - watermelon: water - water melon - melon (water melon)

You can also associate situations. For example, to remember the word "fist" (fist), imagine a large pistachio that you crush with your fist.
memorizing words in English As for memorizing by heart, it is effective in two cases - if words are classified by consonance, when a group of words is similar in the first or last words. Or teach constructions in the second way - according to the thematic classification, which is closer to me personally. The same group includes the most used words and phrases. However, hard-to-remember words are better to quickly fix in memory by choosing a consonant analogue.

How to learn 100 words a day?

The process is best divided into 2 stages.

• Divide all the concepts that you are going to learn according to one of the classifications: theme, consonance, associations
• Take the first hundred with translation in Russian
• Divide this portion into 5 equal portions
• Several times, before memorizing, read the first 20 in order, trying to remember the translation at the same time
• Don't spend more than 2 seconds learning one word
• Close the translation with a piece of paper
• Test yourself

• By tapping the rhythm to yourself with a pencil or using a metronome (1 sec), achieve recognition of each word in time with a rhythmic beat
• Immediately go to the next portion - learn the next 20
• Repeat the steps and so on until the end of 100
• The clock should be in front of your eyes. Note the time it took you to learn each twenty
• Perform an easy check of all hundred
• Just read the words you were taught
• Use a template: close the translation, leaving the original

learning English words Notes:

• Don't look back, repeat the words all the time and increase your daily portion
• The portion size should be increased gradually - from 100 to 500, from 500 to 1000. However, first make sure that the technique is right for you and really helps you
• You need to learn only in one direction - that is, when you see an English word, remember Russian, and not vice versa
• The first 20 may take longer than the other group due to novelty
• Memorizing a large number of words quickly does not mean learning a language, you need to learn how to use them correctly in colloquial speech
• But knowledge of English phrases is the basis for further study of the English language.

The rapid study of English words should also be in parallel with the development of skills and abilities for constructing sentences, listening to English speech and setting the correct pronunciation. So have a good start!

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

If you want to learn a language in a short time, but do not know how, this article is for you. Here we will pay attention to an unusual way of memorizing the first phrases, which are attractive in that when they are memorized, 2-3 words are immediately stored in memory instead of one. This is very convenient, and English, with this approach, begins to seem like an interesting and quite logical language.

How to quickly learn a lot of English words with minimal effort

Let's move on to a list of words that will show you how can quickly learn a lot of English words within a fairly short period of time. I draw your attention to the fact that this is not the whole list of such words. There are more than a hundred of them in the social networks of our online school, but I will give the most interesting and easy-to-remember instances.

1) cup(cup) + cake(cake) = cup cake(cake)

2) master(master) + piece(piece) = masterpiece(masterpiece)

3) tea(tea) + spoon(spoon) = teaspoon(tea spoon)

4)lip(lip) + stick(stick) = lipstick(lipstick)

5) sun(sun) + glasses(points) = sunglasses(sunglasses)

6) traffic(movement) + jam(jam) = traffic jam(traffic jam)

7) fire(fire) + place(place) = fireplace(fireplace)

8) honey(honey) + moon(moon) = honeymoon(Honeymoon)

9) book(book) + case(suitcase) = book case(bookcase)

10) super(super) + market(market) = supermarket(supermarket)

11) pan(pan) + cake(cake) = pan cake(pancake)

12) key(key) + board(board) = keyboard(keyboard)

13) cottage(country house) + cheese(cheese) = cottage cheese(cottage cheese)

14)head(head) + phone(phone) = headphones(headphones)

15) head(head) + master(master) = head master(head teacher)

16) ear(ear) + ring(ring) = ear ring(earring)

17) bell(bell) + tower(tower) = belltower(Bell tower)

18) water(water) + melon(melon) = watermelon(watermelon)

19) arm(hand) + chair(chair) = arm-chair(armchair)

20) pig(pig) + tails(tails) = pigtails(pigtails)

How can quickly learn a lot of English words using a similar list? Just try not to memorize the lexical unit, but pay attention to the composition of the word. Very soon, this practice will grow into a habit, and learning a foreign language will turn into a pleasant pastime, and not a boring process.

How to learn English words in 15 minutes?

If you want to know how to learn english words in 15 minutes, then you should remember about periodicity and repetition. You can really remember a lot in 15 minutes, but there is no point in trying if you do not plan to do it every day. Repetition plays a key role in remembering words and rules. Therefore, do not forget about it.

How to learn English words in 1 hour?

For those who are serious, I can give a few recommendations, how to learn english words in 1 hour.

1) Repeat a new word or list of words out loud several times

2) Check if it is a compound word that can be divided into 2 parts. If yes, then find out the translation of all components.

3) Make sure the word doesn't play multiple roles in the sentence. For example: paint can be translated and "dye", And "paint".

4) Try to come up with an association for a new word you want to remember. For example: "clever" very similar to the name of the tree - "Clover", but actually translates "smart".

5) Make up your own sentences with new words that you want to remember. This will help at the right time to quickly reproduce the right phrase.

Need lessons to practice? Contact our skype fluentenglish24

We will not only tell you how to quickly learn a lot of English words, but also help you speak a foreign language!

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When learning a foreign language, it is very important to constantly replenish your vocabulary - to memorize new and new words in English. However, not everyone succeeds in doing this. We offer you seven tips to help you remember new words in English more effectively.

Build Associative Networks

Our brains take what we read and convert it into images, ideas, and feelings, and then form connections between the new information and what we already know. This is how memorization happens - the new is combined with the old.

Imagine a tree. Isn't it easier to see a large spreading tree with many branches and leaves than a small tree with a few branches? The same is true for the brain. When you connect a new word or concept with something you already know, it's easier for your brain to find it and remember it at the right time.

How to do it? Very simple. Draw a network of concepts. Take what you want to remember (word, idea, sentence) and write it in the center of the paper. Then draw lines from it in all directions, like a web.

At the end of each line, write down any English words or even draw pictures that come to mind when you think of the word in the center. It doesn't matter what the associations are, just write down whatever you come up with.

It will only take a couple of minutes, and now all the words or concepts will be interconnected in your brain. If you see or hear one of them, it will be easier for you to remember the others.

To make it work even better, say how this or that word in English is related to others. The more often you do this, the more connections are formed. And the more connections, the easier it is for your brain to “see” the word you want to remember.

Memorize phrases (phrases)

Remembering a word is important, but English, like any other language, is not just a set of concepts, it is a tool that people use to communicate and express their thoughts. Find examples of how a particular word is used in the text.

Write down not only the word itself, but also neighboring ones. For example, if you need to remember the English word "arrogant" (arrogant), you can write: "the tall, arrogant man" (tall arrogant man).

This will help you remember that "arrogant" is an adjective used to describe people. Then try three complete sentences to practice using it.

Use Pictures

Draw small pictures to remember the meaning of the word. Can't draw? Don't worry, it's even better. Our brain receives so much monotonous information that a strange picture is a kind of surprise, and we always remember surprises.

Our brain is better at reading visual information. Draw a funny picture illustrating the meaning of a word and you will remember it much faster.

Make up stories

English learners often complain that there are too many new words and they are hard to remember. There is one trick that you can use to quickly learn words. Make up any, even a ridiculous story, in which all the words in English are involved. Imagine it in detail.

We easily remember stories, especially strange ones, if we can recreate them in our imagination. Feel free to combine words in fun and awkward ways. Let's say you need to memorize the following 20 English words:

shoes, piano, tree, pencil, bird, bus, books, driver, dog, pizza, flower, door, TV set, spoons, chair, jump, dance, throw, computer, stone

(shoes, piano, wood, pencil, bird, bus, books, driver, dog, pizza, flower, door, TV, spoons, armchair, jump, dance, throw, computer, stone)

You can make up such an incredible story from them:

There is a piano wearing shoes and sitting in a tree. The tree is strange because someone has stuck a giant pencil through it. On the pencil a bird is sitting and watching a bus full of people reading books. Even the driver is reading a book which is bad because he isn't paying attention to driving. So, he hits a dog that is eating a pizza in the middle of the road and kills it. The driver digs a hole and buries the dog in it and then puts a flower on it. He notices that there is a door in the dog's grave and opens it. Inside he can see a TV set with 2 spoons for antennas on top of it. No-one is watching the TV set because they are all watching the chair. Why? - Because the chair is jumping and dancing and throwing stones at the computer.

The piano sits on a tree in shoes. The tree looks strange because someone pierced it with a huge pencil. A bird sits on a pencil and looks at a bus full of people reading books. Even the driver reads the book, which is bad because he doesn't pay attention to the road. So he hits a dog that was eating pizza in the middle of the road to death. The driver digs a hole and buries the dog, then places a flower on top. He notices that there is a door in the dog's grave and opens it. Inside, he sees a TV with two spoons on top that act as antennas. Nobody watches TV because everyone is looking at the armchair. Why? Because the chair is jumping and dancing and throwing rocks at the computer.

Try it. You will be surprised!

Remember opposites

Remember in pairs words with opposite meanings (antonyms) and words with similar meanings (synonyms). For example, remember the pairs angry/happy and angry/cross at the same time. We remember similar and opposite things faster, as the brain creates connections between them.

Parse the word by composition

Use roots, prefixes and suffixes to guess what a word means.

For example: even if you are unfamiliar with the word "microbiology", you can guess what it means. First, take a look at the "micro" prefix. "Micro" means something very small. You may know that the "-logy" part means science, the study of something.

So we can already say that we are talking about learning something small. Also, you may remember that "bio" means life, living beings. Thus, we can conclude that "microbiology" is the science of microscopic living organisms.

If you make a list of common prefixes (un-, dis-, con-, micro-, etc.) and suffixes (-able, -ly, -ent, -tion, -ive, etc.) and remember what they mean, you can guess the meaning of new words for you in English.

The main thing is time

Psychologists who study memory processes claim that there is a good way to remember things quickly and for a long time. Use a new word as soon as you know it. Then use it after 10 minutes. Then an hour later. Then the next day. Then a week later.

After that, you will hardly have to make an effort to remember it - the new vocabulary will remain with you forever.

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