ENHANCING MEMORY

We remember more easily when the material itself is ...

Meaningful - real communication on relevant topics, e.g. ordering a meal

Important - I need to do it, e.g. go to the hospital for a check-up

Clearly presented - easy to understand, e.g. grammar broken down into small bytes

Emotionally charged, e.g. needing a public toilet urgently!

Strange or Unusual, e.g. "horse-horse-tiger-tiger" or "ai-ya!" in Chinese

First/Last - so break up your study time into shorter periods (e.g. 30 minutes)

Frequent - so review a lesson regularly:

- after 1 hour of study, review for 10 minutes

- next day, review the lesson for 2-4 minutes

- next week, review the lesson for 2 minutes

We remember more easily when we pay attention to it, by ...

Organizing it, e.g. grouping foods into 'fruit', 'vegetables', 'meals', etc.

Writing a Story about it, e.g. using 'weather words' to write 'The Weather Forecast'.

Mapping it, e.g. create a word chain with the items related to the topic "Breakfast".

Acting it out, e.g. when getting washed and dressed, say out loud each action.

Contextualizing it, e.g. write a sentence illustrating the use of the word 'computer'.

Visualizing it, e.g. associating with word 'apple' with a picture, icon or the real thing.

Forming Associations, e.g. 'head' sounds like 'toe' in Chinese!

Inventing Games to play with it, e.g. Pictionary

Talking about it, e.g. with a friend who enjoys talking about the subject.

Teaching it, e.g. teach an imaginary audience.

Singing it, e.g. Karaoke

Drawing it, e.g. draw diagrams of Place Prepositions; draw faces to express emotions.

Personalizing it, e.g. re-write the textbook dialogues to fit your situation (e.g. Introducing Yourself).