Mastering Memory: Proven Systems for Memorization

Memorizing vocabulary in a new language can be a challenging aspect of language acquisition. You need to remember a volume of words, idioms, and expressions, understand how and when to use them in context, and learn any cultural connotations they may carry. These are some of the difficulties language learners often face when trying to expand their vocabulary. Whether you’re just starting or looking to enhance your memorization skills, these techniques can help you memorize words and phrases more effectively: Spaced Repetition and Memory Palace.
How to memorize with precision and make vocabulary stick
Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves increasing the amount of time between reviewing previously learned material. Based on the scientific principle that people forget information over time and store it better in long-term memory by studying new material at intervals rather than trying to learn everything at once. It is the learning technique that some apps like Anki incorporate into their systems. Anki’s spaced repetition analyzes your entire progress history for each topic to create a super-efficient learning approach. You don’t have to worry about when to review information. Anki tells you which cards are due daily based on your past performance.
Spaced repetition was the memory technique one of my students incorporated into his learning practice. Instead of using an app, he used flashcards to help him remember the word. Here’s how he studied new vocabulary with this technique.
- He created flashcards by hand with the word he wanted to memorize on one side of the card and a drawing or an image that could remind him of the word without translating it into his native language.
- He grouped his cards into decks that he divided into levels of difficulty to remember, and he reviewed this vocabulary at increasing intervals, for example, on day 1, then again on day 3, day 7, day 14, and further, depending on how new and challenging the word it is.
- He made this a habit and set aside a few minutes daily for his spaced repetition practice.
While spaced repetition works with your long-term memory, another technique works with your spatial memory, which is the memory of the places, events, and things in our world. This technique is called the memory palace and turns abstract words into vivid mental images. It is as simple as choosing a familiar place, filling it with vocabulary words or phrases, linking this vocabulary to specific locations or objects within your palace, and visualizing yourself walking through the palace, encountering these images as you go.
Tim Doner, a polyglot who speaks 20 languages, described how he used the memory palace technique. In a TEDX Talk episode, he explains what he did to learn Japanese in this way.
- He used Union Square as his familiar place in New York City because he was there daily and had a vivid image from there.
- He imagined walking through Union Square, and at each point in his mind that resonated with a vocabulary word, he associated it with that place. For example, he walks down Park Avenue, and in Japanese, “walk” is “iku”; he goes to the north where the G.W statue is, and he associates it with the verb “drink” which is “nomu”; to the right, he finds a tree that can “cut” which is “kiru” in Japanese; to the north by Barnes & Noble, he can “read” which is “yomu”; and if he is hungry and wants to go to his favorite place, he can go one block east, and he can “eat” which is “taberu” in Japanese.
- He found that experiencing methods like these made language learning interactive and fun and something that could help him remember much better.
Doner’s testimony is very motivating, and you can get inspired and get other helpful tips for learning Spanish. Including Spaced Repetition or Memory Palace in your language journey can enhance your learning experience in Spanish or any language you set your sights on. Check out our tutorial below to see how these two memorization techniques work with real-world examples in Spanish. Remember that consistency and practice are the keys to success, so join a language exchange group, find a great teacher, and take advantage of online resources to take your Spanish to the next level.