The Awesome Magic of Learning and Memory "Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume. " Jean de Boufflers

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  Memory is at the heart of learning. It is truly the "sine qua non".  Humans have memory by nature, but it shouldn't be taken for granted.  It can be improved by:  A) understanding it  B) training it  C) using techniques that maximize its potential for each individual What is Memory?

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  Short-term memory isn't much use in the long-term.  Most people forget up to 80% of what they hear unless it is transferred to long-term memory.  ERGO, transfer to LTM is vital.  So, what is needed to assure long-term memory retention? (LTMR) The Concept of Short-term & Long-term Memory …

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 if you're not interested or emotionally-stimulated by an event, you won't remember it …. Long-term Memory depends greatly on:  the emotional intensity of first exposure to stimulus  the level of interest in & commitment to the situation or topic Ergo: GET INTERESTED - GET COMMITTED  This shouldn't be hard - it's what we're here for …. AND THERE'S A BONUS …..  InterestED people are interestING people

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  PREVIEW the material: read up on it in advance.  Prepare QUESTIONS in advance.  Think about possible answers to these questions - IN ADVANCE.  Prepare physically, be interested, ask questions.  Ensure you get and UNDERSTAND answers during the class; it's difficult to remember what you don't understand!  Recite and/or reformulate teacher's points IN YOUR OWN WORDS = NOTES.  Reformulation AIDS LTMR; relying solely on teacher handouts DOES NOT.  Get things clear FIRST TIME -> first impressions are vital -> what is learned wrongly is difficult to correct. BEFORE A CLASS - THE PRACTICAL STEPS

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  Don't stop practice at the point when you can perform a task; DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.  This considerably STRENGTHENS the learning. OVERLEARNING RECITATION  SAYING THINGS in your own words STRENGTHENS LTMR.  Ergo, REFORMULATE ideas in your own words.  Do Q&A practice with a partner.  TALK TO YOURSELF; repeat foreign language material in your head ……  When reading, consider "VOCALIZING"; evidence suggests this aids LTMR.

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 ORGANISING MATERIAL  The FUNNEL approach - get clear understanding of OVERALL concepts before trying to master details.  Go from GENERAL to SPECIFIC.  Using ASSOCIATION enhances LTMR; you want to learn the word "steel", so learn it along with the word "iron".  Group similar ideas & concepts together.  Use GRAPHIC as well as VERBAL input:  e.g. Associate a noun with a PICTURE.  Use MINDMAPS; don't necessarily be LINEAR. stapler

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  DOING, RECITING, QUESTIONING & PARTICIPATING aid LTMR  SITTING, LISTENING, READING & NOT PARTICIPATING DO NOT aid LTMR ACTIVE LEARNING REPETITION & LEARNING "HOOKS"  … on different occasions  … in different ways  … with different people Practise using material you want to learn: Each different and separate exposure to - and practice of - material strengthens LTMR.

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  Learn & revise with a partner, or in a study group.  Take turns to "teach" your partner(s) specific topics.  This involves you analyzing, reformulating, reciting and answering questions about the material.  Many people say it's not till they have had to teach something that they have fully understood it and that it all "hangs together". TEACHING IT MAKES YOU LEARN IT BEST

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005  Some learning is automatic; much learning isn't.  You can improve learning with specific techniques.  A single exposure to input leaves little in long-term memory.  People who have "naturally" good memories are often those who pay attention to the above points.  Whatever your natural learning ability, it can be improved by focussed learning activities. CONCLUSION

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 What you have to do …

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 What you have to do ….  ask teacher to repeat it  repeat it yourself, loudly or silently  exaggerate the stress  use it in a phrase  write it down with the stress pattern Recording the stress pattern, e.g; for the word "container": Container: o O o - conTAIner - container - container - container - con tai ner Or indeed: con TAI ner (o O o) Do the same with: "photographer": PRONUNCIATION o O o o

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 What you have to do ….  GET A GOOD DICTIONARY!!  set up an organised system  use Excel or a database  don't write just the word itself: add synonyms, words in the same group  use your system regularly COPYING TO COMPUTER

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 an example of recording vocabulary

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 Understanding the origin of words: Most words have a history. Knowing a word's history helps make it easier to remember. Here are some examples:

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 duct lat ducere = to lead to deduce make a deduction to induct = teach (to introduce or lead someone to) an aqueduct (which leads water somewhere) to introduce an introduction an introductory offer to seduce a seduction seductive to reduce to make a reduction to educate education educative to conduct electricity an electrical conductor to conduct onself good conduct a viaduct, e.g. a road over a valley to abduct a child an abduction to produce production an air duct as in a ventilation system to abduct to conduct to induct to educate to deduce to introduce to produce to reduce to seduce now do the same for the latin word: "tractare" Graphical aids to learning

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 platinum aluminium bronze sapphire limestone lead gold Ordering, Sequencing, Hierarching Here's another example ….. emerald rare silver marble masonry precious ruby common iron metals stones alloys brass diamond slate You’re told to learn these words. How do you go about it?

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 Metals Sort your words first!!!! - Ordering, Sequencing, Hierarching …. MINERALS Stones Precious Masonry Alloys Rare Common gold platinum silver aluminium copper iron lead brass bronze steel diamond emerald ruby sapphire granite limestone marble slate

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 The Origin of words - learn the ROOTS!! Copy and enhance this table ……… then make a table of SUFFIXES.

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 Practising and Learning your words …. Make up some practice cards to test yourself or to work with a partner, for example: Side A symbiosis o o O o Side B the intimate living together of two species for mutual benefit

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 Practising and Learning your words …. Use the two column method, for example to practise words in the "tractare" family: to take back or withdraw a statement to retract a statement to contract a detractor to grow smaller a person critical of someone else to remove or take out somethingto extract to take one number away from another to subtract person or company engaged to do a job contractor

Recording & Learning Vocabulary Chris Snuggs ISUGA 2005 General practice reinforces vocabulary learning!  You MUST read English regularly:  magazines: "Time", "Business Week", "The Economist", "Asia Review" etc  biographies  novels, including crime stories  You MUST check news websites every day:  BBC BBC  International Herald Tribune International Herald Tribune  CNN CNN  SKY NEWS SKY NEWS  TIME Magazine TIME Magazine  You MUST try to listen to BBC Radio 4 regularly on LW 198.  You MUST watch TV regularly: news and other programmes, but also videos that can be borrowed ……