Ассоциативная память -ключ к запоминанию иностранных слов
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (10 класс) на тему

Государственное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение

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Ассоциативная память- ключ к запоминанию иностранных слов. Associative memory: to remember English words better.

Смирнова Анастасия   10-1 класс

Научный руководитель

Смирнова Елена Евгеньевна.

Санкт-Петербург

2016-2017

   Contents

        Introduction

Words are without a doubt the basic elements, the “bricks” of a language. Learning new words represents a serious challenge for many language learners. Acquiring lots of words fast is a dream for every language learner. For some, it is a real obsession. Quite often, these efforts are met with disappointment and frustration.

It is no surprise, then, that one of the most frequent question that I define as “the quest for words”.

The aim of my work is to get information about association methods as the key of memorization of   English words and prove that the use of associative memory helps increase the number of English words we want to remember to communicate in English. The subject of the research is associative memory.

        The tasks of my research work are

•        what is  a memory?

•        find out different types of association methods

•        to carry out an experiment and prove that the use of associative methods can improve the English words

        The ways of memorization of  foreign words

Why is it so hard to memorize new words?

Memorizing new terms seems a difficult task for many reasons. In general, the brain tends to select the information that it receives, discarding what it considers unnecessary. Imagine remembering every single detail that enters your brain: you would remember thousands of words effortlessly, but would also be paying a terrible price: your brain would be constantly fighting against a permanent, unwanted and annoying interference of useless information. Fortunately, our brain works on its own rhythm and it “self-regulates” when it comes to organizing information.

So, forgetting information is actually a good thing. The goal is to help the brain to remember the information that we consider important. Language learners want to remember as many words as possible and they often cannot. They come to the conclusion that they simply do not have a good memory and thus language learning is not for them. This is another myth that must be dispelled.

Memory is a complex psychological process is the ability to preserve and subsequent reproduction of what we perceived, experienced and done.

Psychologists providing 4 types of memory: motor, shaped, verbal-logical, emotional. Scientists Item Lindsay and Dr. Norman considered that there are 3 different memory systems:

1) direct imprint of sensory information. This system keeps in memory a fairly accurate and complete picture of the world in a period of 0.1-0.5 seconds.

2) short-term memory, which holds the information, интерпретирующую events on the sensory level. Prints sensory memory saved a few tenths of a second and extend them is not possible.

3) long-term memory.

There are many reasons why people can't memorize the information. The main reasons are the following moments:

1) poorly developed natural memory

2) the complexity of the information to memory, as well as its poor organization

3) insufficient concentration of attention

 How can we improve our capacity of retaining new words?

The process of acquiring new information can be generally divided into 3 categories: decoding, storage and retrieval. When the brain receives new information, it decodes it and then stores it. The stored information can then be retrieved in the future. If we cannot recall something (the so called “knowledge-gap”), something went wrong during one of these phases.

As I have already said, there are several types of memory: short and long-term memory, sensory memory etc. The latter receives information through the stimulation of the senses such as sight, touch, smell. The short-term memory, also called working memory, retains small amounts of information for short periods of time. We use it when we do mental calculations, remember a password, a code or a phone number. If we want to store a word, we have to put it into our long-term memory. How can we do it efficiently?

Memory is like a muscle, it atrophies if it does not work. Each capacity/faculty that is neglected tends to weaken and eventually disappear. So it must be constantly stimulated. The best way to do it is to repeat continuously. If you want your memory to work well, make it work a little bit everyday. The repetition of an operation has a cumulative effect whose main goal is that of forcing information into our brain without us making deliberate efforts.

KEY FACTORS

Here are some key factors for improving your overall capacity to remember new terms and expressions

Interest

In order to improve your ability to recognize and memorize new words and expressions you need to be interested in and passionate about what you are doing. Cultivating an interest in a particular field and constantly reminding yourself why you are doing it provides an incredible boost in your learning process. When you start learning a language; imagine the immense possibilities that speaking it would bring in terms of work, friendships, feelings. Emotions enhance memory. It is up to you to make this happen.

Attention

Concentration and attention are key factors in the learning process. In the Internet era,  concentration is diminished due to multitasking. So, I suggest you eliminate the music radio and all other potential distractions and focus on the task at hand. Concentration helps boost your performance enormously.

Comprehension

We only learn what we can understand. Whenever you fully understand a sentence or a concept, you also understands its single parts and the connections among them. An engineer who figures out how an electronic circuit works is more likely to understand its single components. The same goes for a language learner: if he understood a given sentence, he will remember the words better.

Association

Our brain is a huge network of neurons: every single neuron is connected with tens of thousands of other neurons So if we want to make the best of learning processes we should adapt them to the way our brain is structured. One of the most effective tools for doing this is association, that is, linking new information with old information, which is stored in our long-term memory. This can be done in many ways.

Visualization

One of these ways is through images. Our brain also processes information via colors, forms, etc. If you link a given word with an image, that word will be more likely to be linked with other information already stored in our memory. As a result, we will remember it better. For example to remember the name of a person, you can put it in relation to a particular feature of his appearance. The more the association is absurd, the easier you will remember that person’s name.

Consolidation

Take the time to process and store information. One of the best and simplest ways to do this is simply to review what you have learned at regular intervals. Repeating something makes your brain realize that it might need that information and it helps you to fix that information in a much more effective way.

Context

Context is king in language learning. It is important to always learn words in their context which helps your brain to form images, associate the word to other words. The more interesting a text is, the more we will be motivated to understand it and thus remember it.

Multiple contexts

Reading makes us connect the dots. When we read a lot, we enormously raise the possibility of finding the same word in different contexts, which enormously reinforces our capacity to retain it. Once again, associates plays an important role.

Dynamic

Learning a language is a skill that we acquire. A dynamic learning process is preferable to a static “study” of the language, where parts are analyzed in isolation and without a context instead of being absorbed within interesting content

        Associative methods

What methods will enable us to effectively memorize foreign words, to avoid monotonous repetition, and perhaps even make memorizing words in an interesting activity?

Mnemonic

    A mnemonic or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids information retention. Mnemonics aim to translate information into a form that the human brain can retain better than its original form. Even the process of applying this conversion might already aid the transfer of information to long-term memory. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often for lists and in auditory form, such as short poems, acronyms, or memorable phrases, but mnemonics can also be for other types of information and in visual or kinesthetic forms. Their use is based on the observation that the human mind more easily remembers spatial, personal, surprising, physical,  humorous, or otherwise 'relatable' information, rather than more abstract or impersonal forms of information.

    Ancient Greeks and Romans distinguished between two types of memory: the 'natural' memory and the 'artificial' memory. The former is inborn, and is the one that everyone uses automatically and without thinking. The artificial memory in contrast has to be trained and developed through the learning and practicing of a variety of mnemonic techniques.

    Mnemonic systems are special techniques or strategies consciously used to improve memory, it helps employ information already stored in long-term memory to make memorization an easier task.    

      Mnemonics can be helpful in learning foreign languages, for example by transposing difficult foreign words with words in a language the learner knows already. A useful such technique is to find linkwords, words that have the same pronunciation in a known language as the target word, and associate them visually or auditorially with the target word.

Rhymes and Songs.

Rhythm, repetition, melody, and rhyme can all aid memory. Are you familiar with Homer's Odyssey? If you are familiar with the book, then you know that it is quite long. That is why it is so remarkable to realize that this, along with many ancient Greek stories, was told by storytellers who would rely solely on their memories. The use of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition helped the storytellers remember them.

You can use the same techniques to better remember information from courses. For example, even the simple addition of familiar rhythm and melody can help. Do you remember learning the alphabet? Many children learn the letters of the alphabet to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." In fact, a student demonstrated how she memorized the quadratic formula (notorious among algebra students for being long and difficult to remember) by singing it to a familiar tune!

Using these techniques can be fun, particularly for people who like to create. Rhymes and songs draw on your auditory memory and may be particularly useful for those who can learn tunes, songs, or poems easily. Like the other techniques in this section, however, they emphasize rote memory, not understanding. Also, when devising rhymes and songs, don't spend too much time creating them. Use these techniques judiciously and don't let them interfere with your studying.

Flashcards.

    I find flash cards a very effective learning tool. Before l go to lectures, l read over content of topic study and note key terms onto cards. When in lectures, l am able to recall info and extend notes, compare with a friend and ask the lecturer if my concept is interpreted correctly. My method is read, write, listen, then conformation.

    I use word associations and repetitious flashcards. I think that these are the best way to commit information to memory.

Associative pictures

Draw diagrams, make up cartoons. Use them to connect facts and illustrate relationships. When abstract concepts can be "seen" they are much easier to remember. You can be as creative as you want, as long as you understand your scribble. The three basic steps of the visualization and association  technique are:

Use "substitute words" to break down complex concepts.

Use your imagination to create vivid mental images of the ideas.

Mentally associate the visual images you created to each other.

There are several advanced systems (such as the peg methods), but the three steps above are how you form the basic mental links.

Step 1: use substitute words

Associating new information with information your already know is the key to really memorizing something. To "associate" means to create a mental connection, and for most people the best way to create this connection is through visualization. There are scientific reasons for this.

Italy is boot-shaped. For example, most people have a hard time describing the shapes of different countries. Could you draw an outline of Columbia from memory? But almost everyone can roughly visualize Italy's outline - it is in the shape of a boot (a visual cue).

So if you can associate new information with an image you can easily visualize, that new information will become much more firmly locked in your memory.

But how do you associate something abstract like a math formula to an image? Or what about a city name, like "Hobart" or "Cincinnati"? Or foreign language words like the Russian word for "hello", ?

The secret is to use substitute words. You can convert any concept, word, symbol, or other information to something familiar by breaking down the sounds that make up the word and then thinking of memorable images of the parts.

For example, consider the city name "Hobart" (a city in Tasmania). The word Hobart is not a regular word like "apple" or "car" that can be easily visualized. So to convert Hobart to visual form, break it down phonetically (by sound) to concrete words.

The words that come to my mind when I say the word "Hobart" are "hobo" plus "art" (hobo-art = Hobart). I can picture in my mind a hobo, which is a kind of travelling vagrant. I can also picture art (I see a painter's easel and canvas).

If the word you need to remember is already something you can visualize (like "apple"), you can skip Step 1 and go straight to Step 2.

Step  2: create vivid Mental Images

Make it memorable! To build strong mental connections to the new information, the images must be very memorable, because ordinary things are too forgettable. The silly, the impossible, and the outrageous are easy to remember. For example, do you remember what you had for dinner on Thursday three weeks ago? Probably not. But most people would remember their first day of high school or college, or their first date, or their first day at their new job, because these were memorable events.

When something stands out, we remember it. So your mental images must be the same way.

Here are a few guidelines for making images memorable:

-exaggerate the proportion - make the item gigantic in your mind

-exaggerate the number - think of millions of the item

-get action into the picture

-use substitution to replace one item with another

Hobo  Art

In the example with the city name Hobart, I should choose one or more of those rules to help make the images memorable. One obvious one would be introducing the action of the hobo painting a picture on the canvas.

For even more ideas on how to memorable pictures, see my 6 Tips to Create Effective Mental Images page.

While probably unusual, that mental image may need something more to make it memorable. So perhaps I imagine a gigantic hobo crouched down and painting on a very tiny canvas.

Try to picture that in your mind. You'll see how this all pulls together in Step 3

Step 3: associate the images together

Connect new information to what you already know in steps 1 and 2. You think of substitute words for any complex words and then create vivid mental images of those words. Step 3 is where you start connecting the information together.In my Hobart example, there was only one piece of information - the name of the city. However, that is a trivial example, because usually you need to remember many pieces of information and how they all relate to each other.

For instance, you might need to remember that Hobart is a city in Tasmania, and that it is the capital there. For each of the separate facts you want to remember, you first go through steps 1 and 2. Once you have images in mind for all the facts, you connect them (link them) using step 3.

These connections are almost always formed by thinking of some kind of action that puts the images together.

Let me extend the example. I already have my "hobo+art" imagery to remind me of the name of the city of Hobart. Now I want to remember that Hobart is the capital of Tasmania.For "Tasmania", the substitute word that comes to my mind is the cartoon Tasmanian Devil (which you may remember from Saturday morning kids shows). For "capital", I picture in my mind a silly-looking cap (hat) with a tall propeller on top. Tasmanian Devil  Silly-looking cap. Here's how I form my association: First, for Tasmania, I imagine the Tasmanian Devil; and he is putting the silly-looking propeller cap on his head. So when someone asks me about Tasmania, an image of that cap automatically appears in my mind. Now I need a link between "cap" and "Hobart" to remind me that Hobart is the capital. So I imagine my gigantic hobo smearing paint on a canvas using a cap or hat of his own. (The hobo's cap does not need to match the Tasmanian Devil's cap for the link to work.) Then I run the images through my mind a few times to make sure I can clearly visualize them.

It's that simple. When someone asks me the question, "What is the capital of Tasmania?", the image of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon figure pops into my head; that makes me think of the image of the Tasmanian Devil putting on his silly-looking cap; the cap itself makes me think of the image of the hobo painting a picture using his cap. The image of the hobo creating art with his cap tells me the capital must be hobo + art, which is the name "Hobart"!

I encourage you to try this exercise yourself. You will be amazed at how easy it is to form the mental pictures and link them. And the more you practice, the easier it gets (like with any other skill). 

        An Experiment

I have conducted the experiment with two groups of pupils of the 4th form. The first group was given the new words with translation, the second group was given the words with associative pictures. It was given the same time to remember the new words.

Then, both groups had tests ( how many words they remembered).

The results are shown in the table

Conclusion

My research work  has  shown that the use of associative memory helps to solve the problem of memorization of new words.

Working on this project work I had the possibility to know more about the associative memory. The aim was achieved and all the objectives were realized.

There are many tools to remember the words , the more practice you give yourself with these techniques, the more effectively you will use them. My work contains many of the memory techniques used by stage memory performers. With enough practice and effort, you may be able to have a memory as good. Even if you do not have the time needed to develop this quality of memory, many of the techniques here are useful in everyday life.

At the end I would like to conclude that my findings  can be  useful for students who study English and for English teachers. We remember things better by what they are associated with, not by what they are.

        References

http://englishteacher.spb.ru/

Истомина З.М. Развитие памяти. – М., 1998.

Просто память или игра воображения. Исследования памяти. –http://astro.net.ua

Роговин М.С. Проблемы теории памяти. –М., 1997.

http://englishteacher.spb.ru/

Станислав Мюллер « Вспомнить все! Секреты суперпамяти»

Илья Матюгин « Как запомнить английские слова».

https://www.mindtools.com/memory.html 

http://coschedule.com/blog/memory-techniques/ 

https://www.psychologistworld.com