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Vocabulary - Learning technical terms and foreign words
We have learned that abstract things which are hardly conceivable can be memorised by creating an appropriate replacement image. If we want to learn foreign words and vocabulary, the procedure is the same given that they are abstract things. It can be done in three steps.
- We change the letters of the foreign word by transforming them into a word we are familiar with. We split longer words and we deduct several common terms.
- We try to imagine the replacement word by using all our senses.
- We combine this image with the meaning of the foreign word.
| Foreign word | Meaning | Idea | Replacement word | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cubare | to lie | = | Cuba | A person is lying on the beach in Cuba. |
According to the conventional method of learning vocabulary, we would repeat the foreign word and its translation until it "fits". Cubare - to lie - cubare - to lie, next word, etc. According to our method, we try to imagine how we lie on the beach in Cuba. We will certainly memorise this image. If someone asks us about the meaning of "cubare", we will first of all remember the replacement word Cuba. We are wondering what we did in Cuba and then it will come to our mind: lie. If you have a basic knowledge of the language, you'll also know that you cubare has to be written with cu. Do not worry about changing words.
10 images can be memorised as easily as 100 images. A scientific study has shown that after four days a group of people was able to remember 88 percent of the learned vocabulary by using replacement words. In comparison, another group using the usual method of repetition only memorised 28 percent.
Whether you have to memorise real words or fictitious words, the procedure is the same. During training and at the championships fictitious vocabulary is used to make sure that nobody has an advantage. Here are some examples of "real" words:
| Language | Foreign word | Meaning | Idea | Replacement word | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German | Dach | Roof | = | Dace | There is a dace on the roof. |
| Latin | putare | believe | = | Belly | I always get a big belly at Christmas. |
| Italian | donare | donate | = | donation | Make a donation for the Red Cross. |
| Latin | rivus | river | = | Swimming in the river. | A person is swimming in the river. |
| French | ralentir | slow down | = | railway | Imagine a train that has to slow down on the railway. |
| Turkish | serefe | Cheers | = | Cheerleader | The cheerleaders are drinking with the baseball players and say: Cheers. |
Train vocabulary: Vocabulary Sprint
Here you should try to remember as many vocables as you can. In this case, it will be fantasy-language vocabulary. 80 different fictitious vocables and their English meanings are displayed. When recalling, only the fantasy-vocables are displayed but not their meaning. The order will be different, of course.
The evaluation is based on championship rules, meaning for each correctly reproduced and associated vocable one point is awarded. When recall the information incorrectly, half a point will be deducted.
These disciplines are only for children and juniors and they are part of the German Memory Championship.