Who among us, studying at school or university, did not dream of memorizing and processing information at the speed of a computer, or even better? We are unlikely to see the times of Johnny Mnemonic, but in order not only to store huge amounts of information in your head, but also to skillfully get exactly what you need, it is not necessary to embed a computer device in your head. Although I personally know a few people who would be delighted with such an idea ;)
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You can already read the articles about memory training "Memory training: Cambridge test", "Memory training: remembering names and faces" and "Memory training: exercises with numbers". If you are interested in them, then I am sure that the method of fast and effective learning of foreign words will be no less interesting to you. Those who like to save time will immediately remember about mobile translators. But you're not going to peek into your dictionary, confessing to a girl in love, for example, in French? And even if you still resort to the help of technology, you will still need to learn it!
So let's get started. I will try to introduce you to the technique briefly. Because to achieve really high efficiency, you still have to read the book in full. The material is taken from Dominic O'Brien's book "How to Develop Absolute Memory".
In order to quickly memorize foreign words, you do not have to monotonously cram and pore over the dictionary for a long time. Moreover, it is quite likely that the outcome of such cramming is simply passing the standard and further complete "evaporation" of what you have learned from your head. That is, the information, of course, will remain in your brain (unlike our memory, nothing disappears from there), but it will be quite difficult to get it again.
So that your time and efforts are not wasted, try to memorize words by building associations, bundles and peculiar "palaces of memory".
Step 1. Imagine a city you know well. Draw a detailed map of it in your head — a park, a stadium, a store, a restaurant, etc.
Step 2. Use your imagination and association — this will help the foreign word to suggest the key image to you.
Step 3. Place your key image in a place that would logically correspond to the meaning of the word in your native language.
Step 4. When combining your keyword and the anchor point, imagine some bright picture that would link them together.
Next, you can allocate places in your city for verbs (stadium, sports complex, etc.), adjectives (park), nouns, etc., and also allocate an area in the city for masculine, feminine and, if necessary, neuter words. And, of course, come up with a bundle as bright and unusual as possible. The more unrealistic and exaggerated the picture turns out to be, the more likely it is that you will remember it much better.
It will be difficult to give an example from the book, because it was written by a person whose native language is English. It is quite difficult for us to find similar words in Russian (Ukrainian) with, for example, Italian. But if you have a fairly developed imagination, then it will not be difficult for you.
The Italian word "correre" (to run) is pronounced roughly like "correre". Several associations may arise with this word at once. So, which first appeared in your head, and will be the main one. My key image is "career". That is, I can imagine some quarry where coal is mined, for example. Since "correre" means to run, then I can imagine a person running through a career. And a quarry can be located, for example, in a huge stadium.
This is the simplest example. Ideally, you should come up with such bundles for your words, which can then be linked into a single whole. Let the words lead through your city and spread to different areas.
Of course, after reading this for the first time, you may think that this method is absurd. Believe me, even I, typing this post, found a word and a bunch on the go in just 5 minutes. Maybe not so right and perfect (after all, for the first time), but this method is quite real. The author of the book warns that you may not succeed the first time and, perhaps, the first steps will take quite a lot of time and effort. But our memory is our wealth. By developing our brain, we prolong our life, filling it with colors and sounds until the very end.
In the book "After Three it's too Late", Japanese professor Massaru Ibuka claims that up to a certain time the child absorbs the information around him. He does not teach, does not cram, he just studies, understands and realizes. Then, growing up, a person loses this gift and he already has to make efforts — to teach and cram. Others, proving this by their own example, argue that the weakening of memory and attention occurs not because we age (except for medical reasons), but because we relax and stop training our brain and memory. Yes, you have to train, study and constantly improve (we are already more than three years old), but you will be rewarded for your efforts. Especially at a respectable age. Especially now, when we have completely entrusted the memorization of lists, meeting schedules and phone numbers to our digital comrades.
By training our memory and brain, we do not waste time in vain — we give ourselves a full life!
