How Vegas can teach you to learn a language
How Vegas can teach you to learn a language
If you saw the movie 21 about some MIT students who won millions in Vegas or if you know anything about card counting, here is a clue on how to learn a language. The system that they used (based on a true s to beat Vegas was based mnemonics. See numbers are abstract and if you try to count cards you will lose track of these abstract ideas. Similarly in languages new words are like numbers for your brain. Your brain can not latch onto anything therefore its hard to remember them. However, if you use a mnemonics system whether it is to beat Vegas or language learning you can leverage your memory many fold. It could be a mnemonics or a simply visualization system, but take it from the pros who put their money at risk, if you use some memory tricks you will be better off when trying to learn a language.
Tags: How to learn a language, learn a language, memory, mnemonics
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July 22, 2008at 9:44 am
Hello,
I always use mnemonics when it comes to language learning. It seems to be a good tool for me to help me remember vocabulary words, by associating them with something else. When I was younger and had to take vocabulary tests in Spanish class I always made up mnemonic devices to help me remember all of the words.
There are certain words now that I will never forget, because of the associations I have created.
**Just like how I learned the “preposition song” in 5th grade, and I can still recite it YEARS later!
July 22, 2008at 10:02 am
@Jessica You are preaching to the choir, I study very hard language that is Slavic languages and I think I am a pretty bright guy, but with all the strange multisyllabic words in these languages the easiest way for me to make them stick is with mnemonics. Some people are skeptical but studies with languages and mnemonics does show they help.