Memory Techniques To Boost Your Foreign Language Learning

Using Mnemonics in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

So just how much vocabulary do you really should understand before you can”get by” and really converse in a foreign language? That depends upon who you ask, as that tends to vary.

In his book,”With Your Memory”, author Tony Buzan states a mere 100 words include nearly 50 percent of the vocabulary used in every day conversational speech in most languages. The equivalent of these words in a foreign language will be able to help you to develop essential vocabulary for everyday use. However, is this enough?

Connect Word Technique

Usually, you can function at the most elementary level in a foreign language using a core vocabulary of around 1000 words according to Dr. Michael Gruneberg who uttered the”LinkWord” technique. He asserts that, with this method of linking a word in your language into a word in the terminology, you can acquire a vocabulary.

The LOCI Method

According to Cicero, the LOCI Method or Roman Room System is said to have originated in early Greece circa 500 B.C.. When the building that he was in collapsed, crushing all the people inside beyond understanding, the sole survivor, poet Simonides of Ceos recognized the victims by name according to where they were sitting at the dinner table. Orators commonly used for centuries the technique to provide speeches with no notes.

The Pimsleur Method

The Pimsleur Method folks check in 2,500 phrases as a minimal core vocabulary to communicate fluently in a language that is foreign. This is much closer to what I’ve really found to be a successful thickness of vocabulary.

I urge a minimal core vocabulary in the array of 1500 to 2000 words. Sure you can”communicate” with much fewer words, as many as 500 based on the context, but you could often sound”strained”,”artificial” or perhaps”childish” in your speech structures while attempting to receive your point across.

Moreover, if you are working in a skilled trade, vocation or profession, then up to the following 300 to 500 words could be ramped up by the core vocabulary count. So any time spent acquiring needed foreign language vocabulary is time well spent. In the next article of this series we’ll consider a very simple way you can use to begin learning vocabulary straight away.