Solving the Mysteries of Memorization

When learning a second language, many people find it difficult to memorize new words and phrases. In fact, we often are told by students that they think it is much easier for young people to memorize new words than it is for adults. The truth is actually the opposite. It is ALWAYS easier for an adult to learn new phrases than a child if the learning adult is given the correct tools of phrase memorization.

Just memorizing new words and phrases will never, by itself, inscribe those words in your brain unless you have personalized the meaning of those words. At BLT we spend a lot of lessons introducing students to idiomatic expressions that are used in everyday spoken English. It is not effective for someone to speak English in a pure literal sense, because without using idiomatic expressions a personal relationship between the speakers will be almost impossible to develop.

The Secrets of Idiom Memorization

First, you need to make sure that you are only spending time learning idioms that have real value in every day conversation. It doesn’t do you any good to memorize idiomatic expression that you will never use.

Second, you should truly understand the meaning of the idiom. In most cases, a native English speaker will need to explain the true meaning of the idiom because the meaning is seldom obvious just by knowing the individual words contained in the idiomatic expression.

Third, you must create an image in your mind to associate with the idiomatic expression. After you understand the real meaning of the idiomatic expression, think about one of your life experiences that is perfectly described by that idiom.

For example, if the idiomatic expression is “carrying the torch for someone” you should try and remember your own past situation when you carried the torch for someone. The real meaning of this idiom is to be in love with someone. It is often used to describe a situation where the feelings aren’t mutual. It usually means that the object of affection doesn’t know about it. In other words, it is a secret love.

After you understand the real meaning of the idiom, you can think about a time in your life when you carried the torch for someone. Think about the last time you felt love for someone but because you knew the other person wasn’t in love with you, you carried the torch in secret. Personalizing the idiom by creating an image based on a memory that perfectly describes the idiom will embed that idiom in your brain forever so that you will remember and be able to remember and use this expression in everyday conversation even a year from the time you originally learned the expression.