Totally cool stuff on IMPROVING OUR MEMORY

I read an article the other day about how important it is to invest some time (weeks, a few months) into strengthening your memory before you start learning a new language. (or anytime during the process)

It told the story of the two LUMBERJACKS who had a contest which one of them could cut down 13 acres of trees in the shortest time. While the first lumberjack started chopping trees down immediately with great enthusiasm, the other one spent 3 months with just reading, studying about trees and wood, how they grow and how to cut them down most effectively and sharpening his axe meticulously. Long story short, you can guess, the second lumberjack, who took the time to prepare for his task cut down all his 13 acres of trees months before the first one.

We can apply this principle for language learning too. It is very important to get your brain ready before you set out to do anything like learning a new language! 

In this other article Melinda Smith and Lawrence Robinson talk about  how to improve your memory.  Here are some useful snippets from the article:

 The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change- even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stiulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways. No more excuses! :)

 Improve your memory! 

sleep, exercise, have downtime with friends, laugh, keep stress low, eat brain-boosting foods like omega-3s, fruits, veggies, green tea, complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread, brown rice,  oatmeal, high-fiber cereal, lentils and whole beans.      

 Give your brain a workout! Stimulate your brain!

Memory, like mascular strength, requires you to "you it or lose it". The more you work out your brain the more you will be able to process and remember information. This activity can be virtually anything , so long as it meets the following criteria:

- It's new. (something unfamiliar or out of your comfort zone. Like CHESS for me...yuck.)

-It's challenging. (learning a new instrument, language or sport, tackling a challenging Sudoku or crossword.)

-It's fun. (The more interested and invested you are in the activity, the more likely you will be to continue it and the greater benefits you will experience.)

Why is it so hard to memorize words?

Memorizing words seems difficult for many reasons. In general, the brain tends to select information that it receives, discarding what it considers unnecessary. Imagine remembering every single detail that enters your brain..... your brain would be constantly fighting against a permanent, unwanted and annoying interference or useless information. So forgetting information is actually a good thing

The goal is to help the brain to remember the information that WE consider important. 

If we want to store a word, we have to put it into our long-term memory. How can we do it efficiently?

Memory is like a muscle, it atrophies if it does not work. It must be constantly stimulated. The best way to do it is to repeat continuously. If you want your memory to work well, make it work a little bit everyday. The repetition of an operation has a cumulative effect whose main goal is that of forcing information into our brain without us making deliberate efforts.

KEY FACTORS

Interest

Be interested and passionate about what you are doing. it provides an incredible boost in your learning process.

Attention

concentration and attention!! In the Internet era, concentration is diminished due to multitasking. Try to focus on the task at hand. Concentration helps boost your performance enormously.

Comprehension

we only learn what we can understand! Whenever you fully understand a sentence or a concept, you also understand its single parts and the connections among them.

Association

Link new information with old information, which is stored in our long-term memory.

Visualization

Our brain also processes information via colors, forms, etc. If you link a given word with an image, that word will be more likely to be linked with other information already stored in our memory.

Consolidation

Take the time to process and store information. Review what you have learned at regular intervals.

Context

Context is king in language learning. It is important to always learn words in their context which helps your brain to form images, associate the word to other words. (source: www.thepolyglotdream.com)