Language studentsoften think they have memory problems. They worry because they can't rememberwords. In fact, the problem isn't usually about their memory. The problem isabout how they study.
To remember wordsbetter, you need to understand how memory works. There are two kinds of memory:short-term and long-term. When you see, hear or read something. it goes firstinto short-term memory. But short-term memory lasts for only a few seconds. Youwill only remember something longer if it goes into long-term memory. Yourlong-term memory is like a very big library with many books. And like alibrary, it's well-organized. When you put away a book-or memory- you can'tjust leave it anywhere. You have to choose a place where you can find it again.How can you do this with vocabulary(词汇)?The answer is to work with the word and think about the word in new ways. Youcan do this by writing new sentences that include it. Even better, you caninvent a little story about the word, with people or places that you know.Another way is to make a picture in your mind with the word. For example, ifthe word is "height", you can think of the tallest person you knowand try to guess his or her height. All of these activities are good ways tothink about words. They make the meaning of words stronger in your long-termmemory. And they give a way to find a word when you need it.
