Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[vbfishbaby]

Dear teachers:

I think it is difficult for me to remember new words. And, I always forget it after I learn it.
Would you tell me some good ways interesting for remembering words? Thanks a lot!!!!



Best wishes,
Eva

[ClarissaMach]

Eva, I am a student just like you, not a teacher (I'm Brazilian and my native language is Portuguese). But I think I have something to say on this point: try to read as much as you can, as well as watching movies in English. Try to be exposed to the language as much as possible.

If you listen to or read a word once, it is hard to memorize it; if you see it again, you might have that feeling of "deja-vu" ("I'm not sure what this word means but I have the feeling I've seen this word before somewhere")... by the third time, I'm sure you'll be able not only to recognize the new word, but also to recite a dictionary-definition of it...

I hope I have helped you someway.
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Stormy Weather.

[Philo Kevetch]

Hello - Good advice from Clarissa Mach.
Also, make 3 (or more) original sentences using new vocabulary and you will be much more likely to remember the word and how to use it. Philo

[vbfishbaby]

Thank you !!! I will try all the method you said!! I hope I can memorize more and more~

[ClarissaMach]

There was a time when I had no money to pay for an English course and I was afraid of forgetting what I had learnt so far.

Then I decided I would make an effort to read a book in English every month (If some money happend to come into my hands, I would buy second-hand books) and every time I had the chance to be logged onto Internet, I would listen to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio (by the way, I am doing it right now).
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Stormy Weather.

[rice07]

Hi,

Sorry to jump in!

I agree with ClarissaMach there. If you've got a chance to have a look at English language newspaper, you'll realize--based on the fact that you're not a native speaker of English-- it's impossible for you to memorize a lot of English expressions or vocabulary at a time. In my opinion, when I confront problems like that, I won't force myself to have to memorize those things right away, that only spoils my interest of English learning. I'll opt for the approach as ClarissaMach mentioned-- Taking a lot of English reading makes the words you're not familiar with repeatedly appear in front of you, then you'll learn those things. Learning is much of a muchness to the accumulations of knowledge over a long period. It takes time. We must be patient. Let's keep doing the hard work.
http://video.on.nytimes.com/

http://edition.cnn.com/video/

Good luck!

Sincerely
rice

I'd like to add that one thing I think is important for English learning-- I always prepare a notebook for writing down those words, expressions, or even the whole sentences which I think are practical when taking English reading. And I'll find sometime in the future to regularly review them. By doing so, there's no need for me to worry about what if what I've read slips my mind.

In some cases, we non-native speakers of English might write something that are grammatically correct but they are not natural English. To avoid this plight, I take English reading or play the role of a good listener of English.(A neophyte of English might not be able to have a good listening comprehension at first, but he/she will finally get the hang of it, if he/she persists in persuing his/her goal-- to have a good command of English.)

It's intriguing that once you take an interest in learning English, if that's the incentive for you, you won't be able to stop even though you want to.

As an English learner, I would suggest: 1. try, if possible, to consult a dictionary with English-English explanations for vocabulary. 2. pay more attention to the collocations, idioms, phrases, expressions, or sentences, provided you think they are practical, just put them down in your notebook. 3. be patient. Sometimes the improvement is not that obvious amid the process, but you do doubtlessly get improved by osmosis.

But even adopting the correct approaches for your English learning doesn't hereafter guarantee that the future will be a cushy road to go-- there're now and then some bottlenecks waiting ahead of you. It's inevitable. So show your great fortitude in the face of challenges. Please don't lose momemtum.

PS: I'm sorry for being so "talkative" and expounding my view on your subject at length . If that falls short of or is irrelevant to what you're asking, my apologies. Also pardon me for displaying my patchy knowledge of English before the real experts in English here.