Do you find it hard to remember new words in English? Talaera Talks brings you a new podcast episode with some easy to apply tips to help you introduce new vocabulary into your life.
This is one of our Talaera Bits, which are short podcasts of maximum five minutes where you will learn Business-English related content. You can read the transcript below. To get podcast updates straight to your inbox, register here. We provide tips for those of you learning English and help you learn new English words and speak English fluently. Listen to it on your favorite platform:
Talaera Talks – Transcript Episode 2
Topic: Remember new words
Listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts
Duration: 5:54
Transcript: Read below
Intro
Welcome to Talaera Talks, the business English communication podcast for non-native professionals. My name is Paola and I am co-hosting this show with Simon.
0:13
In this podcast, we’re going to be covering communication advice and tips to help express yourself with confidence in English in professional settings. So we hope you enjoy the show!
0:25
My name is Paola and I want to bring you today Talaera Bit. These are short podcasts of maximum five minutes where you will learn Business-English related content, like the one I have today for you. Today, I want to tell you how to actually remember vocabulary. And, all right, let’s jump right in!
0:47
So I’m sure you’ve heard and read about memory techniques, mnemonics, being in a learning environment, going abroad, creating mind maps… These are all great tips to remember vocabulary. But no one really has time for them. Or at least I do not. I am a language learner myself, and I struggle to remember new words, especially in German, because they are so different from what I’m used to.
1:16
So I want to tell you how I actually managed to learn a new language, not German, but I did manage with French. And before we even talk about the techniques, there is a rule that I would recommend you to use to actually decide what works you should learn and which ones you shouldn’t. It doesn’t make sense to take the dictionary and learn all the words, because it’s not realistic. And it’s also not needed. So those two rules that you should follow are – first, it needs to be RELEVANT. And two, it needs to be REAL. Relevant and real is what a word should be for you to actually want to actively learn it.
2:00
Relevant means that at some point of your life, you see yourself using it. It should be a useful word or term, perhaps now or in the future. And it has to be real and having learned it in a real context. That could be a Netflix series, or a book, or colleague, or literally anything that happens in real life.
2:23
So those two – relevant and real- we got them! How do we make them stick? Well, there’s three tips that have worked very well for me, and also for my students. And they are CONTEXT, EXPLANATION and REPETITION. Context means forget about lists, write sentences- when you want to remember a new word, put it in a sentence, and associate it with things you already know, like a picture or a funny story, or something that actually happened to you, it needs to have a little story. So we have that – we have a context.
3:01
Now the second tip is explanation. Find someone you can explain this word to your kids, your husband, your colleague, if you don’t have any of them, you can just imagine you’re explaining it to someone. You’ve probably heard that you only truly learn something when you are able to explain it to someone. Some people even say when you’re able to explain it to your grandmother. Well, whatever the case, try to have that organized, elaborate explanation of the word or phrase you’re trying to remember.
3:37
So we have the context. And we have the explanation. But I’m afraid you will need some repetition. It doesn’t have to be like we used to do at school of writing it down. But it does help to repeat it. And to make sure it stays fresh in our minds. There’s a technique called spaced repetition. And it is based on the fact that there is a curve in which like a memory curve. And we tend to forget things we do not use that, use it or lose it kind of feeling we have. So when you have this list or this group of sentences that you want to learn, read them today, or use them try to use them today. Then do that again in three days, then in a week, and then in a month, and then in six months. And then it will get to a point where they belong to your or they go to your long-term memory and your active vocabulary.
4:38
And with those three tips, I think you will be pretty good. So remember, only get the words or only try to remember the words that are relevant for you. And real. You took them from a real context. And when you have them, you can put them in a sentence give them a context. That’s number one. Number two is to try to explain the meaning of this word to someone. And number three, use spaced repetition – repeat them today, in three or four days in a week, in a month until they are part of life and your long term memory. Alright, I hope you found this helpful. And stay tuned for our next episode.
5:23
And that’s all we have for you today. We hope you enjoyed it, and remember to subscribe to Talaera Talks. We’ll be back soon with more! And visit our website at https://talaera.com for more valuable content on business English. You can also request a free consultation on the best ways for you and your team to improve your communication skills. So have a great day and keep learning!
Main Takeaways:
Remember these important tips when you want to learn new vocabulary in English.
Should you learn the word? If it’s relevant & real, yes!
Use these two checks to decide whether you should learn a word or not. Relevant means that at some point of your life, you see yourself using it. It should be a useful word or term, perhaps now or in the future. And it has to be real and having learned it in a real context. That could be a Netflix series, or a book, or colleague, or literally anything that happens in real life.
Learn in context
Forget about lists, write sentences- when you want to remember a new word, put it in a sentence, and associate it with things you already know, like a picture or a funny story, or something that actually happened to you, it needs to have a little story.
Explain it to someone
Elaborate an organized explanation of the word or phrase you’re trying to learn and explain it to a colleague, your kids, your husband, or an imaginary friend.
Use repetition
Read your new word today and use it in a sentence. Then do that again in three days, then in a week, then in a month, and then in six months, until it becomes part of your long-term memory and your active vocabulary.
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