Supercharge Language Learning by Memory Strategies

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Monday I)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Technology supported learning

Proposal

Traditionally, second language teaching was based on teaching rules and patterns which were only equivalent to learning and depicting the L2 code. Many language learners dream of having a better memory when challenged by second language learning. Memory is a critical part of any kind of effective learning, and effective strategies to absorb, retain and recall may be strongly correlated with learning achievement in second/foreign language classes.
Learning a new language in general – and learning vocabulary specifically – can be a thoroughly enjoyable experience if one knows practical strategies to learn, obtain and retain language items. Even though the student may be investing a lot of time and energy in learning a new language, to do so without an efficient strategy is kind of like stopping in the middle of the road and wondering why it is so difficult to get to the destination that you want to reach.
In this round table presentation, I introduce some memory-based strategies to facilitate students’ language learning process. I will discuss memory-based strategies considered as cognitive strategies facilitating language learning. The effectiveness of memory techniques has been confirmed in neuroscience articles. Memory-based strategies in relation to L2 proficiency was also discussed by Kato (1996), Oxford and Ehrman (1995). These strategies can be defined as a technique focusing on effective storage and retrieval of language for continuing development and improvement of language performance. Memory-based strategies can promote the language learning process by increasing concentration, empowering language competence and retrieval of information, and enhancing language performance.
The objective of this presentation is to introduce a few principles that underpin the use of memory-based strategies and how these elements make it possible for language learners to memorize, recall and retrieve their language knowledge beyond what they would have ever expected. I will specifically discuss why memory-based strategies are so effective in the language classroom context. This presentation first will explain some of the key principles that guide language teachers for effective language teaching, and then I will describe activities that can help language learners successfully put these principles into practice. These strategies will assist language teachers in creating study plans which help students’ language skills grow.
The implication of this presentation is an aid to language teachers for teaching a language efficiently so that students may remember better by effectively storing new language information into long-term memory. I will discuss the strategies of creating mental linkages and word-meaning maps in the language learners’ memory system as an aid for students to retrieve that information at the moment that it is needed. In this round table presentation, I will share some techniques such as obtaining and retrieving information via sounds, as well as creating a mental picture of the word itself, body movement while retaining a new language knowledge, and mechanical means such as flashcards. Hand-outs will be provided for attendees.

Author

• Malihe Eshghavi, University of San Francisco