Anthony Metivier's Blog, page 5

How Many Languages Can You Learn at Once? A Shocking Answer

Some people claim that the number of languages you can learn at the same time is unlimited.

Of course they do. They own a language learning software company!

But the fact of the matter is you can’t learn an unlimited number of languages at the same time.

Think about it:

There are only 24 hours in a day. A huge chunk of them are devoted to sleeping, eating, working and other forms of self care.

Worse, a lot of articles claim that it all depends on your motivation.

This is problematic because top performers simply do not rely on motivation.

You might find this surprising, but motivation rarely works. Certainly not on its own. Other strategies are needed in order for even the best performers to take consistent action.

So let’s bring this discussion back down to earth and bring clarity to this question.

The answer will not only help you, but it’s incredibly interesting too!

https://youtu.be/sTdYWJIUPfg

How Many Languages Can You Learn at Once (Realistically)?

The truth is that most people can barely find time, focus and energy to learn one language at a time.

And there’s no shame in this. None whatsoever.

When I was in grad school and needed to learn Biblical Hebrew as part of my Phd, that was the only language I studied. Period.

Later, when I was in Germany, I focused solely on acquiring German.

The only times I’ve studied more than one language at the same time were after I knew how to learn languages in the first place.

Only then did I focus strategically on learning more than one language at the same time.

Why Children Can Learn Multiple Languages on Autopilot

Now, you may have heard that children can learn multiple languages with ease.

This is true to a certain extent. For one thing, kids are very good at learning out of context. In other words, they’re not looking for the meaning in everything. They’re just observing and absorbing without the contextual judgments adults have been trained to make.

And here’s the problem with that: As mature individuals, we often have misconceptions about our adult learning styles and even how to create or optimize a proper learning cycle.

So if one thing is true, it’s that children tend to enjoy high levels of access to what some scientists call “socially contingent partners.” These are people willing to not only correct children as they learn languages, but to do so with reasonable accuracy.

In other words, this means that children can only pick up languages relative to their access to socially contingent partners.

In Germany, some kindergartens will speak up to three languages at once. Many experts think three languages at once is the sweet spot in order to provide enough access to socially contingent partners. But three languages offered in one kindergarten was still relatively rare as of 2014.

Language Learners Should Not Compare Themselves To Children

Although it’s tempting to think that children are exceptionally good at learning languages, this isn’t really true. Yes, they’re good at picking things up without them needing to be contextually related.

But think about it:

A shockingly high level of kids cannot write grammatically correct sentences even after graduating from high school. And in order to pick up another language, studies have shown that they would need lots of writing practice in each language under instruction in order to develop meaningful fluency in the language.

This means that kids are just as time-strapped as adults. All the more reason to teach the young learners in your family all about mnemonics.

How Many Languages Should You Learn at Once in Light of This?

But the reality is that most of us will need to focus on one language at a time. Then, once we have developed the meta-skills involved in learning new languages, we will want to focus on learning 2-3 maximum at any given time.

And it can really help if you choose languages that are close, such as Spanish and French. It’s especially enjoyable to learn languages using Netflix and other streaming services when the languages share parallels.

Even better, you can use tactics like the Memory Palace technique to help, especially once you have an accurate understanding of how many words you need to learn.

There’s also the Memory Palace specifically for language learning to check out.

Is It Possible To Learn Every Language? 

Theoretically, yes. Given enough time and access to socially contingent partners who can correct your mistakes

But we face limited time. And we also face the fact that many languages simply aren’t in use at all. Many others are used by such small numbers of people that accessing qualified learners will be a challenge.

Of course, limited access to teachers shouldn’t discourage you whatsoever.

For example, the Ancient Language Institute does great work in providing you with experts who can help you in a variety of languages. Likewise, there are classes available in Sanskrit, Classical Chinese and Navajo.

How Many Languages Can One Person Learn?

Here’s the great news:

Many people exist who have learned 20 or more languages.

Steve Kaufman is one example. And he’s frank about how he spent his time in order to make this happen. (Hint: It’s pretty much the same as the suggestions given above.)

Of course, he had a head start with some early bilingual experiences. He’s also been at it for over 50 years, but didn’t start on his 9th language until he was 60. It’s also important to know that he created and represents a language learning site, so it is a professional focus. 

In other words, don’t pressure yourself to learn a language overnight! Kaufman didn’t and his background and interests propel him in ways that many people won’t have. Remember: Motivation is not to be relied upon – at least not entirely.

The Alternative To Motivation When Learning Multiple Languages

If motivation isn’t the key, what is?

Systems and goals.

I know that my approach to language learning without motivation is controversial. But think through the logic.

Rather than waiting to feel motivated, create a learning system that involves regular exposure to not only the languages you want to learn, but also the people who can help you.

Make lots of mistakes.

And use the Big Five of Language Learning:

ReadingWritingListeningSpeakingMemorizing

My speciality is helping people memorize words and phrases. 

If you’d like to learn more about how memory techniques can help, check out my FREE Memory Improvement Kit:

It’s not exactly a magic bullet, but it has always made the process much more fun and engaging for me.

Plus, it’s easy to use it systematically and learn vocabulary and phrases much faster while doing the ample amounts of reading, writing and listening needed to make progress.

So what do you say?

Are you reading to stretch how many languages you can learn at once? Rest assured that once your first language is under your belt, it gets so much easier from then on in. You just have to follow the goal-based systems many before you have used.

And that’s not rocket science, especially when you realize that adults have been providing kids with those goals and systems for a very long time.

Because adults know how to do that for themselves, with a bit of thought and consistency, learning any language much faster than the years kids put into it will be a breeze.

Does the Pimsleur Method Really Work? A Little, And Here’s Why

Paul Pimsleur wanted language learning to be fun, interesting and engaging.

He spent much of his career finding ways to make language learning keep the attention of students without them needing to refer to a dictionary.

To do this, he focused extensively on the specific words and phrases his various programs involved.

He also included a variety of spaced repetition elements within short learning sessions.

We talk about shrinking attention spans now, but even back in 1972, one of his books suggests that students of that era could not focus on a paragraph with more than 200-300 words in it.

Since very little has changed for better or worse, many people still seek out and try the Pimsleur approach.

But what is it exactly?

And how can you know in advance if a Pimsleur language program will work for you?

Good news:

In this Pimsleur review, I’m going to share my experiences with it as a learning and memory expert.

I’ll tell you why parts of his approach work and how to enhance those parts.

That way, if you’re going in cold, you can hit the ground running.

And if you already have a bunch of Pimsleur books or audio recordings kicking around, you’ll now be able to get much more out of them.

Ready?

Let’d dive in.

https://youtu.be/ROCC8iJKxYw

What Is The Pimsleur Method?

The Pimsleur Method accomplishes a few things at the same time:

Introduction to new vocabulary and phrasesListening and comprehension practiceVoluntary speaking practiceExposure to passive, irregular spaced repetitionA relatively weak invitation to voluntarily use active recall

Having read a few of Dr. Paul Pimsleur’s textbooks, I feel that he was a credible educational innovator. There’s some real genius in what he put together, even if it has several weaknesses.

The main weaknesses have to do with a combination of user error and “faults” common to all self-study programs:

The individual has to bring their own personal volition and mental strength to get through the lessons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulEmB...

So whether you’re using one of the now dated Pimsleur textbooks (like the ones he made for Spanish and French) or an audio program, here’s the first thing to consider:

Are you mentally stimulated by reading books on your own or listening to audio programs in a quiet study place where you won’t be disturbed?

These are important considerations because that’s what the Pimsleur approach is:

A technique that involves you studying from a book or an audio program on your own. You listen by yourself and repeat words and phrases based on a kind of mix of spaced repetition and context dependent memory exercise.

This means that you could become quite good at “playing the game” while listening to the recordings and responding. But you won’t necessarily be able to read or speak the language in a real life situation.

And if you’re a learner who needs interaction with others, Pimsleur risks being incredibly boring.

But for what it is, the approach is definitely legitimate. It’s just not something that’s going to help you develop fluency for reasons we’ll discuss in a minute.

How Does the Pimsleur Method Help You Learn a Language?

The answer is that the Pimsleur Method doesn’t help you learn a language at all. And it can’t.

It’s especially weak in some cases because it’s almost purely auditory. Even if you go through the guidebook, it won’t help you learn the hiragana or katakana, for example.

It’s also weak because if you aren’t aware of how to supercharge it with mnemonics, you’ll quickly fall into rote learning.

But don’t give up hope because it can help you develop some basic vocabulary and pattern recognition quickly.

Let me share an episode from when I first started learning Chinese to show how specifically it helped me.

Instead of expecting the Pimsleur program in Mandarin to help make me fluent, I used it for some basic vocabulary and phrases. That realistic mindset is key: I approached it as a tool, not a magic bullet.

While listening, I actively engaged with the audio material by writing down a version of what I was hearing. Then, without resorting to Anki or flashcards, I memorized the material using a Memory Palace.

I next wrote out what I memorized from memory and took the material into lessons with language tutors I found using some of the best language learning software.

And yes, the Pimsleur Method helped me quite a bit as a source for some basic familiarity with Chinese. I previously used it this way for German too.

The Pimsleur Method vs Other Auditory Memory Techniques

This question is easy to answer:

Most Pimsleur programs are dated. They often give you phrases in situations that are much less relevant in the 21st century than when they were recorded.

This isn’t a total deal breaker. But Olly Richards has been doing amazing work by creating audio programs to accompany story-based language learning books that are very up-to-date with contemporary issues.

Benny Lewis has likewise been proactive in making sure his language learning materials include phrases that relate to modern situations.

Frankly, the datedness doesn’t devalue the Pimsleur Method that much. But it does make context a big issue that may discourage you because you’ll often meet native speakers who will tell you, “we don’t say it that way anymore.”

Plus, even for the words and phrases that are good, you’ll still need to use the Big Five of Language Learning no matter which audio source or reading textbook you use.

The Big Five of Language Learning is essential. It gives you a balance of all the activities needed to develop fluency in a language.

You’ll learn how to balance them all effectively in this tutorial on how to learn a new language fast.

The Pimsleur Method vs Other Memorization Methods

Technically, Pimsleur is not a memorization method. It’s not even a memory technique.

As Pimsleur wrote in Sol y Sombra, one of his still perfectly useful textbooks for learning Spanish, his goal is to help learners:

Increase active vocabulary knowledgePractice grammatical structuresExercise comprehensionPractice speaking and writing

Although each of these things provide memory exercise, the approach is not mnemonic in the sense we mean in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

Don’t get me wrong. Pimsleur’s approach is effective. It’s just not a mnemonic strategy because it doesn’t involve elaborative encoding.

Having short study sessions and spaced repetition does involve some chunking, however.

But if you do want a memorization-based language learning strategy, here’s what I suggest:

One: Develop Memory Palaces

Memory Palaces are useful in language learning for a few reasons. And they’re becoming increasingly popular since 3x World Memory Champion Alex Mullen and Mandarin Blueprint arrived on the scene.

Then you have my students like Sunil Khatri and Kevin Richardson, amongst many others, who have crushed their language learning goals thanks to this simple ancient memory technique.

This pre-numbered Memory Palace example shows you how I prepared to memorize the Atma Bodha in full. I know the text and the number of each verse in an ancient Sanskrit text thanks to my favorite memory technique.

So what is it and how does it work for learning a language?

Basically, you associate words you’re learning with familiar locations. Instead of passively listening to the Pimsleur material, you mentally translate those words and phrases and “place” them in a bedroom or on a living room couch.

Two: Use Highly Memorable Associations

For example, when I first started learning Chinese, I used Pimsleur in combination with a library in Berlin.

The first sentence was, “Do you speak…?”

I created a mental image, something like Bruce Lee kneeing Hemingway with his shoes.

This translated easily into, “Nǐ huì shuō…”

From there, you just add more images to learn an entire phrase.

Three: Recall Strategically

As mentioned in the video above, I wrote out what I memorized from memory. This exercised my memory through active recall.

Pimsleur certainly prompts you to recall the information, but because it involves no memory training elements, you don’t form memories as quickly as you could.

And again, if you’re recalling only in the presence of a recording, you might do okay in that context. But it’s actually conditioning you to not be able to recall nearly as well in real life situations. You need to also practice recalling what you’re memorized with native speakers.

Four: Dictionary Sourcing

As much as I admire many of Dr. Pimsleur’s innovations, I feel that one of his motivations was patently false.

So many language learning gurus seem to think that students should not be using dictionaries.

I find this incredibly strange because dictionaries are sources of words and meanings. Why would you want to avoid them when you’re learning a language?

Not only that, but when you don’t know what a word means in your mother tongue, the dictionary is precisely where you go. Plus, if you want a variation on a word, you go to a thesaurus.

So the prohibition or deviation from using dictionaries strikes me as utterly false. Using a Memory Palace Network in combination with a dictionary is incredibly useful. I also sometimes use mind mapping in language learning in combination with dictionaries, especially for tough words.

Even though I’ve trained myself to become something like a walking mnemonics dictionary, for whatever reason some words still evade even my many years of practice using the Magnetic Memory Method approach to mental imagery.

The point is ultimately moot no matter which way you look at it. Olly Richards’ books always come with a kind of mini-dictionary with key words in what you’re about to read or listen to.

This kind of dictionary-esque feature has been with us at least since Wheelock’s Latin. And it’s this feature that makes Olly’s books amongst the best language learning books in existence.

In a word, dictionaries work when you want to memorize the vocabulary of any language. Take advantage of them!

So, Does the Pimsleur Method Really Work?

As I hope you’ve discovered in this article, I think “Does Pimsleur work?” is the wrong question.

Pimsleur can be a useful part of learning any language.

But there’s no such thing as one source when it comes to learning any language. You need to combine a number of approaches.

And if you’re willing to book enough sessions with language learning partners, you could potentially skip it altogether. Frankly, there are so many free sources of words and phrases from so many languages these days, you don’t really need to invest in an old recorded program that this company has transferred to MP3s.

And that’s ultimately its biggest failing.

It has “crystallized” how a handful of native speakers pronounce the language. What you really need is exposure to a variety of speakers, which these days can be accessed easily within your Netflix account.

Plus, you need feedback from native speakers, especially when it comes to sharpening your verbal memory for sounds and meanings.

So although I’ve used the program twice for German and Mandarin, I learned far more by following the Big Five and spending time with native speakers based on memorization.

And if you’d like to know more about using a Memory Palace to commit mounds of vocabulary and phrases to memory quickly, grab this FREE Memory Improvement Kit:

It will help you rapidly commit essential words and phrases to memory from any source.

So what do you think?

Do you like the Pimsleur concept yourself?

Or are you ready to update your approach for the 21st century with the most scientific and direct language learning methods available to you at a very low cost?

Mnemonic Devices: How to Use Them to Remember Anything (with Mnemonic Examples)

Instantly memorizing what you need to know is the ultimate dream for many people.

But for many, their inability to remember anything is the ultimate nightmare.

One reason people struggle is that there are so many terms. It can be confusing.

But the facts are that anyone can use mnemonic devices to learn faster and remember more. You just have to find the approach that works best for you.

Here’s what this post will cover:

What Is A Mnemonic Device?
Mnemonic Devices Examples
– Personally Created Flashcards
– Acronyms
– The Memory Palace Technique
– Associative Imagery, Linking, and Pegwords
– Story Method
– Major System and Dominic System
– 00-99 PAO
– Mind Maps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZkMC...

So if you’re ready to dive in, let’s get started with…

What Are Mnemonic Devices?

The best mnemonic device definition we can start with is this:

Anything that helps you remember better is a mnemonic.

Even the dictionary says that mnemonic devices are anything: “assisting or intended to assist the memory.”

For that reason, it’s a highly adaptable term that works as an umbrella to cover a wide range of activities including:

Personally created flashcardsAcronymsMemory Palaces (sometimes called a Mind Palace, the Method of Loci, Journey Method, or Roman Room)Associative imagery, linking, and pegwordsStory methodMajor System or Dominic System00-99 PAOMind Maps… and more

Given this adaptability, it’s little wonder there’s so much confusion over the term.

But here’s what I’d like you to notice:

None of these are really “devices.” They are processes.

As memory expert David Berglass made clear in A Question of Memory, memory is not a unitary mechanism or a “thing.” It is a behavior.

And that is how you use mnemonic devices. You understand them as processes and then you sprinkle them into your life so they become part of your behavior.

Let me make that more concrete:

When I gave a TEDx presentation, I not only memorized my talk — on that day, I memorized all the names of the people I met. I used a wide variety of techniques (see how to memorize a speech) and chose the specific mnemonic devices I used based on the circumstances.

With practice, using mnemonic devices happens almost on autopilot!

Yours Free: A Private Course With Cheat Sheets For Becoming A Memory Master, Starting From Scratch.

>>> Click Here For This Special Free Offer.Mnemonic Devices Examples

Let’s dig a little deeper using our list of mnemonic examples above.

Personally Created Flashcards

My friend and language learning expert Gabriel Wyner inspired me to give these a try after reading his book, Fluent Forever.

Basically, instead of downloading software put together by a stranger, get some paper and colored pens. (Obviously, you also have all the information you want to memorize organized too.)

Next, use the paper and colors to help you create images. These images should remind you of the target information you want to recall.

Flashcards as mnemonic devices for Chinese characters

Now, there’s a whole lot more going on in this example, so please keep it in mind. I’ll go deeper into it later in this post.

For now, if you’re worried about having a bunch of cards flying all over the place, don’t be. You can wrap them up in a Memory Palace drawing just like this:

I used simple and elegant combinations of mnemonic devices to pass level III in Mandarin last year

Next, let’s look at how abbreviations can help.

Acronyms

Have you ever asked… what is it called when you use letters to remember words? As usual, there’s no one answer, but the first method is called an acronym.

For example, when I teach memory improvement in a live setting, I usually talk about how following the rules will set you F.R.E.E.

“Free” is a word that helps me remember the meta-rules students need to make learning with memory techniques easy and fun:

Frequent practice in a state of…
Relaxation and a spirit of…
Experimentation so that you can be…
Entertained

Just follow those rules as you use mnemonic devices and you will truly be free to memorize as much as you want.

The best part?

You can lay out acronyms inside of a Memory Palace.

The Memory Palace Technique

The Memory Palace is an ancient technique. It essentially involves using space as a mnemonic device.

You do this by thinking about a familiar location. Then, you chart out a logical journey that does not take energy from your memory. If you have to memorize the journey, it is not a good Memory Palace, so pick something else.

For example, I visited a bookstore in Zamalek, a part of Cairo, Egypt. To keep it simple, I used only the parts of the bookstore I remembered.

To help my brain reduce the cognitive load even further, I made a quick drawing of the space:

A Memory Palace drawn on an index card to maximize its value as a mnemonic device

Notice I’ve actually drawn the Memory Palace on an index card (or flashcard). I do this because it makes it easy to store many of them for quick reference if I ever need them.

I also write down the number of stations and name them. I find this helps me “set and forget” the Memory Palace and ensure I’ve gotten it right the first time.

I believe scientists call this kind of activity a means of harnessing the levels of processing effect.

Yours Free: A Private Course With Cheat Sheets For Becoming A Memory Master, Starting From Scratch.

>>> Click Here For This Special Free Offer.Associative Imagery, Linking, and Pegwords

Inside of these Memory Palaces, place a list of mnemonics you create. These will be a kind of mnemonic that are multi-sensory.

For example, think back to that first image I shared above with the flashcards for Chinese. Those colorful drawings help me remember the sound and the meaning of the Mandarin words.

But those mental images aren’t just on the flashcards! They’re also mentally situated on stations in the Memory Palaces I use.

(Some people call these stations “loci.” It’s basically the same thing, but “Magnetic Station” is my preferred term because recent advancements make them much more powerful than the ancient teachings suggest.)

To make such imagery, you will want to complete a number of exercises.

For example, go through the alphabet and think of an image for each letter. The pegword method is a great way to explore this technique further.

If you’re really serious about mastering the Memory Palace technique, you can explore having an image on each and every station.

For example, when I memorize cards, I always have images on the stations to help me “trigger” the row of cards I’ll be placing and later recalling on a Magnetic Station.

Basically, what I’m talking about is multiple levels of linking all at once. Some people talk about the linking method in a very weak way, that amounts to just “this links to that.” I don’t find that approach is strong enough.

What most of us need is for our association imagery to combine:

Sound and meaning links at the granular level of the alphabetMulti-sensory links that are concrete and specific, not vague and abstractTied tightly to space so that we are working from the foundations of the strongest level of memory: spatial memory

Furthermore, the real trick with these associative images is that they must:

Actually associate in a way that triggers what you want to memorize (for example, the barber symbol I used on the card above triggers the ‘ba’ sound).Help you get back the meaning of the content (where relevant).Have a Memory Palace so you can mentally “find” the imagery. Some people don’t need the Memory Palace, but in my experience, they are few and far between.

And when you think about what mnemonic devices mean more holistically, each card is a kind of station in a Memory Palace.

Story Method

Using a story (with or without a Memory Palace) is not much different than using, links pegs or associations. The only difference is that with the story method you’re adding the extra step of creating a narrative.

For example, let’s say you want to memorize a list of names at an event:

Haley
Allan
Sharon
Andrew
Edward
Angela
Sam

If you were using pegs, you would look at “h” when seeing Haley and associate her with something like Halley’s comet or a hat. Allan could be associated with an Allen key.

You can also spontaneously produce associations or have stock characters. For example, every Sharon could be Sharon Osbourne.

The story method, on the other hand, requires us to add a narrative to the association, such as:

Halley’s comet is crashing into an Allan key in the hands of Sharon who finds it burning hot and hands it to Andrew.

The story method can possibly be used without a Memory Palace. However, stories have parts. And those parts exist somewhere in your brain which means they are inherently spatially located.

I think you’ll find it a lot less mentally taxing to lay out any narrative elements you use in a Memory Palace.

Another way to approach the story method is to use a movie or novel plot you know well.

For example, let’s say you have mentally reduced The Matrix series down to three scenes: the hotel, the desert of the real, and Neo’s cabin on Morpheus’ ship.

For the first piece of information you want to remember, you would use the first room and perhaps Trinity doing her flying kick. Then you would move on to the next location for the next piece of information.

This example shows how stories are always spatial in nature from another angle… after all, if they don’t take place somewhere… how can they be stories?

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong to this application. It basically comes down to your level of skill, the context, and the nature of the information.

I personally would not add a story step while memorizing names in a live setting — and tend to create my associations on the fly rather than draw upon stock images. But if a stock image makes sense, I’ll certainly use it.

Major System and Dominic System

When it comes to associative imagery, the alphabet is a great tool. But it can also be mixed with numbers.

The Major System (often called the Major Method) helps you associate a consonant with each digit from 0-9. This mnemonic device has been in use since the Katapayadi of ancient India.

A more common approach that has been in use since the 1700s looks like this:

A more recent innovation is the Dominic System. It has some key differences, so make sure to study both.

00-99 PAO

PAO stands for Person, Action, Object. Basically, you’re taking the Major System and using it to help you make words from numbers.

Here are some examples from mine:

01 – Sad (tragedy mask)
02 – Sun (from the movie Sunshine)
31 – Mad Magazine mascot (often dressed as a maid)

Notice that I’ve put some concrete indicators in parentheses. This is because “sad” is not very evocative. It’s just a concept.

But when I think of a tragedy mask, it still links to the concept of sadness. To make it even more specific, I think of the tragedy mask worn by William Shatner in Oedipus Rex.

Mind Maps

Tony Buzan is one of the greatest innovators of mind mapping, but he says in Mind Map Mastery that he abandoned this technique for improving memory back in the 70s.

He focused more on using keywords that help with creativity, problem-solving, and planning.

I feel that the conclusion to remove their use as a memorization tool was premature. If you would like to learn how to combine mind maps with Memory Palaces, for example, here’s a simple way to also add in the Major System for incredible results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIhHK...

As you can see, it’s fun to mix keywords with the Major Method on paper in a way that turns the mind map into a simple Memory Palace.

And this is really just the beginning when it comes to learning how to remember things.

It’s not just that there are a TON of mnemonic devices to choose from. It’s that we get to delight in how they can be mixed and matched in so many ways.

I Love Using A Combination Of Mnemonic Strategies — How About You?

We’re incredibly lucky.

Although it can be confusing, the Internet has enabled dozens of memory competitors, memory athletes, and plain ol’ memory fanatics like me to create tons of free content for the world.

Even though it’s easy to get lost in the intricacies, remember: Memory is not a thing. It is a behavior.

Dive into each of the approaches you learned today.

Really dig deep into their nuances through practice.

Let me know if you found this guide helpful and comment below. If there are mnemonic devices I missed, please share it so I can update this post. All of us will be eternally grateful.

And if you want to learn more about how to make the most of your new mnemonic strategies using a Memory Palace, pick up your free copy of the memory improvement kit today!

From Cardiac Arrest to Fearless Bible Memory Before the Congregation

Have you ever wanted to memorize Psalms from the Bible?

Or that matter, any verbatim text?

If so, delve into the extraordinary story and memory tips gifted to us today by Matt Barclay.

I mean, get this:

Matt experienced challenging memory issues following a cardiac arrest.

Yet, using the Magnetic Memory Method, he recited almost an entire Psalm from memory!

In public. Without breaking a sweat.

Matt’s triumph is a true testament to the power of resilience, memory techniques, faith and using the Memory Palace to accomplish big goals

Especially inspiring is how Matt rose up from the cognitive challenges created by a cardiac arrest to become a fearless master of Bible memory.

This episode of the Magnetic Memory Method combines heartfelt conversation and strategic analysis of Matt approaches memorizing scripture.

Listen in as Matt shares his profound insights, guiding us through the intricate process of harnessing the mind’s potential to recall and recite scripture with unwavering confidence.

Prepare to be moved and inspired. Matt’s incredible journey exemplifies the unyielding power of the human spirit and the triumph of action over adversity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiY58...

How Matt Barclay Memorized So Much Of The Bible, So Quickly

Here’s the good news:

Memorizing scripture is not rocket science.

Far from it.

Whether you want to memorize a short prayer or even long passages to include as part of a memorized presentation, you have options.

As Matt explains in this discussion, he started off using one of many linking-type methods, in this case the one described by Harry Lorayne.

Although linking can be perfectly suitable for short lists, it’s not a particularly strong memory technique for any kind of verbatim text.

That’s when Matt found the Magnetic Memory Method and the Memory Palace solution.

It provides you with a much more flexible mnemonic strategy. You can use it to memorize the books of the Bible, and scripture in any language.

How do I know? Because I’ve memorized a lot of scripture in Sanskrit and a smaller amount in Latin. Here’s a longer Sanskrit demonstration and a detailed case study of memorizing some of the Book of John in Latin.

Even Mike McKinley who felt like he wasn’t using spatial memory still had a component of it in his 66 Psalms memory project.

How To Use A Memory Palace For Biblical Scripture

As Matt discovered, the principles I share in my memory courses really matters.

The key principles boil down to:

Create your Memory Palaces in advanceMake sure you don’t lead yourself into dead endsDon’t burn mental energy on crossing your own pathUse proper mnemonic imagesGear everything toward an effective spaced repetition strategy

For scripture, I also suggest you give yourself a lot of space. One of my longest pieces uses the entire neighborhood you see in the illustration above.

It’s not possible to always predict exactly how much space you might need when you start. So it’s a best practice to design your journey so you can always add more Magnetic Stations if you need them.

There’s a lot more to say in terms of the tactics you can easily learn. So if you want to learn more, check out How to Remember the Bible for additional details.

You can also sign up for my free course:

It will help you master the fundamentals of the Memory Palace quickly.

I hope you enjoyed this impressive and incredibly practical demonstration of memorizing scripture and reciting it from memory.

I’m grateful to Matt for sharing this part of his journey and would love to hear from you if you’re also memorizing the Bible or other verbatim texts.

7 Signs of Genius (& How to Work Towards High Intelligence)

Is it a sign of genius if you sound like a walking encyclopedia during a conversation?

Or are you just annoying?

How about being able to rattle off the names of every political leader in the history of your country? And their key contributions?

Although such abilities might be signs of extreme intelligence, they could indicate something else.

In my view, we need to be careful when throwing around terms like “high intelligence” and “genius.”

Many people tend to have tunnel vision and think of genius as a very narrow repertoire of abilities.

But as you’re about to discover, true signs of a high IQ operate quite differently.

So let’s dive into the most common signs of true genius and pick up some tips on how to improve your intelligence along the way.

What Does It Mean to be a “Genius?”

Ever heard of a “genie in a bottle”? Although the word “genius” is probably not directly related to the Arabic Jinn where this mythical idea comes from, there are similarities between the words.

Our word genius in English descends from the Latin for “guardian deity or spirit which watches over each person from birth.”

It also can mean wit and talent, or even generative power.

And that’s what we usually mean today: a genius has some kind of powerful intelligence or enhanced ability to create something or perform with skill.

The individual might display linguistic intelligence, musical mastery or even draw upon synesthesia or hyperphantasia they have such conditions.

https://youtu.be/p84AmBUl7qo

The Science Behind Finding Signs of Genius

Right or wrong, there’s a lot of folk wisdom around what genius means. The term is thrown around fast and loose and a lot of people get duped into thinking they are less intelligent as a result.

But scientists have spent quite a lot of time and energy trying to nail down where exactly the brain produces intelligence. Einstein’s brain was preserved for study, and reportedly even stolen at one point.

Scientists noted a certain thickness to parts of Einstein’s brain, but this probably had more to do with his deliberate practice of music than physics.

In the 80s, Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda created a watershed of ways to think about how intelligence develops when they dug into the topic in Cerebral Lateralization. These neurologists demonstrated the different ways the left and right hemispheres of the brain develop and theorize why some people have larger right hemispheres than others.

“Reverse Psychology”

Often, scientists need to look at brains that have undergone traumatic brain injury to help them draw conclusions about how different areas of the brain related to intelligence.

That, or they study the brain scans of neurodiverse people experiencing autism, savantism or even a condition called hyperthymestic syndrome that creates the illusion of photographic memory.

It’s important to study these alternative cases because we see a lot of new trends emerging recently. There’s also not really such a thing as a “normal” brain.

The most recent studies of chess players, for example, have shown no special transference of their playing skills to intelligence in other realms. But you’d think there would be, especially when using memory techniques for chess. Aren’t grandmasters trained to make critical decisions?

Yes, but that doesn’t mean they transfer to any other aspect of life. Now that we have more data and better ways of parsing it, earlier conclusions about chess players and enhanced critical thinking abilities are no longer considered true.

In other words, if you want to increase your IQ, it’s helpful to look at many examples and focus your attention on activities that do transfer. And since the ego is involved when trying to improve your intelligence, you’ll need to overcome many critical thinking barriers.

To help you with that, let’s look closer at the different ways our society thinks of genius and “reverse engineer” how we can improve our own minds.

7 Signs of High Intelligence That Could Indicate Genius

As we go through this list, there’s no order of importance to consider.

However, each of the genius traits I’ll cover have something to tell us about how we can make ourselves smarter.

Let’s dive in!

One: Intense Interest

In a 1992 essay, “Why Children Follow in their Parents’ Career Footsteps,” Laband and Lentz pin everything on how kids observe their parents. Social forces like economic potential by going into other fields plays a much smaller role.

Laband and Lentz even argue that genetics isn’t nearly as powerful in determining a child’s future career. This conclusion is different than Francis Galton’s notion of Hereditary Genius. Galton thought genetics was so important, he argued for eugenics.

Want to be a genius?

Forget about nature vs. nurture. If you have an intense interest in something, that’s a sign you could be a genius in that field. Pursue it.

Part of developing higher intelligence comes down to looking your situation in the face, acknowledging it and following your dreams anyway. Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Bruno, Darwin, Tolstoy… all of the great writers, artists, musicians and scientists we hold in high regard hold in common two things:

They had an intense interest in their chosen fieldThey went against all social oppositions stacked against them to pursue their passion

In other words, genius is not a thing. It’s an action and it lies in the choice to pursue your dreams.

If this bold claim makes sense to you, but you still feel stuck, try these mental strength exercises.

Two: Interrogate the Truth

Whereas some people mindlessly join groups like Mensa without taking a second to look at its history and politics, the comedian Jamie Loftus infiltrated their ranks and exposed what’s really going on.

(Spoiler Alert: On the final episode of her podcast, Loftus reveals that members think intelligence is fixed, which science and critical thinking reveals cannot be the case.)

You don’t have to do this kind of immersion journalism yourself to develop higher intelligence. The point is to poke around. Ask philosophical questions. Don’t take things at face value.

Asking questions is one of the smartest things you can do. Who knows? You might find tremendous value in a self-described “high-iq” group like Mensa. But you might also wonder why, if they’re so intelligent, they need to take down their critics as they did to popular YouTuber, Flammable Maths?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM-pV...

Wouldn’t such high IQ people use their intelligence to tackle anything they found uncouth in such social commentary in a more distinguished way?

In reality, there are all kinds of people who want to teach you how to be smarter. A lot of them rely on you to be naive and won’t help you interrogate the truth.

As someone in this business myself, I still find the depths to which certain charlatans will go  shocking.

And with AI helping people scan websites and “memory hole” any criticism of their business interests, being willing to interrogate the truth (and admit any wrongs along the way) is one of the biggest signs of genius out there.

Three: Slow Logic, Not “Speed Rationality”

Humans are computing machines. Information comes in, our brains examine the symbols and we spit out a response.

Our ancestors noticed this and early on in history tried to help us slow down. For example, Ramon Llull developed memory wheels for improved critical thinking and enhanced memory.

A 90 BCE book called Rhetorica Ad Herennium helped speakers use logic and reason better, especially in court. Instead of rapid fire responses a debater might regret, this book helps you think structurally through how arguments work. When you respond, you use structure to explain and validate your point.

Our world is filled with people who sound smart, but they’re just computing quickly. It’s word salad, not genius.

Look for people who consider their thoughts, speak in measured tones and work on doing so yourself.

Four: Courage For The Unorthodox

I believe we all have some kind of attraction to “weird” and unconventional ideas.

But often we suppress them out of fear that we’ll be judged.

When you use the slow rationality tip I’ve just shared, however, you can be interested in even the strangest things and explain yourself in a way the endears you to the masses.

Look at Stephen King. Sure, he’s got his detractors. But overall, he’s into some dark and bizarre stuff. And he sells millions of books, millions of people watch movies based on them and his interviews on YouTube rank in the millions of views.

All because he has the courage to lean into strange and unorthodox ideas.

Five: Embrace Mistakes

Learning involves taking on chaos. You find structure and paths along the way by shining light into the darkness.

So many people email me that they’re afraid of making mistakes. Or they display an unrealistic need to understand the Memory Palace technique I teach “correctly” the first time they use it.

Avoiding mistakes is not only impossible. It’s not even desirable. Every learning cycle needs errors.

Geniuses also need to run into learning plateaus. And to overcome them, the best memory athletes we have use reflective thinking and journaling. Memory athletes like Johannes Mallow use journaling in a particular way to identify errors and weak spots in order to fix them.

Six: Teach Yourself

In Genius: A Very Short Introduction, Andrew Robinson quotes the 19th century polymath Thomas Young.

After studying at three of the most famous universities in the world, Young concluded:

Whoever would arrive at excellence must be self-taught.

Part of Young’s critique of the universities involved the quality of the students. He observed that people seemed to go to school to be motivated by outside factors

But the way you can find your inner genius is to find motivation within yourself. Once you’ve done that, there’s more information on the Internet than ever before. As Scott Young has demonstrated, it’s possible to get degrees at major universities without attending them. He calls his self-study process, “Ultralearning.”

Seven: Control Your Environment

So many people fail to experience the full potential of the genius they already have because they cram or study in highly distracting environments.

I used to study on the bus all the time myself, but it was never ideal. By doing some self-analysis and structuring my time, I quickly worked out the best places to study.

With a bit of scheduling and clever positioning of your body in front of the most important books, anyone can read faster.

When you’re able to reduce distractions, your focus and concentration will automatically go up. As Harry Lorayne pointed out many times during his career, memory starts with attention. So enable yourself to pay focused attention and your genius will automatically go up.

Examples of geniuses who controlled their environment? Einstein in the sciences, just about every artist and philosopher and most students with an edge.

And it’s not just about learning. People with military and martial arts skills are also highly attuned to their environment, and their skills involve and connect with memory and multiple intelligences too.

In fact, one major skill is the skill of being able to learn new skills quickly. That way, you’re able to take your current level of genius and compound it. You can do this through habit stacking or the kind of study program I suggest in Read with Momentum.

Powerful Ways To Improve Your Memory and Raise Your IQ

Now that you’ve discovered the signs of high intelligence and learned how to model them, let’s get into a few practical tricks of the trade.

Practice each of these and you’ll find your smarts soaring.

To master each, all you need to do is start putting them into practice. And now you now all about controlling your time, environment and shutting out anyone who thinks what you’re doing is unorthodox. (Or at least not letting them shut you down.)

Master Your Memory

It’s essential to improve your memory. There are many techniques you can pursue, and here are some of the best:

Method of lociMajor SystemPAO SystemNumber Rhyme

Don’t worry if exploring these ancient memory techniques makes you feel like a kid again.

That’s another major sign of genius: the ability to play!

Explore Unconventional Learning Techniques

Accelerated learning has so much to offer, even if some of the techniques need a bit of time to explore.

I’m thinking specifically of tactics like:

Mind mappingEnhanced note takingMagnetizing your flash cardsEnhancing AnkiAdvanced spaced repetitionUsing Zettelkasten

The techniques I’ve just listed are used by people keen to use strategic thinking and develop long-term vision. They help formulate big picture overviews and map the territory needed to achieve big goals.

Not only that, but it creates the confidence needed to step into the unknown.

It’s not that geniuses are unafraid. It’s that they temper the fear with robust learning tactics. That way, they can feel nervous and take action anyway.

Nurture Curiosity & Creativity

Someone emailed me recently that he turned one of my many personal mantras into a desktop image on his computer:

Action reveals, Stasis Conceals

I love that this subscriber to my teaching sent this because he has embedded a sign of genius onto a surface he sees every day.

It’s a genius move itself. Memory is a miraculous thing, and well worth training. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t create cues.

In fact, the science of context dependent memory strongly suggests that we should make wisdom as visible to ourselves as possible.

Using signs that remind us to operate as our highest possible selves is another form of environmental control. Reminders like these help you continue to be curious and take action on your inherent thirst for knowledge.

It will help you continually take action that introduces and re-introduces you to your unique brilliance.

Embrace Your Genius Traits

Tony Buzan used to say that we are all born genius artists and scientists.

Conditioning through observing our parents, teachers and co-workers beats it out of many of us.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You can spot the signs of genius already within you by making a plan right now to start playing more freely and more scientifically with your interests.

Make an unwavering commitment to excellence, but don’t fall prey to perfectionism. Unlock your extraordinary potential by studying more about what you’ve read here today, but not to the point of information overwhelm.

Also make sure that you take action on the suggestions you’ve just encountered. And if you need help with the memory improvement part, get my free memory course now:

Remember: Action reveals.

And so much of genius and higher intelligence is in the action. If not all of it.

How To Memorize Spanish Sentences Fast: 4 Tips to Memorize Spanish Vocabulary

You’re standing in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open. You know you’re not hungry, but for some reason you’re staring inside. You think to yourself, “What was the reason again I’m here?”

But nothing comes. Your mind is blank. You can’t remember why you went into the kitchen at. “Curse this short term memory of mine!” you say. “If only I had a better memory…”

Do You Make This Epic Mistake About Your Memory?

Many people give up on trying to learn a foreign language because they have this notion that they don’t have the memory for all of the vocabulary words involved. We’re here to dispel that myth.

Many believe a strong memory is something you are either born with, or are lacking and are doomed for all of eternity.

People watch the World Memory Championships and think “Man … I could never be like that”.

The truth is, improving your memory is a coachable skill that like any coachable skill, can be improved upon by proper training. We’re not talking about training through rote memory, which is simply the process of memorizing through repetition. We’re talking about the use of Mnemonics.

How To Understand Why You Remember Some Spanish Words And Forget Others

Before defining mnemonics, let’s try and understand why we remember certain things, and forget others.

Thanks to your inborn cognitive abilities, your mind takes in information through any of our five senses during the day. It has the chance to accept or reject thousands of stimuli at any given point. Right now, while you are sitting and reading this article, pay attention to all of the external stimuli to which your mind can pay attention.

Where are you? What are you staring at? How do you feel? Are your shoes too tight? Do you smell anything? Are your taste buds still active from the last meal you had?

In order retain that which is important, the mind needs to filter out that which is not.

This point brings us back to our earlier question:

Why do we pay attention to some items while discarding others? The answer lies in the significance that we place on the external stimuli.

The Blazingly Obvious Truth About Organizing New Spanish Words In Your Mind

What did the 13th person you saw today look like?

Can’t remember?

What if you saw a clown walk by you today holding 6 puppies while crossing the street. Would you remember that?

I bet you’d remember that not only today, but for many years to come. Why? Because it was a unique experience to which you attached significance.

Training your mind to remember anything at any given time is a simple task once you are prepared to attached significance to the item you are trying to remember.

Here’s a quick question:

What is easier to navigate?

A large filing cabinet with forty index cards containing one word on each of them, randomly dispersed in the cabinet. Or a small filing cabinet with 1,000 index cards containing one word on each of them, each set up alphabetically?

The key to training your mind to memorize any content is to attach significance to each item and organize the information in your brain effectively. While there are many ways to train your mind to do so, we are going to focus on association.

Big yellow balloon. What are the first thoughts that come to your head? Birthday party? Children? Celebration? The mind is constantly associating new information with information we are already familiar with. The key to organizing information in your brain effectively is to use association to link items together.

Rubber band, keychain, eraser, river, drum, jelly, magic wand, mud, dart, ice cube.

How To Take Charge Of Information Using Linking And Stories

How can we apply what we just learned to remember the items listed above?

Let’s start with associating and linking the first two items to each other.

Now, we could just imagine a rubber band on a keychain, but remember, in order to remember something we need to make it unique.

Add some significance to it. A rubber band on a keychain is too ordinary for us to find any uniqueness  and attach significance to it.

What if we imagine shooting a rubber band and it landing in someone’s pocket, attaching to their keychain. That would be a unique event that you would probably remember, would you not?

Now what if we took that keychain, and imagined getting rid of it entirely by erasing it with an eraser? and what if the friction from rubbing the eraser was so strong that your hand caught fire, and you had to put it out in a river?

But while you were in the river, someone threw you what was supposed to be a lifeboat but was instead a drum? So you took some jelly, but rather than sliding the drum off of you with it( that would be too plain), you broke off a piece of the drum and made a drum and jelly sandwich?

And as you did that, you got some jelly stuck in your teeth and had to use a magic wand to pick the jelly out.

Now, instead of picking the jelly out, you just turned it from jelly to mud. So you asked a friend to throw a dart at the speck of mud in between your teeth. When your friend threw the dart, he hit a bullseye right on your teeth, and out popped an ice cube.

See if you could recall the story, starting from the rubber band.

Alert, Alert: How To Take Charge Of Unruly Spanish Vocabulary

Now, what if the word is difficult to picture in your mind, like the word “magnificent?” What if we broke down the word magnificent to words that sounded similar, like “magnify” and “cent?” Now when we hear the word magnificent we could think of a cent under a magnifying glass, maybe catching fire from the sun.

The same holds true for words in another language!

Let’s now try memorizing 5 key phrases in Spanish:

In order to remember buenos dias, we can imagine booing Carmen Diaz after she walks out of her house with a poor nose job, and says good morning. To remember mucho gusto, we can imagine meeting a goose and smooching its toe as a nice gesture.

To remember cómo estás, we can imagine combing a stack of pennies (or anything for that matter), and responding that we have been very busy combing when someone asks us “How are you?”.

To remember me llamo, we can imagine telling someone our name, and then holding a yam in your hand and introducing it as well.

Finally, to remember muy bien, gracias, we can imagine a cow saying “Moo” as you try to stop it from bending over, and the look of grace in its eyes as you save him.

These don’t have to be the examples you use to remember things – the important thing is that you attach significance to these words with your own kookie imagination to help you remember them 1-2-3.

The best part?

You can use these same techniques to learn Spanish and French at the same time. All it takes is a bit of strategy with the mnemonic images you choose.

Stop Forgetting Spanish Phrases Once And For All!

Let’s do a recap of what we learned.

In order to remember something, the mind needs to attach a sense of significance to it. A good way of attaching significance is if something is unique. Once we attach significance to an item that is unique, we need to organize and store it effectively in our mind. A good way to organize data is through association.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to put theory to practice. Think you’re ready for some more Spanish words?

Dive into this free course:

Further Resources

Olly Richards’ Fluent Spanish Academy

How to Memorize 50 Spanish Provinces On Your First Go

Fluent Spanish Academy

German Phrases: The Ultimate How To Learn German Phrases Guide

How I Memorized German Phrases Every Day For A Year

Guest post by Richard Gilzean

Note: What follows is a deconstruction of the steps I took (and continue to take) to improve my German. But rest assured, these same steps will work for memorizing phrases in any language.

Sound good?

Regardless of whether you’ve been learning a second or third language for a while, or just starting out, this approach to memorizing foreign languages will help you.

In the beginning was the Word SENTENCE.

 

You might be wondering: Why learn German phrases and not just individual words?

Good question. The answer is that we all read, write, listen and speak in sentences, or fragments thereof. The sentence is at the core of any language and learning to master the sentence should be considered. Even the most basic language guide book for travelers teach simple German phrases that follow syntax.

Don’t get me wrong. Words are beautiful in their own right. We all should invest in the time to learn what a word means and how to best use it. And this is achieved by working those words into sentences as you work on your bilingualism.

 

How I Built My “Internal GPS” (And You Can Too)

 

Before launching into memorizing my first German phrase, I designed the Memory Palace system that would store them.  I’ve been interested in the art and craft of memory training and self-improvement for a couple of years.  But I only really started to study it closely after coming across Anthony’s book How to Learn and Memorize German Vocabulary which, in turn, led me to the Magnetic Memory Method website.

Recommended resource: The Magnetic Memory Method Masterplan.

Anthony’s approach to teaching anyone how to learn, memorize and recall vocabulary, names, mathematical formulas and pretty much anything that can be memorized is both well-structured and comprehensive. So I’ll just highlight the essential components as they relate to learning languages and all of you who have been following Anthony’s site will be familiar.

Have a store of real locations to house your sentences.Imagine real concrete / tangible objects or people that are creative, vivid, colorful and zany. Therefore, not just an elephant, but a pink pygmy elephant with Dumbo-like ears and with a runny trunk.Schedule time for practice so the sentence can work its way into your long-term memory.

You’ll need to draw from your own personal memory bank a real location in which to store your sentences. It can be a place you know well, like the house you live in, or the place where you grew up that holds its own strong memories. It can be a route you follow regularly, such as a park or your daily commute from home to work.

With a little practice you can come up with more than enough Memory Palaces. While there are some general guidelines about how to make your Memory Palace effective, there is a lot of divergent opinion on how to make best use of your own Memory Palaces because no two thought processes are alike.

Because I knew I would need a large location to hold my expanding sentences, I chose a route that ran from the front door of my house, along the street, through a local park and over to my son’s local primary school – some 400 meters in total.

 

From AA to ZZ: Where I Keep My Memorized German Phrases

 

But before you set off on your journey, you’ll need to figure out your memory anchors. Think of the process like mental orienteering where you go for a jog in your mind along a set trail and arrive at control points along the way.

To help, I created an excel spreadsheet with an index of initials for names of famous people, friends and cartoon characters, running all the way from AA to ZZ. This process took a little time to work through and I made some compromises along the way. In particular, I left out the letters Q – X – Y (just too hard to come up with names).

I ended up with a list of 600 names running from Andre Agassi to the bearded rockers from the band ZZ Top. Six hundred names means, in theory, I am able to memorize at least 600 foreign language sentences.

Running alongside my list of names I also have a separate list of 100 what I refer to as my memory tag words. These words use the well-established mnemonic Major Method which is a technique used to aid in memorizing numbers and has been used in memorize shopping lists, the sequence of a shuffled pack of card and memory competitions. The Major Method works by converting numbers into consonant sounds, then into words by adding vowels.

 

How To Choose Which Phrases To Memorize

 

Armed with my list of 600 names and 100 Major System tag words, I now have the memory anchors in place to hold my German sentences.  I also have the memory route from my house to my son’s primary school. There is a smorgasbord of foreign language sites out there to choose from, but the question is, which phrases should I memorize in order to get the best results for building fluency in German.

I subscribe to the German Flashcards section of a website run by Learn With Oliver for collecting many German phrases. It contains an easy to navigate database of material to assist you in learning several of the most common languages.

The site produces a daily e-letter with a word and phrase of the day, an audio recording of the text plus a whole bunch of other useful resource material.

From this site I have taken almost all of my German phrases. That’s because it’s important to focus on your target language.

Once I have material to work with, my  approach is to review the phrases I want to memorize and make sure that I am comfortable with the grammar and etymology. I then copy the sentences and the English translation into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is made up of the following columns:

Initials running from AA to ZZThe English sentenceThe German sentenceMy mnemonic interpretation (this is explained below)The full names of my AA – ZZ groupMy 100 tag words

Here’s an example:

Here’s how I’ve adapted my practice from memorizing single words to whole German phrases.

As you can see, I’ve front-loaded three of the components into the sentence. They include the initials of a well-known/memorable name (Michelle Obama), the English translation (no problem) and the tag word (hail).

By splicing these three components into the sentence I’ve built an imaginative cross reference for whenever I need to recall the German phrase “Keine Ursache!” the rest of this mnemonic interpretation follows some established mnemonic guidelines.

German sayings like this are powerful to have in memory – just make sure to also include funny German phrases as you learn the language.

Personally, however, I suggest avoid learning German insults – you might wind up blurting them out at inopportune moments! If you’re stuck on finding any material to learn and memorize at all, one tip for finding good German phrases is to search Google for “German phrases PDF.”

Carrying on: For the word “keine” I thought of Keyser Soze, who some of you may recall as the evil dude Kevin Spacey played in the film “The Usual Suspects”.

For the word “Ursache” I broke it down into two images, one for “UR” and one for “SACHE” and came up with Keith URban (well-known country singer) + SACK.

I then imagined Keyser (rhyming with kaiser and which just happens to be an example of German vocabulary) shoving URban into a SACK. Don’t forget to take the time to imagine this scenario with crazy, vivid, memorable images. Gimpy-legged Keyser shoving guitar-wielding URban into a big smelly potato SACK works for me.

If you have troubles with creating images like these, try these 5 Sensory Memory Exercises.

 

If You Can Imagine A Castle, You Can
Use Memory Techniques To Boost Your German Fluency

 

Let’s take these ideas and incorporate them into a more challenging sentence. Is it worth visiting this castle? = Lohnt es sich diese Burg zu besuchen? Jacques Tati is king of a CASTLE in a MoVie starring Lindsay LOHAN playing the role of ESther who is throwing up SICK over DIESEL (a musician I know) after eating a BURGer served by ZUlu armed with a BAZOOKa.

In this case I’m using some mnemonic shorthand. Again, I’ve loaded three of the components at the front of the sentence Jacque Tati / Castle / Movie. Jacque Tati (famous French film actor and director) is my famous name and CASTLE is a single image I want to use represent the entire sentence. It’s a concrete image that is easy to visualize. (Is there anyone who can’t imagine a castle?)

The third component is the word “MOVIE” which is number 38 in my 100 memory tags. For the rest of the exercise you should be able to make the connection between my sentence and the similar sounding words in the German phrase.

 

How To Make The Most From Mnemonic Shorthand

 

Regardless of whatever foreign language you want to master, you’ll soon figure out the high frequency words and syllables and will want settle on some shorthand images to help you form your mnemonic sentences.

For example, I’ve settled on the following shorthand for these common German words:

es = it. For this word I use an image of a family member whose name is Esther.

ich = I.  Here I just imagine “ItCHy”, the mouse from The Simpson’s cartoons.

der = multiple meanings including:

the (masculine definite article)(definite article for genitive and dative singular feminine and genitive plural)whowhichthat one, this one

I found some mnemonic shorthand harder to imagine than others. In what is probably an understatement, the German language has many words with the prefix ‘ge’. After much trial and error, I settled on an image of GoethE as my go-to guy for the ‘ge’ words.

But if GoethE doesn’t make sense to your imagination and you encounter an issue Anthony talked about in his podcast, you might think that Agent Maxwell Smart from the GEt Smart television series works better for you. Or perhaps someone more contemporary comes to mind.

The important thing is that you learn to link figures with information so that you can recall it at will. This skill comes in handy in many ways, particularly when trying to memorize German genders. For example, in all instances of “der” I use an 80’s television character DERrick from the popular German detective series.

 

How To Get Ikea To Optimize Your Memory Palace

 

Now, you may be thinking: Do I really need to be able to recall all of my mnemonic sentences? Answer: No. I’ve found that once a schedule of recall practice is established you’ll be able to rely on the processing power of your mind to summon the sentence.

The next problem I had to solve concerned mental real estate. I now had in place my daily practice of learning and memorizing new German phrases and placing them along my chosen route. But I eventually realized I was running out of stations along my route and I wanted to get more benefit out of the site of this Memory Palace.

My solution was to use a system of alphabetical modular shelving – think Ikea wall units – in which to place my mnemonic imagery.

So when it came time to assign German phrases to my prepared list of EA to EZ letters, instead of using up 23 separate places (remember letters Q, X and Y are out) along the route, I imagined a rather large E-shaped white Ikea wall unit with 23 compartments at the next station along the path.

And in each compartment I would place my mnemonic interpretation of whatever German sentence I was learning that day. Kind of like the dioramas I used to help my son make for his school projects.

Forging The Memory Chain Using Recall And Difference

The main advantage I’ve found with using what I call my double-bind memory link strategy (i.e. initials plus memory tag words) is that if I happen to forget one when practicing my recall I can usually rely on the other one to help me out. Take up this practice and you’ll see quick results too.

Memory Palaces do not have to be photographic / perfect representations – they just need to be consistent with how you recall them in your mind. Once I’ve memorized a batch of 23 sentences to the point where I can mentally recall the sentences forwards, backwards and in some random order, I use a simple spaced repetition system that involves setting a date in my Google calendar with a title like – “LA – LZ 1 week”.

I then mentally run through my recall, check my responses on the spreadsheet and, if I get them correct, will reset the next recall for two weeks, followed by 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months. If I’m not happy with my recall practice I’ll review the mnemonic sentence I’ve constructed and practice again a few days later.

I recommend you rehearse your phrases out loud because you need to hear the sounds your voice makes. Make a practice of writing them out by hand as a way of reinforcing the learning. For extra bonus points you might like to record the sentences and listen to them when you’re out and about.

That pretty well sums up what I’ve achieved in a short period of time. This method takes the key features found on Magnetic Memory Method site and tweaks them to get the best value out of your Memory Palace. Try creating warehouses in your own Memory Palaces using the alphabetical system outlined. My German phrases continues to swell and grow. So far I’ve gone from Andre Agassi to Van Halen. That’s about 500 sentences.

Sprechen, Lesen, Schreiben und Hōren
(Speak German, Read, Write & Listen)

As I mentioned at the start of this post we all write, listen, read and speak in sentences and German phrases. Learning to speak and understand any foreign language with fluency requires application to all four components in equal measure. The method of memorizing sentences I’ve described ticks all four boxes.

Of course, you’ll need to get out there and road test your German phrases (or those in the language you’re studying) in real world situations to become comfortable with your newly acquired knowledge. All good language learners say so, including polyglot Luca Lampariello when he describes language as a kind of net.

If you’ve found this training on memorizing German phrases helpful, or you’d like some clarification on the points, please contact me at richard@richardgilzean.com.

Viel Gluck!

Richard Gilzean is a writer and blogger specialising in creating content for small business owners, entrepreneurs and corporate clients. He has thirty years of writing, research and training experience in corporate and government sectors. Whether you want to create great content to boost traffic to your website or you’re looking for a professional writer who can tell your story in your voice, Richard can help. Check out his freelance writing website here.

What Is Mental Imagery in Memory Psychology? A Simple Answer

Mental imagery is a confusing topic.

There’s tons of data.

Oodles of opinions.

Zero consensus.

That’s fine. That’s what science is all about.

But when it comes to memory, both in terms of psychology and using your memory better, I’ve got good news.

There are some stunningly clear definitions.

And for those of us who use memory techniques, I’m going to uncover powerful and interesting angles that lead to better results. Quickly.

If you’re not into using mnemonics, you’ll discover how mental imagery compares with perception too.

Ready?

Let’s dive in!

What Is Mental Imagery?

Unfortunately, there is no agreement on what mental imagery is or how it should be defined.

For example, philosophers of mental imagery dismiss – albeit not without reflective thinking – some of the most interesting findings in books like The Case for Mental Imagery.

The controversy and debate is certainly interesting, but for our purposes, let’s define mental imagery in a variety of ways. We’ll do so based on a single core principle:

Mental imagery is an experience in the mind that resembles how you could potentially interact with real people, places and objects.

This definition assumes that everything imaginary is based on an extension of something that is real.

But before we get into controversy over that, let’s look at some of the angles that help substantiate this basic definition.

Iconic Memory

Iconic memory typically involves brief experiences of mental imagery. These images reside in short term memory and are typically disregarded.

Daydreaming, for example, is often completely forgotten seconds after the fantastic images enter the mind.

Or, your iconic memories may be striking enough to enter long term memory. They could even be as strong as flashbulb memories.

Some studies show that this kind of mental imagery helps with human movement through space as well.

There’s also potentially a relationship between these rapid mental images and verbal memory.

For example, the experience of mental images may not have any words involved. But experiencing a quick mental image prompts you to speak. It doesn’t provide the exact words per se, but is a deep generator of the message.

In sum: If you do or say something, this theory suggests that the image comes first, then the action.

Imagination

Did you ever play with an imaginary friend? Or even develop an entire paracosm of them?

If so, you’ve experienced a subjective mental state that no one can observe but you.

Your imaginary friend may appear and fade, sometimes feel concrete in your mind, other times abstract.

Either way, this kind of mental imagery leads to more than just fun. It can help you be creative, use memory techniques better and even solve problems.

The question here that no one has an answer to is this: can you invent anything in your mind? Or does mental imagery always need a starting point or some kind of association?

Personally, I think everything is connected in a wave of relations. Anything that seems original is always born out of something that already existed. As the literary theorist Northrop Frye put it, “all poems come from other poems.”

Mnemonic Images

Using associations in pairs is well-known in the psychology of learning to be essential, particularly in areas like reading. Phonological awareness, for example, has been shown in studies to help with many aspects of literacy.

As my colleague in memory, Richard Ruben, has pointed out, people without phonological awareness struggle to use mnemonics. If they haven’t been taught to sound out the alphabet, they struggle later to make paired associations, for example. In fact, every letter of the alphabet is a paired association of at least a shape and a sound.

Overall, mnemonic images are essential to learning faster and remembering more. Mental imagery extensively with the Memory Palace technique as people imaginatively tie associations to loci.

Medical students, for example, rapidly form memories by using mental imagery. In fact, medical mnemonics is a huge industry, covering everything from anatomy, to pharmaceutical terms and information related to nursing.

Without paired associations made possible by mental imagery, people would have to rely solely on rote learning.

Demand Characteristics

Here’s a neat one:

In science, it’s important not to give away too much information. If people predict or intuit what’s going on in a study involving participants, they can skew the results.

This is because participating in a study creates pictures in your mind – think of the icon part of iconic memory.

And it’s not just that you think about what the study might be about. As we’ve seen, iconic memory dictates how we behave physically.

How do scientists deal with demand characteristics?

Their tactics include everything from double-blind studies to outright deception.

Dual-Coding Theory

This theory suggests that there’s a division between what you imagine visually and your verbal intelligence.

Essentially, the dual coding effect started with Allan Paivio who published over two hundred articles on this topic.

I find the theory problematic myself because his distinction between analogue codes and symbolic codes seems problematic. The first deals with anything in your visual perception. Symbolic codes deals strictly with words.

But aren’t words perceived too? And in a variety of ways? I can imagine the alphabet visually without tying it to a sound and imagine a sound wave produced by a technology I might not even know by name.

Alternative theories include propositional representation, parallel distributed processing, cognitive mapping and a number of constructivist theories that you might want to look at.

How Does Mental Imagery Compare with Perception?

Mental imagery and perception are two crucial processes that shape our understanding of the world. While both involve the representation of sensory information, they exhibit unique characteristics and play distinct roles in our cognitive experiences.

Mental imagery, often described as the ability to create sensory experiences in the absence of external stimuli, allows us to mentally represent and manipulate sensory information. Of course, there are people without a mind’s eye (aphantasia) who are still able to do exactly this, creating a puzzle about what exactly imagery is in the mind and imagination.

Similarly, perception involves the interpretation of sensory input from the external environment to form our conscious experience. We need this in order to enjoy the benefits of sensory learning. Yet, there are people who cannot see, hear or feel with their limbs. They still manage to navigate the world and learn all kinds of things.

At the end of the day, I’m convinced that mental imagery and perception are not separate, but joined at the hip in some very special ways.

Unlimited Imagination?

Perception, with its emphases on access to actual learning material and your physical surroundings, is obviously bound by sensory input and material constraint. Our perception is literally limited by the information available from our senses and the physical properties of the objects and events in the external world.

Some people will argue that mental imagery is more flexible and unconstrained by the same physical limitations. They suggest that we can create vivid mental images that defy the laws of physics or imagine events that surpass the boundaries of our sensory experiences.

Although this may be true, the strength of our ability to do so comes down to reference and practice. By reference, I mean how well you read and how much. In order to imagine flexibly, you need deliberate practice with worthwhile books.

We will always be limited by both perception and mental imagery, but we can expand our limits by constantly learning.

How Memory Training Improves Your Mental Imagery

In order to enjoy much more interesting mental imagery that truly will expand your current limitations, you’ll want to start using memory techniques.

I suggest exploring:

The Journey MethodMajor SystemPAO SystemNumber RhymesPegword Method

Although that might seem like a lot to explore, you can rapidly learn each approach by starting with the Memory Palace technique.

Get my free course in order to learn how.

You’ll get four clear, crisp and direct video lessons along with some worksheets that will help you understand mental imagery experientially.

The learning cycle I’ll take you on in this course helps you chunk even the toughest information down into small bits of imagination that you won’t soon forget.

So what do you say? Are you feeling clearer about this important term now? Let me sum things up like this:

Mental imagery is not in the same category as seeing an image on the wall. It’s what you experience when you imagine what a picture looks like hanging either in your home or in an art gallery.

But people use the term in different ways, and I’ve covered the majority of them today.

Personally, I think of mental imagery as a kind of “inner language.” It’s non-linguistic at its core, but still semantic because of how iconic memory uses it to produce words.

One way or another, mental imagery appears to be a process that leads to either representation or action.

And if others happen to see the actions you take and remember them, then that too is another special kind of mental image. The brain is always monitoring and updating its knowledge of the world and we clearly need mental representation to do it.

Enjoy this intensely special aspect of your mind!

Time, Tech and Memory Palaces with Ronald Johnson of The Craft of Memory

The Craft of Memory Podcast and Substack are two of the best sources of information about memory techniques to appear on the Internet for a long time.

Ronald Johnson is behind both of them.

Join us on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast as Ronald and I delve into the his best tips on using the Memory Palace technique.

We embed his specific experiences and tactics in a larger discussion of history, technology, society and even how streets and roads influence our learning lives.

As you’ll soon hear, Ronald Johnson is an incredibly knowledgeable mnemonist.

He’s also a passionate writer seeking to preserve the joy, beauty, and wonder of natural memory and mnemonics.

Join us now as we embark on a journey through time, technology, and advanced memory palace tactics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N53NP...

Time: Unveiling the Ultimate Secret of Memory Mastery

In our captivating discussion, Ronald and I dive deep into the realm of memory, unraveling the mysteries and exploring cutting-edge techniques that will revolutionize the way you remember information.

We start by addressing the crucial topic of time and its impact on memory.

Time, in its essence, is a double-edged sword.

While technology enables us to access vast amounts of information instantly, it also poses the risk of outsourcing our memory to devices. This can lead to digital amnesia.

To help you avoid that problem, or even worse issues (like Alzheimer’s), Ronald emphasize the importance of reclaiming the power of our own minds and uncovering the joy of natural memory.

Focusing too much on time can also make you miss the beauty of reflective thinking.

Although I’m not sure I agree with Ronald on one point he makes, he does provide a compelling way to think about rote learning I haven’t considered before. Given his take on the relationship between memory and time, he might just be on to something.

The True Art of the Memory Palace

One of the most intriguing aspects we delve into are some of Ronald’s advanced Memory Palace tactics.

As you probably already know, Memory Palaces have been utilized for centuries as one of the most potent mnemonic techniques. It allows you to store and retrieve vast amounts of information through the creation of vivid mental landscapes.

Ronald shares his expertise, guiding us through the intricate process of constructing memory palaces and maximizing their effectiveness. Prepare to be astounded as we unlock the secrets of this ancient art and discover firsthand how memory palaces can transform your learning experience.

The Craft of Memory:
A Unique Call to Embrace Memory Mastery

Ronald is truly unique in his approach to teaching memory techniques.

His writing awakens in me the joy, beauty, and wonder of memory, providing a refreshing and liberating take on freeing ourselves from the constraints of a forgetful age.

I’m confident that by listening to Ronald’s podcast, and especially reading his Craft of Memory Substack, you’ll find yourself adopting the techniques and insights in new ways.

Ready to revolutionize your memory?

Don’t miss out on Ronald’s transformative insights and the many practical tips provided through his media. Here’s where to find him online:

The Craft of Memory on Substack

The Craft of Memory on Apple Podcasts

The Craft of Memory on Spotify

From Nervousness to Mastering Tough Nursing Knowledge

Rose Szwed was doing great with some aspects of learning nursing fundamentals.

But some aspects were much harder to learn.

Especially phlebotomy.

Rather than give up after struggling with one nursing exam in particular, Rose looked for memory techniques online.

When she found the Magnetic Memory Method, she dove in and did exactly as I suggested:

She modified the high-powered mnemonics to her needs.

And then she took the exam she had previously failed and got 98.22%!

The best part?

On this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Rose shares her journey and her incredible success.

Proper Mnemonics Make Mastering Tough Nursing Knowledge Much Easier

Phlebotomy is also known as venipuncture.

Although it appears simple enough, it involves a combination of semantic knowledge and procedural memory.

First, you have to know all the names of the veins. Then there are the steps involved. And the equipment names, like the cannula for drawing blood.

And it’s not just about drawing blood. There are also other uses, such as intravenous therapy. For that, pharmacology knowledge is also needed.

Then there are situations involving electrolyte imbalances and all manner of medical terminology.

That’s why nursing mnemonics are so precious for medical professionals who want to succeed.

At first, Rose found other Memory Palace books, but none proved particularly useful.

Why?

They usually lack depth. Especially when it comes to figuring out how to deal with advanced nursing topics.

Rose’s Body Memory Palace Solution

As you’ll hear in this episode of the MMM Podcast, Rose combined mnemonic imagery with one of the most direct and powerful of all ancient memory techniques.

Giordano Bruno talked about using Statues in Thirty Statues. It was his solution to dealing with the “chaos” of information overwhelm.

I’ve even turned my own body into a Memory Palace to memorize the classical solar system of the Renaissance period in Italy.

But unlike the way Bruno used bodies with references to mythological figures, Rose went with highly memorable bodies from stage and screen.

She used dynamic figures like Columbo, the detective played by Peter Falk. And Clark Cable in one of his most iconic movie roles.

Although this simple solution helped Rose score 98.22% on her test, what happened next is where the truth path of memory mastery begins.

That’s because Rose immediately started teaching others, one of the most important parts of a learning cycle you can complete.

Episode Highlights

Amongst many things that impress me about Rose’s uptake of memory techniques, she has led an interesting life!

Listen in as we discuss:

The benefits of reading with momentumRose’s past and previous goals with language learningThe value of using libraries for better memoryThe incredible opportunities awaiting people who master their memory

No matter what topic you’re studying, memory techniques can help.

If you’re completely new to the world of mnemonics. I suggest you start with the Memory Palace technique.

Here’s a free course you can take that makes it fun, easy and will start you off on solid ground.

Thanks for listening and if you’d like more of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, check out the previous episode on overcoming learning plateaus.

Struggling to remember even the most complicated information is simply not necessary.