Memorization Made Easy (or at Least Fun)

When I was in graduate school getting my master's degree in education, I had to take a course called Testing and Measurement. It was all about creating exams that correctly measured whether or not students had learned the material they had been taught. During the course, we had to use a fair amount of statistics. When it came time for the final exam, the professor told us we had to memorize the five statistical formulas we'd need to use during the test. The class erupted with groans and complaints. I heard people saying, "Memorize them? Why? How? Can't we just write them down and bring them to the exam?" Finally, the professor agreed to let us bring one sheet of paper into the exam; we could write the formulas on that paper. I was disappointed in him. After all, we were studying to be teachers. How could we expect our students to memorize things when we weren't willing to do the same?

How do you feel about memorization? Like my former classmates, do you hate the idea? Many people are put off by the work needed to memorize something. But while a good part of your English learning will happen while you're naturally speaking, listening, reading, and writing in the language, you will definitely have to memorize certain things. For example, some words are spelled or pronounced in a way that doesn't seem to follow any of the rules of English.

Luckily, there's help. Have you ever heard of a mnemonic device? A mnemonic device is a memory aid that you can use to remember just about anything. I absolutely love mnemonic devices. You may already use them without realizing it.

For example, if you read music, your music teacher may have given you a way to memorize the names of the notes on the lines and spaces of the staff. Reading up from the bottom, the notes on the four spaces are F, A, C, and E. You can see how that spells the word FACE. That's a pretty simple one. The names of the notes on the lines are E, G, B, D, and F. That's not as easy, as it doesn't spell anything. So in English, music teachers will generally tell the students to think of a sentence where each word begins with the same letter as these notes. I learned, "Every Good Boy Does Fine." I've heard other students learn, "Every Good Boy Deserves Fun." Is there a different way you were taught to learn these notes in your language?

Remember when we learned about the different types of sentences? We talked about the coordinating conjuctions and used the word FANBOYS to help remember the list. Can you still name them? I'm pretty sure you can, because of FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So). That was a mnemonic device.

Creating a funny mental picture that you'll remember is another way to use a mnemonic device. The sillier the picture is, the better it will stick in your head. One time I went to a weekend-long Irish dancing festival. I was there by myself so I met a lot of new friends. I used mental pictures to remember people's names when I met them. For example, I met a man named Bill. Bill had a big bushy beard, so in my head I pictured the beard as a duck's bill. I never had a problem remembering his name after that. I also met a woman called Jo who had on a brown shirt. In my head I pictured her spilling coffee all over a white shirt and turning it brown. This reminded me that her name was Jo because in English we sometimes use the word "Joe" as a nickname for coffee--"Hey, can I have a cup of Joe?" (It actually sounds more like "cuppa Joe" when people say it, so listen for this when you're around native speakers.)

Mnemonic devices are great for those words you just can't remember how to spell. I'm a native English speaker and a good speller, but I still need tricks to remember some words. For example, I could never remember how to spell "cemetery." I always forgot whether the third to last letter was an "e" or an "a." Then one day I came across a great mnemonic device. Someone said to picture all the e's in the word lined up in a neat row like headstones in a graveyard (another word for cemetery). I imagined those e's a few times in my head, and now I never have trouble spelling the word.

I also used to have trouble remembering how to spell the homophones "stationary" and "stationery." The one with the "-ary" ending means "not moving" and the one with the "-ery" ending means "writing paper." Finally, I came up with a mnemonic device that worked for me: I pictured a capital "E" as a piece of paper, with the horizontal arms of the E as the lines on the paper. So when I saw the "-ery" ending, I immediately pictured the capital E in my head, saw that lined sheet of paper, and knew it was the word that meant "paper" instead of "not moving."

The great thing about mnemonic devices is that often you only need them temporarily. For a while, you'll have to think of your device every time you encounter the word you want to spell or the person whose name you need to remember. But eventually you won't need the trick anymore. I know how to spell cemetery even without picturing my little rows of e's. And I still remember Bill from the dance class every time I see him, even though he no longer has a beard.

One more word about mnemonic devices: You can find lists of them in books and even websites that will help you create them. This might help you at first until you get the hang of it. But the mnemonic devices that work best are the ones you create yourself. Your own sentence or your own silly picture will work better than anyone else's because it has meaning to you. Practice creating your own memory aids and I know you'll use this skill in every part of your life.
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Vocabulary

• erupted: suddenly and sometimes violently released
• agreed: consented to a course of action
• disappointed: defeated and sad because something you wanted did or did not occur
• former: something that came before, in time
• put off: having a feeling like you don't want to do something
• festival: a celebration or several events
• cemetery: burial ground
• temporarily: for only for a short period of time
• encounter: meet
• eventually: some time in the future

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Vocabulary Practice

1. Many people enjoy listening to music at an outdoor ___________.
2. Jean ______________ lived with her sister while her house was being renovated.
3. I hope you're not ____________ by the length of this amazing book.
4. My ___________ roommate was very messy; I'm happy that I now live alone.
5. Henry was very  ___________ when he had to cancel his trip to Japan.
6. If you work hard and stay focused, you can _____________ learn to do anything.
7. When the volcano in Iceland _____________, many planes in Europe were not able to fly.
8. The mother ___________ to let her children have dessert after they finished their lunch.
9. I think a ____________ is a very peaceful place to visit, even though it can be associated with sadness.
10. Did you ever ___________ a situation that made you scared?

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Grammar Point

Prepositions
A preposition is a word that shows relationships between other words in the sentence. The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount.

In the sentence
Lisa went to the store.
the word "to" is a preposition that shows direction. In the sentence
He came by bus.
the word "by" is a preposition that shows manner ("How did he come?"). In the sentence
They will be here at three o'clock.
The word "at" is a preposition that shows time. In the sentence
The cat is under the table.
the word "under" is a preposition that shows place.

A preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun that is called the object of the preposition. You may notice that the preposition almost always comes before the noun or pronoun (think: pre + position = preposition). The preposition and the object of the preposition together are called the prepositional phrase.

I'll repeat the examples in green text above. This time the preposition will be blue, the object of the preposition will be red, and the whole prepositional phrase will be in italic type:

• Lisa went to the store.
• He came by bus.
• They will be here at three o'clock.
• The cat is under the table.

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Grammar Practice

In the text above, I've used many prepositions to create prepositional phrases. Can you find at least 5 sentences that have prepositions? List the whole sentence and color-code the preposition, the object of the preposition, and the whole prepositional phrase like I've done in my examples above. E-mail me your answers, and I'll send you feedback and a complete list of the prepositional phrases I've used.

For a review of prepositions, watch this video and listen to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4jIC5HLBdM
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Help With Creating Mnemonic Devices

As I mentioned above, you may need help creating your own mnemonic devices at first. Check out this website for "The Mnemonicizer": http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/cognition/tutorials/mnemonics/jv_mad3ab.html

And this website http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/mnemonics.htm lays out the different types of mnemoic devices and shows you when to use them.

Are You Joking?

Do you have a friend who always has a new joke to share with the crowd? I think we all do. I've always admired people who can remember jokes and tell them well.

When you're learning another language, telling and listening to jokes can be a fun way to practice your speaking and listening skills. When I was learning French in high school, my teacher told the class that when you can understand a joke in French you'll know you really understand the language. I can't remember any French jokes but I can remember my first German joke--it had to do with a frog who wanted to have a nice picture of himself taken by a professional photographer. I was so proud of being able to understand that joke and I loved to practice telling it to any native German speaker who would listen to me.

Playing with English jokes can help you get comfortable with the language. If you don't understand why a joke is funny, try to work it out yourself by thinking of different meanings of the words involved. Many jokes rely on a double meaning, or a "play on words," to be funny. Here is an example of a joke that involves a play on words:

Did you hear the joke about the unstamped letter? Never mind. You wouldn't get it.

Do you understand why this joke works? In the first part of the joke, the teller asks if the listener has heard a joke about a letter with no stamp on it. When the teller says, "Never mind. You wouldn't get it." it seems to refer to the fact that the listener shouldn't even bother hearing the joke, as he wouldn't understand it. To "get" a joke means to understand it. But there's another meaning of "get": to receive something. In this case, the second meaning of "You wouldn't get it." is "You wouldn't receive the letter, because it has no stamp." So this joke is based on the two meanings of the word "get": to understand and to receive. Wordplay like this is fun because it challenges you to think more deeply about the various meanings that words may have.

I've recorded audio files for two jokes that I'd like you to hear. Click the play button to listen to me tell the first joke, "Bear in the Restaurant." Then play the audio again and follow along with the text I've added below the audio file player.

One day, a bear walked into a restaurant. He sat down at a table. When the waitress came over to him, he asked for a cheeseburger. The waitress brought him his food and left him alone to eat. While the bear was eating, the waitress went over to the owner of the restaurant and asked him, "What should I charge that bear over there for that cheeseburger?" The owner thought for a minute and said, "Well, he's just a bear. He probably has no idea what things really cost. Charge him $300.00." In a little while the bear asked the waitress how much he owed her for the cheeseburger. She told him it was $300.00, and he handed her the money. As he was leaving, the waitress said to him, "You know, I have to ask you--why did you come into this restaurant today? We don't usually get many bears coming in here." And the bear answered, "Well, it's not surprising--not with these prices!"

Do you get it? Do you understand why it's funny? Practice telling this joke on your own, then try it out on a friend!

Now try this one, "Lunch":

Three construction workers--Ed, Fred, and Ted--ate lunch together every day. Every day Ed opened his lunch box and found a chicken sandwich. Every day, Fred opened his lunch box and found a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And every day, Ted opened his lunch box and found a ham sandwich. After months of this, they started to get tired of eating the same food. One day, Ed said, "If my wife gives me a chicken sandwich tomorrow, I'm going to throw it in the garbage." Fred said, "Me too--if I get peanut butter and jelly again, I'm going to throw MINE in the garbage." And Ted said, "Me too--if I get ham again, I'm going to throw MINE in the garbage." So at lunch the next day, Ed opened up his lunchbox, unwrapped his sandwich, and saw that his wife had packed him chicken. He groaned, wrapped it up, and threw it in the garbage. Fred opened his lunch box, saw that his wife had packed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and threw it in the garbage next to Ed's. Next, Ted picked up his sandwich and threw it in the garbage without even opening it. The other two men were shocked. Ed said, "Ted, why didn't you open it up? Maybe your wife gave you something different today." And Ted replied, "Oh no, it's a ham sandwich." Fred asked, "How do you know that?" And Ted answered, "I pack my own lunch."

How about that one? Do you see why it's amusing? Play these audio files as many times as you need to in order to hear the correct flow and rhythm of English. Try to imitate how I make my voice go up or down for emphasis in different parts of the sentences.

Have fun with these jokes, and be on the lookout for more in books, magazines, and websites. Your family, friends, and fellow students will have fun being your guinea pigs when you try them out. Remember, practice makes perfect!
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Vocabulary

• admired: thought very highly of
• professional: a person with specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation
• native: from birth
• comfortable: relaxed and not uptight
• challenges: presents difficulties that will help one learn
• various: several different
• audio: relating to sound
• restaurant: public place that serves meals for purchase
• surprising: unexpected
• groaned: made a low sound of annoyance or pain
• shocked: very surprised
• emphasis: making a certain word or phrase stand out because it is stronger than the others
• guinea pigs: small animals sometimes used for scientific experimentation; a person who volunteers try something out can be called a guinea pig

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Vocabulary Practice

1.  Sometimes it's a nice treat to eat dinner at a _____________ instead of having to cook at home.
2. Jill, who wanted to be a fashion designer, used her friends as ________________ when she needed to try out some of her new clothing ideas on real people.
3. Listening to __________ recordings can help you improve your English comprehension.
4. My mother always tries to make guests feel ________________ when they visit her home.
5. Anne Frank, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Helen Keller are the three women that I've always _________ most.
6. When the students realized they'd have homework over the weekend, the students ___________ to show their disapproval.
7. I like doing a crossword puzzle that ___________ me, as opposed to an easy one.
8. Patrick decided to hire a _____________ gardener to help him choose the plants that would work best in his yard.
9. Many  ________ speakers of English make grammatical errors when they speak and write.
10. People often use their hands when they speak if they want to put a lot of __________ into what they're saying.
11. Linda's friends were a bit _________ when they saw that she'd colored her gray hair bright red.
12. It's not ____________ that Meryl Streep has won so many Academy Awards; she's a great actress!
13. I love shoes, but it's hard for me to choose from the ___________ colors and styles on sale at the shoe store.

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Grammar Point

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Some homophone pairs you're probably familiar with are bear/bare, dear/deer, and fair/fare. Some homophones can even come in groups of three, as you'll see in the practice assignment below.
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Grammar Practice

In the first two paragraphs above, there are several words that have common homophones. Find these words and list their homophones too. I found nine; if you can find more than that, let me know! The answers are below.
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*
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1. do/dew/due
2. you/ewe
3. way/weigh
4. told/tolled
5. but/butt
6. to/too/two
7. would/wood
8. by/buy/bye
9. here/hear

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Find Comedians That You Like!
A comedian, or comic, is an artist who tells funny stories and jokes on stage in front of a live audience. Perhaps you've seen a comedian perform, maybe on television or at a live show. These performers are called "stand-up" comedians, because they literally stand up in front of an audience and do their show.

Search YouTube or other internet sites to hear some of these comic "routines." This is great listening practice because each comedian has a very different way of speaking. Note that certain comedians use language that some people may consider offensive. You might consider Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen Degeneres, Bill Cosby, and Jim Gaffigan, as these artists generally do not use offensive language.

Here is a link to one of Bill Cosby's great comedy routines about a father who has to make breakfast for his children:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5YBNQq-Qo&feature=related