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Many psychologists and physiologists argue that the best remedy for brain wear in old age is lifelong learning of foreign languages. Here is our contemporary, the writer Bernard Weber, who believes that "the brain wears out when it is not used." The information that we offer you in this article will help you, of course, not only with mastering languages!
Research shows that our brain is the "master" of three types of memory: operational, sensory and long-term.
RAM
This type of memory provides a process of reflection and reflection. Conventionally, this memory can be divided into two storages - a place for signs and symbols and a place for images, pictures and various kinds of spaces. The possibilities of RAM are quite limited. For example, it allows you to simultaneously keep in your head 4 objects in the space of visual memory and 7 objects in the space of verbal memory. If there is a need to remember another object, then the previous one is forced out of the RAM and replaced with a new one. Thus, the well-known “brain explosion” to all of us happens precisely in RAM - when it does not have time to fix a lot of objects that are vital for remembering.
How to make RAM work more efficiently and "move" objects into long-term memory? Very simple! It is necessary to stretch semantic connections between objects for memorization. In this case, when you try to remember a word, a chain of words related to it in meaning or grammatically other words will unfold in your head.
If we talk about learning English, then this can be visually depicted as follows: let's say you are studying the topic “my home”. First, what vocabulary is included in this topic? Of course, these are the names of pieces of furniture, the names of rooms, types of buildings. Secondly, what grammatical material can be associated with this topic? Most likely, these will be degrees of comparison of adjectives (to describe rooms or compare different types of houses), there is / there are structures, prepositions of place, etc. A familiar picture? It is on this principle that the material in foreign language textbooks is built.
sensory memory
This type of memory is primary in relation to operational. However, it doesn't always work. Sensory memory occurs only when the object of memory (in our case, this word) causes you to have any emotions or memories. However, the action of sensory memory is short-lived and ineffective. To translate a word or any other information into working memory, you need to make an effort and consciously memorize it.
The action of sensory memory explains the success of mastering foreign languages in stressful situations. In addition, immersion directly into the communication environment contributes to better language acquisition. Judge for yourself: many people spend a lot of time preparing for a trip abroad, convulsively repeating vocabulary and grammar on the plane. However, only after returning from a trip do they realize that they have just memorized and mastered the necessary material.
long term memory
Short-term memory works in parallel with long-term memory. Over a lifetime, long-term memory is able to retain from 10 9 to 10 20 bits of information. Long-term memory is divided into 2 subspecies: episodic and semantic. Episodic memory works from sensory perception and is involuntary. Semantic memory captures fragments of connections from working memory, for example, ideas, thoughts, schemes. If information is carefully processed by the brain in working memory, then it automatically enters long-term memory.
When learning foreign languages, it is the translation of information into long-term memory that plays a key role for effective memorization. First, it promotes conscious language learning - with a deep understanding of logical and semantic relationships. Secondly, long-term memory provides the “floating up” of the necessary vocabulary in certain situations of communication. As a rule, it is this mechanism that saves many in situations of real communication.
Thus, dear friends, the standard methods of learning foreign languages are involved in the psychological and physiological characteristics of our brain. Therefore, if you decide to seriously and for a long time to master, say, the English language, then consider the possibility of traditional approaches.
