Memory Techniques for Learning Spanish Fast

What's the most important factor in learning a language? That's
right, memory! But so few of us really know how to use our memories to
their full potential, while even more of us have some kind of learning
disability, whether discovered or not, that puts a hindrance on our
ability to retain information.But don't worry, memory can be improved,
even if you do have a learning disability. The fact that you're
interested enough to want to learn a language will improve your
retention rates. So what makes the human brain remember? Well, that's
quite complex, but for simplicity's sake, we'll say that any time you
can associate new information with something you already know, you'll
have a greater chance at recalling that information later.Since you
already know English, that'll be the easiest thing to associate new
words with. But don't think for a moment that you'll just tell
yourself that "chakula means 'food' in Swahili."Instead, try
this:(Chakula, pronounced "chah-KOO-lah")Imagine, as vividly as
possible, that your high school is having a reunion, and at that
reunion, they decide to have a contest to see who can best dress up a
piece of "chalk". You scheme for a few seconds, and decide to dress it
in all the "food" you can dig up. At that very moment, a judge comes
by and says "What beautiful Chalk, Ooh La la!"This is a bit of a
stretch, yes, but you'll remember it much better than if you just
repeated the word over and over. This technique is known as a
"mnemonic," and can be one of the most useful tools in language
learning. What it does, is trick your mind into making that
association we so desperately needed, allowing the word to stick into
that memory just a little bit deeper.Your goal in creating a mnemonic
of your own, is to make the association as bizarre and outrageous as
humanly possible, which will engrave the word even deeper into your
memory. While this may seem difficult at first, stick with it. The
more you practice it, the better you'll get at coming up with
situations, and the easier the words will stick in your head.This may
not be the only method of association, but it's one of the most
effective. Something else to try, if you're a visual-kinesthetic
learner, is to draw detailed pictures of the meaning of a new word.
This technique is a very simplistic one and is used in many language
learning programs and classes. Give it a try and see which one you
find easier and more entertaining.