“Language learning strategies encourage overall self-direction for learners…Self-direction is essential to the active development of ability in a new language.” (Rebecca Oxford, 1990)
My next six emails will highlight language learning strategies used in English Now! that apply these six categories of strategies. Today we will focus on memory strategies.
Memory Strategies
Memory strategies have a highly specific function: helping students store and retrieve new information. According to Lord (1987) learners must employ memory strategies to learn new vocabulary because “Vocabulary is by far the most sizable and unmanageable component in the learning of any language … because of tens of thousands of words with different meanings.”
The most common memory strategy used in English Now! A/B is RASP (Repeat by All, by Some, then by one Person). RASP is powerful because it combines four sets of memory strategies: (a) creating mental linkages, (b) applying images and sounds, (c) reviewing well, and (d) employing actions.
In English Now! C, students use the Link Word Strategy, where they make visual links between the new word and a familiar one, where both links are meaningful to the learner. A key concept is placed at the center, and related words and concepts are linked to it by means of circles and lines.
Because of the expectation in English Now! to use language as the “speedway” to literacy, a significant number of memory strategies are employed. These help students learn large numbers of vocabulary words, phrases, and grammatical forms and remember them “on demand.” Students then use them to communicate and to demonstrate listening and reading comprehension.
