How to better memorise IELTS Vocabulary – The 2-step technique

Introduction: The two-step technique

A new app update on Android – Essay King Version 4.3 has been released, coming with a brand-new Flashcard section to help you boost your Academic writing vocabulary. This is a collection of thousands of words that are commonly used in an academic environment such as in university essays & lectures. Memorising vocabulary is an important aspect of preparing for the IELTS test. Having a wide range of academic vocabulary not only helps you score better in the writing sections but also enhances your understanding of the passages in the reading section.

The big question looming still, is how do you memorise those bunches of words without easily forgetting them in a couple of days? Well, today I will share with you my top secret tips to memorise IELTS Vocabulary effectively. 

First, let us make one thing clear: Memorising a foreign language’s vocabulary is a fun and creative activity! Don’t you believe me? If not, you might have not discovered the magic and power of “mnemonic techniques”. A common misconception is that memorising is only for uncreative students and that people should learn a foreign language “naturally” just by gradually building up their vocabulary range through daily conversation. In IELTS, the vocabulary used is much more challenging and you must therefore find a way to learn faster, especially when you have limited time to prepare for the upcoming test.

Fortunately, you can surely speed up the learning process and “absorb” a deck of flashcards within much shorter time and with more long-lasting effects. The key is to use a simple yet creative two-step technique of memorising vocabulary: Connect & Reinforce.

Connect – Connect – and Connect:

Just like your phones and computers need the Internet to retrieve information and connect with the world, your brain first needs connections to memorise the challenging new words; otherwise, even though you feel like the words are already memorised, if the connection is faint, the words can easily vanish from your brain within days or weeks. I call this important connection the “wires” of vocabulary. The idea behind this technique is to associate the word you want to remember with something meaningful to you. This creates a mental link between the word and the information you already know, making it easier for you to recall the word later.

Here’s how you can create connections to remember vocabulary:

Use mnemonic and rhyming:

Create a rhyme or a mnemonic that includes the word you want to remember. For example, if you want to remember the word “embody”, you could remember it with the phrase “In my body”. Mnemonic is an extremely effective method in memorising IELTS words if used correctly. Personally, my method is to break the words into smaller parts by their spelling or pronunciation. Try to find the most impressive part that is likely to trigger your memory later on, and create a visual/sound connection with its definition using Mnemonic or rhyming. Let me take an example, how do you remember the word below:

COMBUSTION: the process of burning something.

To memorise this, I break the word into COM – BUS – TION. I will spend around 1-2 minutes creating a connection. The most impressive one for me is BUS. I try to imagine a BUS of a COMpany that is BURNING rapidly at the staTION. I imagine myself screaming and shouting for help “the BUS is BURNING!”. I even imagine myself pronouncing that word out loud in such stories. I add more & more details to the scene that makes it unforgettable. Bingo! Next time, even after two weeks, if I played the flashcard and see this word, I may get lost in the beginning, but by following the “wire” I have set up before, I eventually retrieve its meaning. Remember: The more impressive, vivid, and colourful the imagination is, the stronger the connection.

The figure above shows the process of thinking and retrieving the definition of Combustion: the process of burning something. If you just learned by remembering a random picture that shows something burning, it would not be as effective as the bus above. Why? Because we deliberately used the Bus as a hint. In other words, when we see the word COMBUSTION, the BUS will trigger your brain to link to this image, hence making it much easier to remember. What happened with the Bus? Well, I recall. it is burning => COMBUSTION is the process of burning. If you don’t have such connections for IELTS words and you learn the flashcards just by repeating and repeating without the “wire”, you will easily forget the words within weeks.

 Use associations:

Think of things that are related to the word you want to remember and associate them with those things. For example, if you want to remember the word “adversary”, you could think of it as a rival or enemy. This association will help you recall the word when you need it.

•  Use imagination & sound: Visualize the word memorably and creatively, and add sound to your imaginary experience. For example, if you want to remember the word “abundant“, you could imagine a room filled with a large quantity of anything you desire. The more vivid and impressive the visualization is, the better the connection.

•  Use personal experiences: Do not overuse imaginary stories like the COMBUSTION story above because you might not always be able to create an effective one when there are just too many words to learn. Be flexible and combine real experiences when creating connections. Think of a personal experience that relates to the word you want to remember. Because real experience might sometimes help you connect better. For example, if you want to remember the word “thrive“, you could think of a time when you felt happy and successful.

•  Use words in your Mother language as an assistant to your mnemonic skill. No matter where are you from, India, Korea, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh etc., I am sure that your language will have words that have similar pronunciation or spelling to the IELTS word you want to learn. As I mentioned above, you don’t need the whole word to be alike, just one part is enough to create a connection. The key here is the similarity is strong enough to quickly trigger a connection.

Reinforce – Reinforce – Reinforce: 

Creating connections is indeed a vital step in memorising vocabulary. However, it will not work without practising and reinforcing the connection. That is, to make the connection becomes stronger and stronger until it will become a natural mental link so that you eventually no longer need the connection to remember the word anymore. This is the time the word becomes yours; it is wired into your brain and ready to become the new bricks for obtaining more other vocabularies. 

Some most effective methods for reinforcing vocabulary are : 

Use flashcards:

Flashcards are a simple and effective way to memorize vocabulary. Write the word on one side and its definition and an example sentence on the other. Try to review your flashcards regularly to keep the words fresh in your memory. You can use either physical Flashcards or using an app. In the new version of the Essay King app, we have developed a section for Flashcards that you can swipe left and right to practice. Have a look at the demo of Essay King’s new Flashcards feature in this video: 

Other methods to help strengthen the connection: 

Reading magazines and listening to podcasts: If you are learning the right lists of words, there is a very good probability that those words will appear again in these sources. Keep reading & listening is a great way to reinforce your connection and help link your vocabulary together. The strategies for effective listening and reading will be published in our next blog posts, so stay tuned!

Conclusion:

To summarise, to effectively memorise vocabulary, it is essential to use a creative two-step technique: Connection and Reinforcement. Connection involves associating the word with something meaningful, relevant and personal, while reinforcement involves practising and strengthening the connection until it becomes a natural mental link. With the tips and techniques provided in this post, such as using mnemonics, personal experiences, and imagination, you will be able to memorise vocabulary more effectively and efficiently. So go ahead and start using these techniques today and boost your academic vocabulary for the IELTS test.