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If you are anything like me, you’ll have the memory of a fish when it comes to remembering new vocabulary! Sometimes it feels like we have so much information already crammed into our heads, that it seems almost impossible to retain and remember new words. Well, stop worrying! Because today I am going to tell you about a method which can really help you remember all the lovely new English vocabulary that you learn.
This problem of forgetting new information is actually not a new phenomenon. In fact, it was studied in the 1880s by a German chap called Hermann Ebbinghaus. He discovered that we forget new information exponentially and he showed this in his ‘Forgetting Curve’ which you can see below.
You can see from the curve that even after only 20 minutes, we forget around 42% of what we have learnt. And after nearly a week, we can only remember a mere quarter of new information. So, what did Ebbinghaus suggest we do? Well, he found that by repeating the same piece of information over and over we are more likely to remember it and take longer to forget it.
An excellent method we can use to effectively review and repeat new vocabulary is the method designed by Sebastian Leitner. This method uses a specially made box to systematically organise your vocabulary flashcards (on one side you write the word in English and on the other the translation in Spanish) and repeat them at certain intervals depending on how difficult you find the word to remember.
Let me explain. Above you can see a box with 5 compartments. You have to start with all your new vocabulary flashcards in compartment 1. You then go through the flashcards one by one and try to remember the meaning of each word. If you remember the word correctly, you move it to the next compartment (solid arrows). If you don’t remember the word, you move it back to compartment 1 (dotted arrows). Over time, your cards will move from compartment 1 to compartment 5 as you remember the words. But remember that anytime you forget a word, it always goes back to compartment 1, regardless of which compartment it was in (dotted arrows). Finally, the typical intervals you need to use to review each compartment are as follows:
| Compartment Number | Time until next repetition |
| One | Every day |
| Two | 1 day |
| Three | 3 days |
| Four | 7 days |
| Five | 15 days |
If you simply dedicate 5 minutes a day to this task, maybe whilst you are having your breakfast, on your way to work, or in a coffee break at work, you will start seeing results. Once the flashcard leaves compartment number 5, it means that you will remember that word forever!!!
If you fancy trying this method, here is a handy PDF with a template for you to follow to make your box http://lernkartei.de/3er_lernkasten.pdf. Then all you need is a pen and some flashcards and you are ready to go! Don´t forget to share photos of your boxes with us on social networks by tagging @breezelingo. Remember you can always get in touch with us with any questions or doubts using the comments section below.
