| There are many ways to help your brain | | | | learning sentences or phrases, you can |
| to memorize things. Learning a language | | | | produce a whole story in your head; you |
| can be a daunting task at first, but | | | | will be surprised just how much you |
| using some of these memory techniques, | | | | remember with this technique. |
| you will soon be learning hundreds of | | | | Flashcards |
| Japanese words in a matter of hours. | | | | Flashcards may remind you of school |
| Relating Japanese vocabulary to English | | | | exams, but they are a proven memory |
| sounds | | | | technique that actually work very well. |
| When learning Japanese words, try and | | | | Buy or make yourself a number of small, |
| relate them to an English word. For | | | | colorful cards. On each card, write a |
| instance, 'ichi', meaning 1 in Japanese, | | | | Japanese word or phrase, with a small |
| could be 'itchy' in English. This simple | | | | related picture/image (if you can). |
| relation with an English word will help | | | | Spend around 15 seconds on a single |
| you to visualize the Japanese in your | | | | flash card, and then turn it over and |
| head. | | | | create the image of the card in your |
| Imagery | | | | head, with the associate vocabulary and |
| Using images in your head is an | | | | picture. The colors on the flashcards |
| extremely powerful tool for learning | | | | will also help you to remember. Once you |
| Japanese. It has been proven that you | | | | have remembered a single flashcard, you |
| can remember and recall vocabulary much | | | | can start to increase the amount you |
| easier when it is associated with | | | | memorize at any one time. |
| relevant images. Using the example in | | | | These three simple techniques will |
| the above hint, when learning the | | | | drastically improve your ability to |
| Japanese word 'ichi', think of a man | | | | remember Japanese. Dedicate an hour or |
| itching his arm. This way, not only do | | | | two a day to using the methods mentioned |
| you have an English word to help you | | | | above, and before you know it you will |
| remember the vocabulary, but you also | | | | have a vast knowledge of the Japanese |
| have an image in your head. When | | | | language. |