Abstract:

Why do so many find learning a language boring? The bulk of language learning is vocabulary acquisition. The bulk of vocabulary acquisition is memorization. Memorization is, we believe, mostly repetitious drudgery. Not so. This presentation draws on the modern scientific research on vocabulary acquisition by such scholars as I.S.P. Nation, but combines it with the medieval and ancient memorization techniques relatively recently rediscovered by such scholars as Frances Yates and Mary Carruthers. These are matched with the latest tools available on the Internet, particularly in what is called “Web 2.0,” for variety and interactivity. By combining these disparate elements, we believe we can make memorization much faster and more enjoyable than we are accustomed to expect. We believe that we have developed a highly efficient computer-based system for vocabulary acquisition in a second language, which we will outline to the participants. The same system and the same principles might also be used profitably with any type of learning requiring heavy memorization.

Keywords:

Web 2.0, mnemonics, vocabulary, EFL, language acquisition, pedagogy.