Make a Memory Palace to Improve Your English
2021-04-25
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1Sherlock Holmes is an imaginary private detective created by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1880s.
2Doyle's stories about the detective have been turned into movies and television shows.
3One of Sherlock Holmes' great skills is a powerful memory.
4In a recent BBC television series, the character uses a memory technique called a "mind palace" or "memory palace."
5On one show, for example, Holmes has been severely wounded in a shooting and retreats into his mind to search for ways to survive.
6He visits rooms in his mind palace, looking for helpful memories.
7In one room, he finds his childhood dog, and the memory helps calm the detective.
8The memory palace idea was not a BBC creation.
9The method for remembering has existed for thousands of years.
10Many language educators today teach their students how to use the method to improve their language skills.
11But what exactly is a memory palace?
12It is a real structure, such as a home or building, that you can picture in your head.
13You then imagine placing things you want to remember inside the structure.
14You can use a memory palace to remember words, phrases, facts, or even the order of events.
15If you can see the inside of a house or building in your mind, you can make your own memory palace.
16On today's Education Tips, we will show you how.
17Start with a list of words or phrases that you want to remember.
18Then, close your eyes and choose a physical space that you know well, such as your home, a school you attended, or a current or former workplace.
19If your chosen space has only one or two rooms, do not worry.
20You can also use things like doors, passageways, steps or other permanent places along the physical path.
21The next step is to imagine walking through the space using the path that you would normally take through it.
22As you walk through, put objects that you want to remember at specific places along the path.
23Leave the objects there to pick up later when you visit your memory palace.
24Now, let's try this technique by using six ingredients for a pizza: flour, water, dry yeast, tomato sauce, cheese and basil.
25Close your eyes and picture a home.
26First, you open the front door and see a bag of flour on the floor.
27The bag is broken and some of the flour has spilled.
28You are worried that you might slip, so you carefully step over the area.
29Second, you walk into your bedroom.
30On top of your bed sits a cup of water.
31The cup is shaped like an upside-down piece of pizza.
32You think about how funny that is and laugh about it.
33Third, as you enter the living room, you see a very large spoon of dry yeast sitting on the sofa.
34The spoon is watching a cooking show on television.
35Fourth, while standing in the living room, you notice the room has a strange smell to it.
36You look above the television and see a block of cheese hanging on the wall.
37Fifth, you walk into the kitchen and see two tomatoes chasing each other around the room.
38Suddenly, they crash and explode, covering the floor in red.
39And sixth, you open the back door and go outside.
40There, you see a group of very tall green basil plants.
41In a funny voice, the tallest plant says, "Choose me! Choose me!"
42Did you notice anything strange about the palace?
43It was full of extraordinary and humorous imagery.
44We will say more about that in a few minutes.
45But first, let's check how well our technique worked.
46See if you can answer these questions:
471-What was on the wall above the television?
482-Where were the tomatoes and what were they doing?
493-Which object was sitting on the bed?
504-Where was the yeast and what was it doing?
515-Which ingredient spoke and what did it say?
526-What did you see when you opened the front door?
53My guess is that you remembered everything in our memory palace. That's good news.
54Experts offer some advice for making strong memory palaces.
55For instance, if you want to remember a lot of words, memory trainer Anthony Metivier suggests first drawing a simple map of your memory palace.
56Then, number the places along your path where you will put the things that you want to remember.
57You can put more than one thing in each room or area. Later, you will add the mental imagery.
58English teacher James, of the YouTube channel JamesESL English Lessons, has additional advice.
59In his video on memory palaces, he says that there are three keys to a strong memory palace.
60They are: emotion, movement, and connections between the object and something permanent.
61Both he and Metivier say imagining things in a humorous or crazy way improves your ability to remember them.
62These experts also agree that connecting images to actions or movement will create lasting memories.
63For instance, the tomatoes were chasing each other and the basil spoke.
64And finally, teacher James suggests placing the objects next to or on something permanent in your palace.
65Beds, sofas, floors, walls, doors - all of these are permanent.
66The block of cheese was on the wall, for example.
67Now, it's your turn. Pick a list of English words or phrases that you have trouble remembering and try this method on your own.
68Let us know how it goes.
69I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant.
1Sherlock Holmes is an imaginary private detective created by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1880s. Doyle's stories about the detective have been turned into movies and television shows. 2One of Sherlock Holmes' great skills is a powerful memory. In a recent BBC television series, the character uses a memory technique called a "mind palace" or "memory palace." 3On one show, for example, Holmes has been severely wounded in a shooting and retreats into his mind to search for ways to survive. He visits rooms in his mind palace, looking for helpful memories. In one room, he finds his childhood dog, and the memory helps calm the detective. 4The memory palace idea was not a BBC creation. The method for remembering has existed for thousands of years. Many language educators today teach their students how to use the method to improve their language skills. 5But what exactly is a memory palace? It is a real structure, such as a home or building, that you can picture in your head. You then imagine placing things you want to remember inside the structure. 6You can use a memory palace to remember words, phrases, facts, or even the order of events. If you can see the inside of a house or building in your mind, you can make your own memory palace. On today's Education Tips, we will show you how. 7Making your palace 8Start with a list of words or phrases that you want to remember. Then, close your eyes and choose a physical space that you know well, such as your home, a school you attended, or a current or former workplace. If your chosen space has only one or two rooms, do not worry. You can also use things like doors, passageways, steps or other permanent places along the physical path. 9The next step is to imagine walking through the space using the path that you would normally take through it. As you walk through, put objects that you want to remember at specific places along the path. Leave the objects there to pick up later when you visit your memory palace. 10Now, let's try this technique by using six ingredients for a pizza: flour, water, dry yeast, tomato sauce, cheese and basil. 11Close your eyes and picture a home. 12First, you open the front door and see a bag of flour on the floor. The bag is broken and some of the flour has spilled. You are worried that you might slip, so you carefully step over the area. 13Second, you walk into your bedroom. On top of your bed sits a cup of water. The cup is shaped like an upside-down piece of pizza. You think about how funny that is and laugh about it. 14Third, as you enter the living room, you see a very large spoon of dry yeast sitting on the sofa. The spoon is watching a cooking show on television. 15Fourth, while standing in the living room, you notice the room has a strange smell to it. You look above the television and see a block of cheese hanging on the wall. 16Fifth, you walk into the kitchen and see two tomatoes chasing each other around the room. Suddenly, they crash and explode, covering the floor in red. 17And sixth, you open the back door and go outside. There, you see a group of very tall green basil plants. In a funny voice, the tallest plant says, "Choose me! Choose me!" 18Did you notice anything strange about the palace? It was full of extraordinary and humorous imagery. We will say more about that in a few minutes. 19But first, let's check how well our technique worked. See if you can answer these questions: 201-What was on the wall above the television? 212-Where were the tomatoes and what were they doing? 223-Which object was sitting on the bed? 234-Where was the yeast and what was it doing? 245-Which ingredient spoke and what did it say? 256-What did you see when you opened the front door? 26My guess is that you remembered everything in our memory palace. That's good news. 27Make memory strong 28Experts offer some advice for making strong memory palaces. 29For instance, if you want to remember a lot of words, memory trainer Anthony Metivier suggests first drawing a simple map of your memory palace. Then, number the places along your path where you will put the things that you want to remember. You can put more than one thing in each room or area. Later, you will add the mental imagery. 30English teacher James, of the YouTube channel JamesESL English Lessons, has additional advice. In his video on memory palaces, he says that there are three keys to a strong memory palace. They are: emotion, movement, and connections between the object and something permanent. 31Both he and Metivier say imagining things in a humorous or crazy way improves your ability to remember them. These experts also agree that connecting images to actions or movement will create lasting memories. For instance, the tomatoes were chasing each other and the basil spoke. 32And finally, teacher James suggests placing the objects next to or on something permanent in your palace. Beds, sofas, floors, walls, doors - all of these are permanent. The block of cheese was on the wall, for example. 33Now, it's your turn. Pick a list of English words or phrases that you have trouble remembering and try this method on your own. 34Let us know how it goes. 35I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant. 36Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 37_________________________________________________________________ 38Words in This Story 39palace - n. a very large and impressive house 40ingredient - n. one of the things that are used to make a food or product 41slip - v. to lose your balance, especially on a slippery surface 42phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 43spoon - n. an eating or cooking tool that has a small shallow bowl attached to a handle 44sofa - n. a long and comfortable piece of furniture on which a person can sit or lie down 45kitchen - n. a room in which food is cooked 46guess - n. an attempt to give an answer about something when you do not know much about it or are not sure about it 47key - n. something that is necessary in order to do or achieve something