But, what happens if you are only partially paying attention? Of course the answer is that you only have a partial memory of what you studied.

So, what does it mean to be paying full attention when learning a language?

And why do you struggle to remember the meaning of words when you did study with full attention?

Repetition is the “Name of the Game”

The problem with language learning memory strategies are that they require repetition. And, your brain starts to filter shut down stimulation that is the same. This is a built in survival mechanism.

In the old days, you would visit a doctor’s office and you could smell the alcohol and other chemicals. In fact, the waiting room and examination rooms were thick with these smells.

However, after you sat in the room for awhile, you began not to notice the smell. And it was only later, when you left the doctor’s office and emerged into the open air that you smelled the smell again.

Language learning by repetition, while needed to move words from your “short-term memory” to your “long-term memory,” suffers from same fate. That is, you repeat and repeat, and after a while, your brain starts to filter the words. You begin to be paying only partial attention, and the impact of your study fades.

Making Language Learning Input Different

Fortunately, the cure for reversing you brain’s tendency to filter out repeated words is easily fixed. All you have to do is change the repetition style. For example, in repeating words to increase your memory of them, your can:

• Say one word loudly
• Say the next word in a whisper
• Say the next word in a normal tone of voice
• Say the next word in a falsetto voice
• Say the next word in a base voice
• Etc.

This is a technique that was advocated by the folks that developed the “SuperLearning™ System” a few years ago. The SuperLearning™ method relies on soft background music, timed to a repetitive, slow beat (about one beat per second); and words that are spoken over the tape in altering voice loudness.

The relaxing music eliminates stress (another enemy of memory and learning), while the alternating tones of voice provide stimulus change to keep your brain active and engaged in the study period.

Here are examples of the SuperLearning™ products…

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