A 5 Day Rote Memory System

[Udut, Kenneth]

Feel free to share this with anyone.
I don't need the credit for it,
as it's not my system.

Here is a rote memory system
that can be applied to language
learning efforts (vocabulary,
grammar rules, etc).

[I *think* the URL I found this system on
is http://www.mind2it.com but it's at home.]


It is a five-day system.

1) Put the information you want to learn
on a card.  Business-card sized, index card,
slip of torn paper - whatever.

On the upper-right hand corner, put some sort
of 'indexing' information.  For example,
if it is a scripture verse you are memorizing,
put Genesis 1:1 in the upper-right hand corner.
If it is the Russian root ALK,
and there are five words that you want
to learn that have the root ALK,
then put: ALK - HUNGRY, GREEDY 1
in the upper-right hand corner.

In the body of the card, put what it is that
you want to learn.  For example:

----
ALK-AT', to be hungry, greedy,
thirsty, to long for

Oni alchut pishchi.  They are
hungry for food.
----

You can also include a
mnemonic on the bottom some where,
{if it's ALKAT', it can be ALLEY CAT,
and you can picture a gigantic alley cat
going from restaurant window to restaurant
window, breaking through the glass, hungry
for food, or something else that helps you
remember).


2) FIRST DAY
First day, you will read
the card 5 times in a row, SLOWLY.
Reading the card five times, is
called a SET.

After each set, mark the back of the
card:

IIIII

For the first day, do FIVE sets
throughout the day.

By the end of the day, your card
will look like this:

IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII


3) SECOND DAY
Second day, you will have a NEW
card with new material on it.
A new word, a new concept, whatever.
[you have to prepare these in advance,
of course].

You will do FIVE sets throughout
the day with this card.

With the first day's card, you
will do FOUR sets throughout the day.

BY THE END OF DAY 2:

IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
will be on the back of the first card.

IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
will be on the back of the second card.


4) Continue this system with the
third card, fourth card, and
fifth card.

By the end of the fifth day,
you will have FIVE CARDS.

The backs of the cards will look
like this (to help you visualize:


1st card
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII
IIIII

2nd card
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII

3rd card
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII

4th card
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII

5th card
IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII



After the fifth day,
you can keep the 1st card
at home, but REVIEW it
once a day for 25 days.

This is for maintenance.

After that, you can put the
finished up cards in storage
to review from time to time,
but you should have it
extremely well memorized
by then.



Resist the temptation to
do too much at first.

The first week, start with
just *one* new word a day.

Remember too, that after
five days and beyond, if you
are consistent, you'll always
have 5 cards with you.  One is
on its 1st day.  Another is on its
2nd day.  Another is on its 3rd
day.  Another is on its 4th day.
Another is on its 5th and final
day carried with you.

You can move to two words
a day the second week, but don't
get too greedy and try too much
at once.

Consistency rather than volume
is more important.

It may not be the quickest system,
but for some folks (like me),
it's at least a *system*, that
can be used alongside traditional
or newer methods of learning.
And there won't be a day that goes
by that one isn't learning a new
word and starting to commit it
to memory.

Hope this proves useful to someone.

--
-- Kenneth.Udut at SPCORP.COM
--