Remember back to the old days when we were told to memorize new vocabulary words in our foreign language classes? Even if you were motivated to memorize 25 new words, what is the probability that you can retain and later use those words in a meaningful situation? Unlikely.

I’ve recently started thinking about the power of word associations in acquiring new vocabulary in another language. I’ve been trying (slowly) to learn Nepali. I have a tough time retaining new vocabulary (I’m past the critical age hypothesis by a long shot). Then, my husband taught me a word that reminded me of another word in Hindi. Sometimes I would forget the Nepali word but remember the Hindi word. Making this cognitive connection always helps me to remember the Nepali word again. It’s one of the few words in my vocabulary.

So, for students that we teach, that means providing exercises to encourage connections. One way to do that is through graphic organizers or by listing categories. For example, you could draw a chart with the word at the top and categories like–color, sound, and so on. At the bottom of the chart, you could have students fill in what the word makes them think of. For example, if I am learning English and I want to remember the word Elephant, maybe I make an association of the gray color with the word for gray in my native language and I can remember Elephant. Of course, pictures always help the brain to process, remember, and make connections.

New words are only a connection away…