ACTION VOCABULARY
So many students waste time trying to memorize English vocabulary.
They study long lists of words. They repeat the lists many times, trying to
memorize the English words and their translated meanings. Unfortunately,
research shows that 80% of vocabulary learned in this way is forgotten in
less than a year. That’s a lot of wasted time and effort.
There’s another problem with this vocabulary learning method — it’s
boring, and it kills long-term motivation. As a student, you must be very
careful— killing your motivation is the worst thing you can do. Learning
English is a marathon, it’s a long run. It requires high levels of motivation
that are sustained for many years.
Using boring vocabulary learning methods, therefore, is doubly bad: it
is inefficient and it weakens motivation.
There is a better way, as participants in my breakthrough seminars have
found out. It is possible to learn new vocabulary in a way that is far more
powerful AND is a lot of fun. When you learn in this way, studies show
that you can remember 80% one year later! That’s powerful.
The key to deep, powerful, long term vocabulary learning is movement.
When you combine strong physical movements with understandable new
vocabulary, you create deep connections in your brain and body. These
connections are long term. They last! The key is to use a movement that
reminds you of the meaning of the vocabulary.
For example, imagine you want to learn the phrase “to proclaim.” First
you would find the meaning of the word, which is “to say or announce
publicly, often in a loud way.” After you know the meaning, you create an
action that reminds you of it. You might put your hands to your mouth and
pretend you are yelling loudly (“to say publicly and loudly”). Finally, you
