Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are systems that can help you improve your capacity of remembering things. They are memory techniques to help your brain retain and quickly recall important information. These methods often involve associating what you want to remember with an image, a word or a sentence. Mnemonic devices have been used since the time of Ancient Greece and beyond and can be useful for learning difficult words and phrases in a foreign language.

• One of the most common techniques is known as memory palace or method of loci. In this technique, the items to be remembered are associated with a mental picture of a known physical location, such as your home or your place of work. Within that space, you create a trajectory and put in images that represent the elements that need to be memorized in the middle.
• Creating interesting (and sometimes bizarre) associations helps you remember the elements better. For example, if you need to know that the German word raupe means caterpillar, you could have a caterpillar with a rope around its body.

Articles about Mnemonics on the Web

• Wikipedia has a very well-sourced, detailed article on different kinds of mnemonics.
• The website Fluent in Three Months has a good free article that gives you a Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Memory Palace, and other free resources.