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Learning to Read and Write in a Different Language
The first book I read in English was a real challenge. From the first page I was lost and I wanted to run to my dictionary. Then I realized that if I was to look for the meaning of every word I didn't know, it would take me a couple of years to finish the book.
I kept on reading the book, making connections of words within the context of the paragraph, looking for clues that would help me get the meaning of the word. This is when my imagination came to my rescue. I found myself picturing situations in my mind trying to find the missing part - the word I didn't know. I made a list of the unknown words in each chapter. After I finished with the chapter, I looked these words up in a dictionary.
Once I found the meanings I made use of mnemonics. I would think of a series of ideas that would link with the unknown word. Even now I can still recall some of the associations I made in order to remember a certain word. For example: hardware store. A hardware store has, among other things, hammers and nails. I would think of hammers and nails being really "hard" to "wear", thus, hardware. Sometimes I laugh bacause these associations are very funny but they work in the long term.
After my English reading skills improved, I found that writing was not as difficult. By then my spelling was much improved and my grammar was better. In the beginning I was concerned how my first writing assignment would turn out. But to my surprise I got a B. Not bad! Then I took writing classes and studied different writing styles. Once again my imagination played an important role during the process. It didn't matter if my grammar was not perfect or my spelling was not correct. It got better with time. The important thing was to start writing without fear, just letting my thoughts flow onto the paper, mistakes and all.
If you want to read more about memory techniques, check these sites:
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