Memorizing a new word in French can be an adventure, often leading to frustration and self-criticism like, “My memory is terrible! Why can’t I remember that word?”
But the reality is, forgetting is part of the natural learning process.
I want to share my experience with learning the word segue in English to help you recognize the different stages we naturally go through when acquiring new vocabulary. By becoming aware of this process, you can make your learning more efficient and stop being so hard on yourself.
7 steps to memorize a new word
1. 🤐Avoidance
At first, I avoided the word altogether. When encountering a foreign language, it’s common to come across unfamiliar words. My initial strategy is simple: if I can grasp the general meaning of a sentence without knowing this specific word, I don’t bother looking it up. Thus, my first phase with segue was avoidance.
2. 🤔Guessing the meaning from context
Eventually, I realized that the instructor of my training program loved using this word. It seemed to be a key term in certain phrases. So, I tried to deduce its meaning based on context. However, this guessing strategy didn’t quite work—I kept struggling to understand what it truly meant.
3. 🔎Looking up the translation
Finally, I turned to my favorite translator, WordReference, and looked up the word. At last, I grasped its meaning within the specific sentence I was reading.
4. 👌Forgetting is part of the process
The next time I encountered the word, I had, of course, forgotten its meaning. This is completely normal! When you look up a new word only once, forgetting is frequent. In fact, to truly memorize something, you often need to forget it multiple times first.
5. 🔁Cycle of forgetting and translation
Over the next few weeks, I found myself repeatedly looking up segue in my translator. I estimate that this cycle has been repeated at least 6 times.
6. 📌Conscious decision to remember
Finally, after yet another instance of looking up the word, I stopped and asked myself: “Inès, how many times have you looked this up and forgotten it? Maybe it’s time for a change?”
I decided to focus deliberately on the word and find a way to make it stick. From experience, I knew that mnemonic technique worked well for me.
7. 🧠Using a mnemonic technique to memorize the word
I observed the word, checked its translation again, and searched for a meaningful connection. Then, I found it through Spanish! The word segue reminded me of the Spanish verb “seguir,” which means “to continue.” This made perfect sense for me.
By linking this new word to something I already knew, I created a mental connection that made it easy to remember. From that moment on, I never looked up the translation of this word again. Every time I see it, my brain will recall the connection I made.
I hope this story sheds light on the journey of learning new vocabulary. It’s normal to forget, but by recognizing the steps you go through, you can make your learning more intentional and effective. Most importantly, finding a strategy that works for you can make all the difference in retaining new words!
If you found this helpful, try applying these techniques to your own vocabulary learning! What’s the last word you struggled to memorize?
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