Keyword Mnemonic

The keyword-mnemonic technique is most frequently used to learn foreign word vocabulary, though it can be adapted to other purposes. This technique achieves its effectiveness by encoding information both visually and verbally. This gives you twice the number of aids for aided recall to work.

The first step is to think of an English keyword that is similar to the foreign word. For example, the French word for "fish" is "poisson" so your keyword might be "poison" because it is similar to the French word. Try to pick a noun for the keyword, because it will make the next step easier.

The second step is to visualize an association between your English keyword and the English translation of the foreign word. In this case, we would visualize an association between "fish" and "poison." Maybe you could visualize a toxic pond with all the fish floating on the surface, or maybe you would picture someone eating some fish and then dropping over dead. The more dramatic you make your visualizion, the more effective it will be as a memory tool.

Now, if you need to remember the French word for "fish," you will remember the visual scene and will recall the word "poison." This will lead you to the correct word "poisson."

This technique can also work in reverse - going from the foreign word to the English translation.