Never Forget a Word: Memory Champion Secrets for English Learners

ENA young man walks into his grandmother's house.

ENShe looks at him... and smiles politely.

ENThe way you smile at a stranger.

ENShe has no idea who he is.

ENAnd he is her grandson.

ENThat moment broke his heart.

ENBut it also started something extraordinary.

ENBecause that young man decided to fight for memory itself.

ENHe trained every single day... and became a four-time USA Memory Champion.

ENHis name is Nelson Dellis.

ENAnd today, we are taking his best techniques... and turning them into tools for your English.

ENWelcome to Your English Toolbox, where we train your ears step by step.

ENI am Martin.

ENAnd I am Julia.

ENFriends, we are so happy you are here today.

ENBefore we open the book, remember that this episode has a home.

ENYour English Toolbox... dot... com.

ENThere you will find this episode with its interactive transcript... and translations in Farsi, Spanish, German and French.

ENPlus the vocabulary list, flashcards, games and PDFs... all completely free.

ENKeep it in mind while you listen... because today's method and those tools were made for each other.

ENSo... today we are opening a book called Everyday Genius, by Nelson Dellis.

ENA man who can memorize a full deck of cards... in minutes.

ENBut relax — this episode is not about becoming a champion.

ENIt is about one question.

ENWhy do you forget English words... and how can you stop it?

ENIf you stay with us until the end, you will walk away with three things.

ENOne — the three-step formula memory athletes use... adapted for vocabulary, idioms and even irregular verbs.

ENTwo — the Memory Palace... a technique older than the Roman Empire... that turns your own home into a dictionary.

ENThree — and a way of reading in English that plants words so deep... they never leave.

ENSo let's open the book.

ENChapter one starts with an idea that changes everything.

ENA good memory is not a gift.

ENIt is a skill.

ENNelson Dellis says his natural memory is completely average.

ENNormal... like yours... like mine.

ENThe difference is not talent.

ENThe difference is technique.

ENSo when you say...

ENI have a terrible memory for words...

ENThat is not a fact about your brain.

ENIt is a fact about your method.

ENAnd a method can change today.

ENThe formula has three steps.

ENEncode... visualize... store.

ENStep one sounds simple... and almost nobody does it.

ENPay real attention.

ENHere is an uncomfortable truth, friends.

ENMost words are not forgotten.

ENThey were never truly heard in the first place.

ENThink about the last time someone told you their name.

ENFive seconds later... gone.

ENNot because your memory failed.

ENBecause in that moment, you were busy preparing your own answer.

ENAttention comes first.

ENMemory comes second.

ENStep two is where the magic begins.

ENTurn the word into a picture.

ENAnd not a polite, reasonable picture.

ENA ridiculous one.

ENYour brain ignores boring things.

ENBut it cannot ignore something absurd... enormous... emotional.

ENAnd here is a detail most people miss.

ENUse all your senses.

ENDo not just see the image.

ENHear it... smell it... touch it... make it move.

ENA picture with sound and movement is ten times stronger than a photograph.

ENLet's do one together, right now.

ENTake the verb... to grasp.

ENIt means to hold something firmly... or to understand an idea.

ENNow listen to it... grasp... it sounds almost like grass.

ENSo imagine this.

ENYou are walking barefoot in a park.

ENAnd suddenly... the grass comes alive... and grasps your ankle.

ENGreen fingers... cold and wet... holding you tight.

ENYou can feel them on your skin... you can even hear the grass laughing.

ENIt is silly... it is impossible... and that is exactly why it works.

ENTomorrow, when you hear grasp... that crazy grass will appear.

ENYour brain keeps what surprises it.

ENStep three... give every word a home.

ENThis is the Memory Palace.

ENThe oldest memory technique in the world... and still the most powerful.

ENChoose a place you know perfectly... your own home.

ENNow create a route... front door... hallway... kitchen.

ENAnd place one image... one expression... at each stop.

ENYour brain is brilliant at remembering places.

ENSo the place remembers the word for you.

ENLet's make it real.

ENImagine you just finished a podcast episode, and you chose your expressions.

ENOnly five to eight... never fifty.

ENFifty words on a list is collecting... not learning.

ENNow walk through your home.

ENAt the front door... the grass is grasping the door handle.

ENIn the hallway... you run into an old friend... you literally crash into him... papers flying everywhere.

ENAnd in the kitchen... someone spilled the beans... beans on the floor, in your shoes, inside the coffee machine.

ENThree stops... three expressions... and you still have the sofa and the bedroom waiting.

ENTonight, close your eyes and take that walk again.

ENFive steps... five crazy pictures... five expressions that are now yours.

ENYour house just became a dictionary.

ENAnd friends... this technique is not only for single words.

ENIt works beautifully with idioms... those expressions that make no logical sense.

ENTake a classic... to bite the bullet.

ENIt means to face something difficult... something you cannot avoid any longer.

ENBut the words say nothing about that... and this is exactly why learners forget idioms.

ENSo the book gives us a trick with two pictures.

ENFirst... film the literal scene.

ENA soldier takes a real metal bullet... puts it between his teeth... and bites.

ENYou can hear the crunch... horrible.

ENThen... connect it to the real meaning.

ENThat same soldier stands up... takes a deep breath... and walks into the storm... because he has no other choice.

ENTwo images... one crazy, one true.

ENThe crazy one makes you remember.

ENThe true one gives you the meaning.

ENTry it tonight with any idiom that refuses to stay.

ENAnd now... the nightmare of every English student.

ENIrregular verbs.

ENGo... went... gone.

ENThree words... no logic... pure memorization.

ENUnless... you turn them into a tiny movie.

ENWatch this.

ENYou are standing at a green traffic light... and green means go.

ENSuddenly a wet winter storm arrives... the wind... went... it sweeps you off the street.

ENAnd the storm drops you inside a dark gold mine... where nobody can find you... gone.

ENGo... went... gone.

ENOne little film... three forms... in the right order... forever.

ENMake your own movies for the verbs that always escape you.

ENThe stranger the story... the stronger the verb.

ENNow, let me tell you about Ravi, one of our listeners.

ENRavi moved to Manchester two years ago.

ENAnd he had a small... painful problem.

ENHis neighbour introduced himself three times.

ENAnd three times...

ENRavi forgot his name.

ENSo he started avoiding him... crossing the street... just to escape that embarrassment.

ENThen he tried the technique.

ENThe neighbour's name was Bill.

ENSo Ravi imagined him covered in dollar bills... bills falling from his jacket... flying out of his ears.

ENRidiculous?

ENCompletely.

ENBut the next Saturday, Ravi opened his door, looked up, and said...

ENGood morning, Bill.

ENAnd that tiny sentence changed how he felt on his own street.

ENThat is what memory really is, friends.

ENNot a trick for competitions.

ENConfidence... in real life.

ENOne warning before we continue.

ENCrazy images are powerful... but they are not permanent.

ENThe glue is review.

ENVisit your palace tomorrow... then in three days... then in a week.

ENEvery visit makes the path stronger.

ENAnd if you use flashcards, you already know this engine.

ENActive recall... spaced repetition.

ENThe champions run on exactly the same fuel.

ENAnd that takes us to chapter two... reading.

ENBecause Nelson Dellis also competed in speed reading.

ENAnd here comes the beautiful surprise.

ENHe was one of the slowest readers in the whole competition.

ENSome competitors claimed two thousand words per minute.

ENHe read about four hundred.

ENAnd he went home with a medal.

ENHow is that possible?

ENBecause when the reading finished, he remembered almost everything.

ENAnd the fast readers... remembered almost nothing.

ENSpeed is vanity, friends.

ENComprehension is wealth.

ENAnd for English learners, this changes the whole game.

ENYou do not need to read fast.

ENYou need to read deep.

ENSo here is the first reading technique.

ENStop translating... start filming.

ENWe call it the mental movie.

ENWhen you read... a rainy evening in London...

ENDo not translate word by word in your head.

ENClose your eyes for one second.

ENSee the grey sky... hear the rain on the umbrella... feel the cold air on your face.

ENNow English is not connected to your language anymore.

ENIt is connected to life.

ENAnd words connected to life... stay.

ENHere is the second reading secret... and it almost sounds illegal.

ENDo not read every single word.

ENYour eyes do not need every little word... the... a... of... to.

ENYour brain fills those gaps automatically... yes, in English too.

ENSo train your eyes to jump between the important words... the nouns... the verbs.

ENRead... cat... sat... mat... and your brain quietly builds... the cat sat on the mat.

ENThis is called chunking... reading in groups of words.

ENIt is exactly how native speakers read.

ENLess effort... more speed... and the same understanding.

ENThird technique... an old idea with a beautiful name.

ENThe commonplace book.

ENA small notebook where you collect treasures from everything you read.

ENBut here is the key for English.

ENDo not collect single words.

ENCollect full expressions... out of the blue... take it for granted... sooner or later.

ENWrite them by hand... because your hand teaches your brain.

ENAnd once a week, open the notebook... and read your treasures out loud.

ENSlowly, that notebook becomes your personal English.

ENBuilt from everything you love reading.

ENAnd one more secret... this one sounds strange.

ENChange where you study.

ENMonday on the sofa...

ENWednesday in a café...

ENSaturday in the park.

ENYour brain records the place together with the words.

ENSo every location becomes another door into the memory.

ENMore places... more doors... more English available when you need it.

ENOne last gift from the book... how to actually finish books in English.

ENBecause many of us start them... and abandon them on page twenty.

ENRule one... choose books by love, not by level.

ENIf the story matters to you... emotion does half of the work.

ENRule two... if a book bores you... stop reading it.

ENYou are not in school... there is no exam... drop it without guilt.

ENAnd rule three... make the goal small.

ENTen pages a day... every single day... beats fifty pages once a month.

ENPut a little sticker on page ten... and enjoy that small victory every night.

ENThirty days later... you have finished a whole book in English.

ENAnd that feeling, friends... changes how you see yourself.

ENQuick recap, friends.

ENMemory is a skill... not a gift.

ENThree steps... pay real attention... turn words into ridiculous pictures with all your senses... and store them in your Memory Palace.

ENIdioms need two images... the crazy one and the true one.

ENIrregular verbs become tiny movies... go... went... gone.

ENFive to eight expressions... reviewed tomorrow... in three days... in a week.

ENAnd when you read... film the mental movie... jump between the important words... collect expressions in your commonplace book... and change your location.

ENChoose books by love... quit the boring ones... ten pages a day.

ENOne book... one method... and your vocabulary stops disappearing.

ENSo here is your mission for tonight.

ENChoose five expressions from any episode you love.

ENCreate five ridiculous images... place them around your home... and take the walk before you sleep.

ENTomorrow morning... walk through your palace again.

ENAnd notice what happens.

ENThe words are just... there.

ENWaiting for you.

ENAnd remember, friends... you do not have to do any of this alone.

ENEverything we described today is already waiting for you at Your English Toolbox... dot... com.

ENThe interactive transcript of this episode... perfect for training your mental movie.

ENThe vocabulary section... where the five to eight expressions are already chosen for you.

ENTranslations in Farsi, Spanish, German and French... a safety net under every English line.

ENFlashcards with active recall... memory games... and PDFs you can print for your commonplace book.

ENAll of it... completely free.

ENYour toolbox is open... you only have to walk in.

ENNelson Dellis started this journey because of a painful goodbye.

ENYou can start yours tonight... with five words and your own front door.

ENBecause from today, you are not a person with a bad memory.

ENYou never were.

ENYou are a person who finally has the technique.

ENAnd that changes everything.

ENThank you for being here with us, friends.

ENTake care... and enjoy building your palace.

ENBye for now.