George Sandford

English language guide to memory

1. An Introduction to Memory

Forgetting

I have a good memory, but short’

Popular Polish saying

This saying highlights the fact that most people consider that they have a poor memory. We notice the times that we forget important information or can not recall where we have left our phones; a birthday is forgotten and we can’t bring to mind the name of an actor which sits frustratingly on the tip of our tongue. We many forget peoples’ names in meetings or overlook to return a phone call. But things are not as bad as they seem. Firstly it is good to forget! If we remembered every time we’d brushed our teeth or bought a carton of milk, how tiresome life would be. Furthermore, it would be chaotic as we would be like obsessive hoarders, unable to move freely through our minds for all the useless clutter in the way. Some poor souls actually suffer from a condition, called blabla in which every small detail of almost every day, remains locked securely in their memory. Ironically, they are often unable to transfer this capacity to new learning.

to highlight

to focus on, to go over in bright colour

to recall

to remember

to bring to mind

to be reminded of something

on the tip of your tongue

almost able to remember but not quite

to overlook

to forget or not notice

obsessive

to do something to excess, excessive focus on one idea

to hoard

to keep everything

clutter

many items in a mess

Glossary

to highlight – zwracać uwagę, podkreślać

to recall – przypominać sobie

bring to mind – przywodzić na myśl, przypominać

on the tip of one’s tongue – na końcu języka

overlook – przeoczyć, nie dostrzegać

obsessive – chorobliwy, obsesyjny

hoarder – osoba gromadząca rzeczy, (przenośnie) chomik

clutter – nieład, rupiecie

capacity – zdolność, predyspozycje

Luckily, the majority of people are ‘programmed’ to forget trivia because of the way that new information is processed. Our short-term memory holds information long enough to perform a simple task; for example:

‘What’s Ron’s extension number?’

‘4792’

Initially, we only need to hold the information long enough to dial the number. If we want to remember Ron’s number permanently, we will need to do something to transfer it to our long-term memory. Remembering involves the three stages of input, storage and recall. Poor management of any of these areas will lead to memory failure. Furthermore, there is a difference between recognition and recall; for example, in language terms, passive and active vocabulary. In passive, you recognise a word when you see it and in active, you have the word in your grasp, ready to use.

trivia

small facts of little importance

short-term memory

temporary, working memory

permanently

forever

long-term memory

stable, fixed, permanent memory

recognition

to remember after seeing or hearing something

in your grasp

within your reach, achievable

Glossary

trivia – drobiazgi, błahostki

to process – przetwarzać, przerabiać

short-term memory – pamięć krótkotrwała

initially – początkowo

permanently – trwale, na stałe

long-term memory – pamięć długotrwała, pamięć trwała

failure – niepowodzenie, porażka

recognition – rozpoznanie

in your grasp – mieć w ręku, do dyspozycji

2. How good is your memory?

Tick which answers apply to you, then add up your score.

Question

Not at

   all

    1

To some

  extent

      2

Quite good/well

      3

Very good/ well

    4

1

I am good at remembering faces

2

I remember peoples’ names when introduced

3

I can remember my classmates from when I was 10 years old

4

I can recall my early childhood

5

I am good at remembering facts and figures

6

I absorb new words and information quickly

7

I remember music and tunes

8

I remember the words to songs

9

I can remember shopping items without making writing a list

10

I know where to find important personal documents

11

I know details such as my NIP and PESEL numbers

12

I am always in control of small items such as telephones and keys

13

If I have been somewhere once, I can find my way there easily the next time

14

I am good at remembering dates such as birthdays and anniversaries

15

I am able to visualise places such as a hotel or holiday resort that I’ve visited

Score

31-40

Fantastic! You’re memory is a real asset to you and you are able to use all your senses and skills to absorb and recall different types of information.

21-30

Pretty good but you are probably better at some memory tasks than others. Let’s see if this guide can give you some techniques to help you.

11-20

Your memory lets you down quite often and can cause problems. It will definitely be worth developing some memory skills.

0-10

Hello! Remember me? We had better work on this quickly before you put the guide down and forget where you’ve put it!

3. Some factors that cause memory problems

Overload

Maybe you have a very busy job and lifestyle with just too many demands on your attention. You just react to a situation and forget it. Our minds can only absorb so much at a time.

Interference

As animals, our sensors are designed to respond to the loudest, strangest, most threatening or most emotional signals. That’s why contestants in game shows sometimes forget the answer to a simple question because their stress blocks out their normal thoughts.

Poor input procedures

We simply don’t take enough care when taking in new information so it is never strong enough to get into our long-term memory.

classmate

someone you share a class with at school

childhood

the name for the period of being a child

absorb

take in

tune

the melody of a song

anniversary

commemoration of a specific date such as wedding

visualise

to see in you imagination

asset

something owned of value

pretty

in this sense, quite

to let you down

to disadvantage, to fail to achieve a required standard

had better

should

overload

too great a demand

so much

a limited amount

at a time

in one go

interference

confusion caused by other signals and messages

contestant

competitor in a TV show

game show

TV show with a competitive game element

to block out

to stop or remove

to take in

to absorb, notice

Glossary

classmate – kolega z klasy

absorb – absorbować, chłonąć

anniversary – rocznica

visualise – wyobrażać sobie

asset – atut, zaleta

pretty – całkiem

to let down – zawodzić, rozczarować

overload – przeciążenie, przeładowanie

so much – niewiele, ograniczona ilość

at a time – w momencie

interference – zakłócenie, nakładanie się

contestant – zawodnik

game show – teleturniej

block out – tłumić, przesłaniać, zatrzymać

take in – pobierać, przyjmować