Researches

Researches about memory
Long run and short run memory are functioning simultaneously. Memory is unlimited and traces of remembers are permanent. However, we must count on our capacity to restitute our memories. When we forget something, it can in fact be interpreted as a fail of the finding procedure. That’s why the importance of specific factors has been proved. Motivation, attention, intentions and expectations of the subject at the encoding time is really important.

Long run memory is the one everyone understands. It is defined theoretically as an unlimited storage system in which information stays sustainably. This notion permits to differentiate this memory to the short run one or the sensorial one, which are only temporary memories.

Long run memory contains:

- Non declarative memory: it is an unconscious memory which permits non associative learning (usual cases, sensitization…), simple moves, procedural memory (cognitive skill for instance)

- Declarative memory: it is a conscious memory which contains semantic memory (conceptual memory, dictionary memory,…) which manages all the knowledge we have on the world to use it at the good time.

Nevertheless, all those memories are not completely independent. They are working together. I can remember that the town of Le Caire is the principal town of Egypt because I learned it at school when I was young, but it is also possible because I went to this town in holidays last year (episodic memories). Moreover, this memory is particularly pleasant because I love Egyptology: then I will easier remember information on this subject than on the golf for instance.

A) Storage

Memories’ storage and primary perception (visual, auditory, …) occurs at the same place in the brain. For example, concerning the visual perception, every area of the brain keeps remembering a part of the memory.

B) Restitution

Most of the time, a clue will get the memory start. This process is called “the starting-up”. For instance, when we talk about milk, our brain matches milk with cow, but not milk with dog. Memory has a real meaning.

This restitution depends on several criteria and depends on the context the memory has been encoded. Episodic memory is more fragile than the semantic one because it must remember the con-text to restitute the information.

An original experience had been led with a group of scuba divers. They had to learn some words of vocabulary under the water, and other words on land. The result was that they restituted better the list they learned if they had to do it in the same conditions.

About the human being, is very important because their utility get easier the process of memorization for words. Concerning words, is more difficult. It seems like the give better results for memorization.



Researches about learn vocabulary
During our researches on websites to learn English1, we have discovered different methods to learn vocabulary. After studying them, we observed that they used one or several of these principles:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Visual: the word is associated to a picture

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Audio: the word is associated to its oral pronunciation

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Context: the word is associated to a sentence <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">