Do you still remember what we did when we started to learn Chinese in primary school? It was endless memorizing and writing from memory. That is what we should do when we start to learn English because English is also a language. The skill of memorizing is nothing but repeating again and again. Anyone can do this easily.
    
    Here are some tips for you。
    
    Tip 1. Memorize the objects and events you can see or hear everyday.
    The easiest thing for you to do is memorize the things around you because you can recall them easily. You can start by memorizing what you eat three meals a day, what you are wearing today, or the things that you will do today. If you are a waiter, you can start with the menu, the furniture in your restaurant, the basic dialogues you will use with the guests when you serve them.
    You have just memorized many words now, haven’t you?
    
    Tip 2. Making good use of cards and pictures.
    I used to help my daughter to memorize words using cards. I pasted the cards on food items and dinnerware on the wall in the dining room. When she sat down for dinner, she could review what she was eating and what dinnerware she was using.
    Whether for kids or adults, pictures cannot be ignored. I asked my daughter to trace the shape of a human body –--  her own body -- on a large piece of paper when she started to learn the words associated with the human anatomy. And then she wrote the words on the appropriate positions on the body shape. She pasted the picture on the wall in the sitting room where she could review these words before she watched television. It really worked! Have a try and you can find your way.
    
    Tip 3. Making up a story using simple sentences.
    Sometimes, certain words are very difficult for us to memorize. Why not make a short story with these words? For example, when you learn some words about diseases, you can make up such a story: “The little boy Tom was ill. He caught a bad cold. He had a sore throat. He was running a high fever. He also had a headache. So he had to stay at home. How miserable he must have felt!” Don’t you think it is easier for you to memorize the underlined words and phrases? Meanwhile you learn the structure of the sentence when you make up the story. That’s “killing two birds with one stone”, isn’t it?
    
    Tip 4. Persistence.
    Persistence is the most important for anyone who wishes to do something well. I think you the reader have learnt this principle very well and applied this in your daily work. You can apply the same principle in your learning of English and master the language in no time.
    
    These are my personal thoughts. I hope they are useful to you. If you have any good ideas to add to this, please share them with us. Write to the Editor at leesl@sunisland.asia or Sub-editor at chenqy@sunisland.asia.