Memorisation techniques
Chunking Break the paragraph into ‘chunks’ e.g. one ‘chunk’ is half a sentence. Draw a set of boxes – one for each half sentence. Practise writing out what is in the first box until you can write it out from memory then repeat…
Assembly Write your paragraph out onto a piece of paper (leave space between each word). Cut it up so that each word is on a separate piece of paper. Jumble the words up then try piecing it back together until you can do it without peeping at your draft!
Look, say, cover, write, check Cover up your paragraph with a piece of paper. Write out the words/lines you can remember, gradually uncovering more and more as you learn it.
Blob method Write out your paragraph on a separate piece of paper. Choose one or two words that you are finding easier to remember to blot out and see if you can fill them in. Gradually blot out more and more words. This is a great way of choosing your 40 words! Ich fahre mit meinen Eltern nach Griechenland. Ich fliege. Es ist toll. Ich esse im Flugzeug eine Pizza und ich trinke Tee. Es dauert vier Stunden. Ich kaufe eine Zeitung. Es ist sehr heiß in Griechenland.
Elimination As soon as you know a section, cross it out. Keep doing this until your can recite the majority. Any words left at the end should be on your 40 words sheet (except the conjugated verbs!) – remember, it’s there to help you! Ich fahre mit meinen Eltern nach Griechenland. Ich fliege. Es ist toll. Ich esse im Flugzeug eine Pizza und ich trinke Tee. Es dauert vier Stunden. Ich kaufe eine Zeitung. Es ist sehr heiß in Griechenland.
Roman Room Think about a room in your house where you spend a lot of time (e.g. your bedroom) Assign a small part of your paragraph to a place/object in the room – imagery. (You can put post-its in these places when you get home.) Practise then see how much of your paragraph you can write out.