Last Monday, I was
looking for some books in my room and I found a small notebook from school. It
is called “Memorina” and contents one hundred and eight useful sentences in
English. The notebook had to be so small to put it in the pocket or in the pencil
case!!
I remember that I
began writing these sentences in 3rd year of Primary and I wrote the
last one in 6th of Primary. In the lower levels, my English teacher
wrote some sentences in the blackboard every day and we had to copy them in our
notebook. Each sentence has the translation to Spanish.
Let’s take some examples:
1 Saludo normal: Hello
2 Saludo amistoso: Hi
53. Decir que tenemos hambre: I’m hungry
54. Decir que tenemos sueño: I’m sleepy
107. Preguntar a qué hora…: What time do you…?
Every month, we did a
(oral or written) “Memorina exam” so we learnt all these sentences. We had all
the sentences that we had to knew in our notebooks. It was extremely useful!
We didn´t know the
real meaning of all the sentences but we could say a lot of them without
thinking. When I was in Secondary Education I started to understand how these
phrases were formed. Then, I could distinguish the subjects, the verbs, and the
rules to write correctly but I already knew some structures!
I remember that
“Memorina” was an “event” at school. All the pupils at school had their own
notebooks and there was a “competition” to have more and more sentences. In the
upper levels, the teacher taught new sentences when all the pupils knew the old
ones. We had so sentences to study!!
The first class that
got one hundred sentences was mine!! We celebrated it with a party at school.
I think that is a
useful method to teach some complicated grammar structures. Children can’t
understand how to form an English sentence but they know some important grammar
structures related to their daily life. Besides, they have almost all the
sentences in their small “Memorina”.
(Gonzalo García)
(Gonzalo García)
Wow, that was nice!!!!!!!! I really get so NOSTALGIC when reading pieces of light just like the one Gonzalo wrote for us above. I5 was just like being a child again studying English for the first time and FEELING WITHIN MY HEART LIFE WAS A WONDER TO BE DISCOVERED!!!!! Long Live the MEMORINA, Long Live Rock n' Roll!!!!!!
ResponderEliminarTo be honest it´s the first time I hear about this kind of notebook. As Gonzalo says, I think is a good idea to use this book not only in a class but in the whole school because it can help to improve the vocabulary and informal sentences which can be useful to practise both in written and oral activities.
ResponderEliminarI am not quite sure if I had a notebook like this (only for expressions), I´d say no, but what I can remember is that a teacher I had when I was in 3rd year, I guess, is that he used to show us a lot of colloquial expressions such us "Give me five", and he passed around the whole class "giving 5" to all pupils.
Thank you Gonzalo for sharing with us this tought :). It´s good to know new tricks I´ve never heard about them before so we can apply them with our future pupils :). TEACHING IS ABOUT SHARING TRICKS AND HELPING EACH OTHERS!!!! :).
I think Memorina is a good option to learn some expressions that the children can use when they speak and write in English. Memorina can be used at school, at highschool and even when students travel to a foreign country.
ResponderEliminarNevertheless, I think the most difficult part of the Memorina is to fill in it constantly. Gonzalo and his mates could do it because it has become a routine in the English class. But I remember that, when I was at fifth or sixth year at school, all the children had to copy some expressions and false friends at the end of the notebooks in the English subject. We didn't do it in all the sessions, only when the teacher told us. We were constant during two/three weeks but then the teacher and us forgot it.
So, Memorina can be a good tool in the English class but the teacher has to be constant to have at least 100, as Gonzalo wrote in his Memorina, when the students finish Primary Education.
Memorina is a good tool to use in class. I consider that having all the new and difficult sentences or words written down is very efficient. This methodology reminds me the typical "Vocabulary lists" that we all used to have. Actually I must admit that I still create them when I am reading or when I am using my English and I cannot say a word beacuse I don´t know how to translate it into English. I really think that the best way to learn is failing or making mistakes; in that moment you realize that you need that sentence or word, so you interiorize it better and easier.
ResponderEliminarVocabulary lists or Memorina, as you call it is useful and efficient if students check it everyday and keep on doing it from time to time in their future. Otherwise, students fill it in but they forget all the words after a few time. Sometimes,I cannot remember some words that I am totally sure that I already knew, cause I studied them at school.
I would like to share a personal experience with you all: My academy teacher had a kind of similar methodology. It sounds a bit weird, but she made us stick our vocabulary list and our list of irregular verbs in the bathroom wall. That was because we spend a lot of time in it without doing anything useful, so at least we could review all the words and learn them. That was odd but practical.
As Víctor said, for me it's the first time I hear about "Memorina". After reading your comments, it sounds good for me; "a useful tool", as you said. However, I can't imagine how did you do when you need a sentence in a specific situation. Did your "Memorina" have a table of contents? Did you classify the sentences in any special way? And the last question, did you, as students, find it useful in your English learning process?
ResponderEliminarThanks for sharing!!
(Julia, funny thing about the 'bathroom-study room'! You remind me something similar. I know that some people stick post-it in different objects, to learn more vocabulary. For example, they can stick a post-it in a plug with the word "plug" written on it (either in the class or at home. And why not, in the bathroom too!)
You are a superb bunch of good thinkers!!!!!! Thanks for all the feedback offered!!!!!!!
ResponderEliminarI have to admit Elena that the sentences were not classified. The first sentences were easier than the last ones (we can’t forget that the first sentences were copied in 3rd and the last ones in 6th of Primary Education). This is the only classification because they were related to the topic that we were working in that moment.
ResponderEliminarHowever, I think that this method is useful because it makes children studying every day (if it is worked every day in class, of course!). Like the sentences are very usual, when they appear in an exercise, students remember them without any problem.
Memorina is a good way to learn and know English but i think that one of the main items had to be the "constance" building memorina every day and if it were necessary correcting it one time per week, month or whatever frequency of time.
ResponderEliminarI have to admit that last week i started to use the "post-it" method that said Elena in mi rent flat in Soria. We are in kitchen's tools yet but weekly we will go increasing the vocabulary. Also, i'm sorry Julia but i will acquire too your method.
Greetings and be happy!!!
Nice to hear that you all enjoy this thread!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!
ResponderEliminar