A Mnemonic Device Can Be Used

The beginning development of mnemonic starts with a poet named Simonides of Ceos in fifth century B.C. This mnemonic invented by the Greeks for memory training around 2500 years ago. The Greek lyric poet Simonides, born in 556 B.C., is attributed with inventing mnemonics. His creation have great benefit thought us, many people success is because using this mnemonic method.

There do many types of mnemonics device exist and which type works best is limited only by the imagination of each individual learner. Here are the 9 basic types of mnemonics device presented in this paper include Music, Name, Expression/Word, Model, Ode/Rhyme, Note Organization, Image, Connection, and Spelling Mnemonics. Mnemonics are memory devices that help learners remember larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists like characteristics, steps, stages, parts, phases, etc.

Mnemonics device try to transform information into a form that the human brain can remember better than its original form. Although the process of applying this transformation might already aid the transfer of information to long-term memory but this is still benefit to learner. The mnemonic device commonly practice for lists and in auditory form, such as short poems, acronyms, or memorable phrases, but mnemonics can also be for other types of information and in visual or kinesthetic forms. This device use is based on the examination that the human brain more easily remembers many form of information.

In our daily, we have to remember everything. In school, we have to remember all the knowledge about subject; in workplace, we have to remember all the information about our task, in order to remember this entire thing we have to find out what method can enhance our memory. In my example, I am hardly to spell “mnemonic”, so I use the concept of mnemonic device and create my word, which is “Mnemonic Notes Effective Memorized on New Ideas Creativity”. From my creation, I know that every first letter for every word is “Mnemonic”. Using this method, we not only can spell out those difficult words and also can remember it.

Mnemonic device play an important role in our daily life, although it is important, it still has their limitations or advantages and disadvantages. For the advantage of mnemonic devices is it provide a method to help us recall those information which is difficult to remember. Moreover, it involve rearranging or restructuring information that help our personalize information to become a smart learner. Other than that, it also increases our interest to study by creating my way to learn with information. Lastly, mnemonic devices will help us spend less time on retrieving our information in long term memory when we properly use it.

Beside advantages, mnemonic devices also have some limitation. If a person uses mnemonics too frequently, he or she will have confusion on their learning process. For example, we use mnemonic to remember difficult word, but he or she who too extensively using mnemonic will use this method on every word no matter the word is difficult or not. This problem will occur on those who too rely on mnemonics. In addition, this mnemonic device need more time to practice, create and learn. If someone still cannot understand the practice, which mean that he or she is just wasting time to practice it.

For the 9 basic types of mnemonics, for the first device that I will introduce is the Music Mnemonics. We will remember the song lyric rather than a reading of poem is because of adding music for the word. The same method we remember the lyric, we can use or practice on our academics. Music can help us recall important detail to main idea and leaner made out a song is just for remember a list of items. In business sector, they also use this device to let customer remember their product when purchasing. For example, McDonald fast food is using a short song to stronger their brand on customer mind, which is “Ba Ra Ba Ba Ba, I’m lovin it”. I am sure that when this music occurs, everyone will know is McDonald.

Besides that, we had been practice this device since we are children, which the “ABC” song. We know that let children remember all this alphabets is very difficult them, so teacher will teach the children this “ABC” song to let them easily remember all this 26 alphabets. So that using this method, we know the children directly learning all 26 alphabets. In addition, not only on alphabetical, other children are using this method to remember the street name. For example, the children of Japan, Kyoto is using this method to remember their street name in Kyoto. The song is “Kyo no tori uta”, which is “The song of streets in Kyoto”. This song purposely is to make people easier to memorize the streets in Kyoto.

Continuously, the following mnemonic device will be the Name Mnemonic. This method is using every first letter of each word in a list of item transform to a person name. For example, the color of spectrum is quite difficult for we know the arrangement, so using this method we take every first letter of each word which is, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, transform to a person name, Roy G. Biv.

Third type of mnemonic devices will be the Expression or Word Mnemonic. This device is most popular mnemonic and widely be used. It is taking the first letter of each word in a list is arranged to form a phrase or word. In other word, it is quite similar with Name Mnemonic and the only different will be one is arrange to form people name and other one is arrange to form a word or phrase. For example, in English, the seven coordinating conjunction which are For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. We take every first letter for each word and become “FANBOYS”. This is very easy to remember the English coordinating conjunction as “FANBOYS” rather than remember all the seven word. Moreover, in mathematics, we can remember the metric system prefixes by using this method. The metric system prefixes from largest to smallest will be the Kilo, Hecto, Deka, Base, Deci, Centi, Milli. As we transform to a phrase can be King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk. Compare to the original, we know that after transform, the metric system prefixes is more easily to remember and it is more funny compare to before.