or city is through the eyes of a filmmaker. Our images of Italy might come from Death in Venice, or The Italian Job. A scene from Out of Africa could provide us with our one abiding picture of Kenya. Perhaps The French Connection is all we have ever seen of Marseilles.
Not surprisingly, we begin to forge crude associations between countries and their key national images. Mention Britain to a foreigner and they might well think of Big Ben. If I hear someone talking about Egypt, I immediately picture the pyramids. I am sure we all have key images for well-known countries: the United States, the Statue of Liberty; Australia, the Sydney Opera House; India, the Taj Mahal; France, the Eiffel Tower; Russia, Red Square; and so on.
However stereotyped and unfair these key images are, they serve a purpose.
An association flashes across our mind every time the country in question is mentioned. The problems start when the mind is a blank, void of all images.
Visual deficiency of this sort makes learning geography particularly
difficult. If we haven't visited a country, or read about it, or seen it on TV or in a film, how can we possibly be expected to remember facts about its capital, population, rivers, mountains, languages, religion, and culture? The brain craves mental imagery. Feed it!
A NEW METHOD FOR LEARNING
GEOGRAPHY
Next time you are faced with learning large amounts of information about unknown places (the plight of most geography students), by all means turn to your atlas, but you should also turn to your imagination. As I said in Chapter 2, it is the key to a perfect memory.
Someone tells you, for example, that the state capital of Idaho in the United States is Boise. You have never been there in your life and you have no images of the place, from books, magazines, TV, or films. The chances are you won't retain the information for long.
If, however, you use your imagination to create your own key image, based on simple associations suggested by the words themselves, the information is much more likely to stick.
To remember that Boise is the capital of Idaho, imagine an old lady called Ida (it's a very old-fashioned name) hoeing a flowerbed. A row of school boys are peering over her front wall, giggling behind her back.
Or take another example: you want to remember that the capital of South
Dakota is Pierre. This time, a key image of the state flashes across your mind: the famous rock sculptures, known as the Mount Rushmore Monument.
Perhaps you've seen it in a magazine or in a film. It's a vague recollection, but it's enough to form a backdrop for your own image, which you are about to create. Look at the word 'Pierre'. What does it suggest? Imagine a seaside pier jutting out from the rockface carvings.
MENTAL WAREHOUSES
On those occasions when key images spring to mind, you should always use them to set the scene, however distant or hazy they may be. If none are forthcoming, and you have to invent your own key image, you must be a little more resourceful in your choice of location. Try storing them all together in one place that has an unmistakenly American theme or feel to it.
The bar area from the TV series Cheers is currently a favourite 'mental warehouse' of mine. I have crammed it full of American facts that I can't deposit elsewhere. The old lady called Ida, for example, is now hoeing in the street, outside the bar window.
HOW TO REMEMBER THE STATES OF
AMERICA
Have a look at the following list of American states and their capitals.
Displayed like this, they look a fairly formidable prospect to learn. If you use your imagination, however, together with key images that you might already have of the places, it becomes a relatively easy task.
STATE
CAPITAL
STATE
CAPITAL
Alabama
Montgomery
Montana
Helena
Alaska
Juneau
Nebraska
Lincoln
Arizona
Phoenix
Nevada
Carson City
Arkansas
Little Rock
New Hampshire
Concord
California
Sacramento
New Jersey
Trenton
Colorado
Denver
New
Not surprisingly, we begin to forge crude associations between countries and their key national images. Mention Britain to a foreigner and they might well think of Big Ben. If I hear someone talking about Egypt, I immediately picture the pyramids. I am sure we all have key images for well-known countries: the United States, the Statue of Liberty; Australia, the Sydney Opera House; India, the Taj Mahal; France, the Eiffel Tower; Russia, Red Square; and so on.
However stereotyped and unfair these key images are, they serve a purpose.
An association flashes across our mind every time the country in question is mentioned. The problems start when the mind is a blank, void of all images.
Visual deficiency of this sort makes learning geography particularly
difficult. If we haven't visited a country, or read about it, or seen it on TV or in a film, how can we possibly be expected to remember facts about its capital, population, rivers, mountains, languages, religion, and culture? The brain craves mental imagery. Feed it!
A NEW METHOD FOR LEARNING
GEOGRAPHY
Next time you are faced with learning large amounts of information about unknown places (the plight of most geography students), by all means turn to your atlas, but you should also turn to your imagination. As I said in Chapter 2, it is the key to a perfect memory.
Someone tells you, for example, that the state capital of Idaho in the United States is Boise. You have never been there in your life and you have no images of the place, from books, magazines, TV, or films. The chances are you won't retain the information for long.
If, however, you use your imagination to create your own key image, based on simple associations suggested by the words themselves, the information is much more likely to stick.
To remember that Boise is the capital of Idaho, imagine an old lady called Ida (it's a very old-fashioned name) hoeing a flowerbed. A row of school boys are peering over her front wall, giggling behind her back.
Or take another example: you want to remember that the capital of South
Dakota is Pierre. This time, a key image of the state flashes across your mind: the famous rock sculptures, known as the Mount Rushmore Monument.
Perhaps you've seen it in a magazine or in a film. It's a vague recollection, but it's enough to form a backdrop for your own image, which you are about to create. Look at the word 'Pierre'. What does it suggest? Imagine a seaside pier jutting out from the rockface carvings.
MENTAL WAREHOUSES
On those occasions when key images spring to mind, you should always use them to set the scene, however distant or hazy they may be. If none are forthcoming, and you have to invent your own key image, you must be a little more resourceful in your choice of location. Try storing them all together in one place that has an unmistakenly American theme or feel to it.
The bar area from the TV series Cheers is currently a favourite 'mental warehouse' of mine. I have crammed it full of American facts that I can't deposit elsewhere. The old lady called Ida, for example, is now hoeing in the street, outside the bar window.
HOW TO REMEMBER THE STATES OF
AMERICA
Have a look at the following list of American states and their capitals.
Displayed like this, they look a fairly formidable prospect to learn. If you use your imagination, however, together with key images that you might already have of the places, it becomes a relatively easy task.
STATE
CAPITAL
STATE
CAPITAL
Alabama
Montgomery
Montana
Helena
Alaska
Juneau
Nebraska
Lincoln
Arizona
Phoenix
Nevada
Carson City
Arkansas
Little Rock
New Hampshire
Concord
California
Sacramento
New Jersey
Trenton
Colorado
Denver
New
Similar Books
