Mind Mapping
During all these years of teaching, I realized that even adapting new techniques and methodologies to improve students’ learning, some still seemed to have difficulty in acquiring and memorizing new vocabulary. Since learning new techniques of personal development and motivation is one of my goals, I decided to renew and bring a new tool to the classroom. I always believed that creativity stimulates memorization so I decided to apply the learning by Mind Maps.
The Mind Maps technique has been widely used in language schools around the world, mainly in the United States. How to use the power of Mind Maps to learn a language, teach it, or expand your vocabulary?
Remember that when we learn through mind maps we use a “fixation” technique. Different colors, associations, and images must be emphasized when creating your map. A lot of information that we acquire when teenagers or adults is done in blue or black ink and we lose the habit of using colored pens. Colors and figures help our brain to stimulate our creativity and consequently our memorization.
Studying a language with mind maps is a way to re-educate the brain to memorize and take notes. It uses both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. A study has shown that, for better language acquisition, both hemispheres must be stimulated — when children, we stimulate both sides naturally, but when adults we tend to leave this technique aside. That same study proved that geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, and Thomas Edison were able to instinctively integrate the two hemispheres.
One of the important elements that make up the method of creating mind maps is the simple and short text used allowing easy understanding of the content. According to the writer Dilip Mukerjea in his book “Superbrain”, using mapping the person will be able to “know more, remember more, use less paper, invest less effort” in other words this method allows a person to accumulate more knowledge, increase the ability to memorize information, without wasting a lot of paper and energy.
The British author and psychologist, Tony Buzan, has defined seven rules for this technique. He developed it when teaching psychology in college. During his lectures, he realized that information was better associated when using images. From then on he started to study how the brain works.
Use a sheet of bond paper horizontally
Make a drawing in the middle of the sheet representing the main idea. This is paramount, as our thoughts start in the middle of our brain.
Use at least three different colors.
Start creating lines from the figure, creating the sub-topics
Always start at the same point. Right-handed at 2 o’clock. Left-handed, counterclockwise, at 10 am. This is very important, as it has to do with order.
Name each of your ideas, write, draw, and make sure that each subtopic has to do with the main topic.
For each line try to develop new ideas, like tree branches.
You can create different types of branches, with different colors and styles.
By following these steps, you will create an artistic, colorful, and imaginative Mind Map that will attract your brain to a faster and more effective memorization process. This memorization process uses a lot of human creativity. According to studies, after using this technique, many people were able to discover their creative side, explore their brains.
Advantages of making a mind map: it is a creative and fun process of organizing your thoughts, making your memorization or review faster and more effective.
During my research, I discovered many possibilities for use and their results were highly satisfactory. Since, to study, we need an organization first, the use of mind maps is essential for effective learning and study. A mind map can also be used in ways other than study. We can use it as a script, planning, agenda, shopping list, recipes, etc.
I recommend using mind maps in your daily life for better performance, especially in language studies.
READING = the reading process is linear, unlike our brain, so the mind map can help memorize some main topics, which will help in understanding text or exercises after reading is finished. It is also recommended that you try to use the 5W2H technique to better understand the text. These answers should be on the Mind Map for future research
WRITING = Structuring a text, with a beginning, middle, and end can be easier if we put our ideas in a draft before writing the final text. A mind map can help to elaborate your text in a better way, exploring all possible ideas.
SPEAKING = preparing a mind map can be a great alternative to study for a seminar or an oral exam. The purpose of the map is memorization of keywords that will help your resourcefulness when speaking. I also use a mind map to teach pronunciation and phonetics. Using drawings and symbols and rhyming words, it becomes easier to remember the correct pronunciation of new vocabulary.
