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You’re not learning Na’vi!

By , 2/23/2011 at 11:47 am

The linguistic philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine poses an interesting thought experiment in his book Word and Object:  suppose a linguist conducting field research is trying to unlock the secrets of a rare language isolate by spending time with the speakers of the language.  A rabbit darts out from a bush, prompting a speaker of this rare language to exclaim, “Gavagai!”

The problem Quine poses is how the linguist can then come to know what that word means. It could mean “rabbit”, of course, but it could also mean “mammal”, “dinner”, “fast”, or “finally!”.  Or possibly “Finally, a fast mammal that we’re going to have for dinner!”  (Hey, it could happen.) (more…)

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What are the Top Spanglish Songs of All Time?

By , 2/22/2011 at 12:31 pm

Guest Post by Freddy De La Rosa:

Do you ever find yourself singing along to songs on the radio that have some Spanish lyrics, even if you don’t speak the language? Do you make certain unintelligible sounds in order to emulate the words that you think your favorite Latino pop star was trying to use? Do you sometimes have no idea about the meaning of these lyrics, even though you know them all by heart?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then chances are you have fallen victim to what I like to call Spanglish Music. (more…)

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Help Your Working-Memory Capacity (As posted in Improve Your Learning and Memory)

By , 2/16/2011 at 11:50 am

Working memory is arguably one of the most important theoretical concepts to take away from cognitive science.  Without it, we literally would not be able to learn anything.  Even those of us with “normal” working memory capacity are severely limited in that we can usually only hold around seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information at a time.  After that, these chunks either enter our long-term storage, or we forget about them completely – and it’s usually the latter.  For those of us who want to learn new material, whether it’s a foreign language, vocabulary words, or a biological system, the limited working memory capacity has serious implications.  And here at Brainscape, our goal is to improve your learning, including your working memory, always backing it up with the relevant research.  Thus, many of my blog posts center around memory enhancement, and this one is no exception.  I have decided to re-post the following post from the blog of Dr. Bill, “Memory Medic” because it contains a number of useful strategies for building on your working memory capacity.  Although the post appears to be directed towards teachers, I believe it is quite useful for the everyday learner as well. Enjoy! (more…)

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Differentiating Between Spanish Accents

By , 2/15/2011 at 11:46 am

Guest Post by Freddy De La Rosa:

Recently I wrote a post in which I refuted the idea that there is any “best” form of Spanish to learn.  Nevertheless, there are some important differences between the various forms of this widely spoken language.  It may seem strange to hear this, but even fluent Spanish speakers who learned the language from one country may find it extremely difficult to understand native speakers from other countries. Many people may become frustrated when testing their recently acquired Spanish skills because native speakers from other countries speak very differently from what we are used to hearing in our Spanish lessons – and sometimes they even use different words. If this sounds familiar, rest assured that this is normal. You have not been wasting your time or money by learning Spanish. Just like English, Spanish has several variations in accents, pronunciations, and commonly used words that can make the same language sound very different. (more…)

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50 Ways to Make Your Memory More Like an Elephant’s (As posted on OnlineUniversities.com)

By , 2/9/2011 at 11:33 am

While searching the “blogosphere” for articles relevant to the cognitive science behind Brainscape, I came across one article that I knew I had to repost. The author provides the most comprehensive list of memory-boosting tips that I’ve ever seen, from the categories of diet, lifestyle habits, clever hacks, tools, and brain exercises. I’ve written about some of these in the past, and many of these tips appear to have research to back them up, which is always a plus. Check out these 50 clever techniques, and feel free to post a comment below if you have any experience with them! (more…)

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Which Type of Spanish Should I Learn?

By , 2/8/2011 at 11:35 am

Guest Post by Freddy De La Rosa:

As a native Spanish speaker, and also as someone who works for Brainscape, I am always asked this same question over and over: Which type of Spanish should I learn? Spanish learners always seem to think that there must be a better Spanish in some countries than in others, which in my opinion is a very common and frequent misconception. (more…)

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Steelers Fans Were TEN TIMES as Enthusiastic as Packers Fans

By , 2/7/2011 at 4:34 pm

Steeler Nation may be feeling hung over and dejected this morning after yesterday’s Super Bowl loss.  Yet they can still rejoice in one interesting fact: Steelers fans were ten times as enthusiastic as Packers fans in the week leading up to the big game. At least if you measure “enthusiasm” by the number of downloads of Brainscape’s “Steelers Crash Course” vs. “Packers Crash Course” iPhone apps. (more…)

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How to Learn American Slang

By , 2/2/2011 at 1:13 pm

Guest post by Dorothy Feng:

Every year, international students come to the United States thinking they have properly mastered the English language, only to discover upon arrival that they cannot follow any native speakers’ conversations. Trust me – coming from China to the United States for college – I have experienced it first hand! If you have had trouble with common slang expressions like, “Whazzup?” or “How’s it going?”, taking the following steps could really help you to understand what the local people are saying. (more…)

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Test Yourself! – The Benefits of Active Recall

By , 2/1/2011 at 11:31 am

Here at Brainscape, one of our primary tenets for learning is active recall.  That’s why Brainscape prompts you to think of the answer to each question before you flip the card over and view the correct answer.  We favor this over multiple choice and matching methods that simply prompt you to choose the answer from a limited number of options.  After all, just because you can pick the right answer out of say, four options, does that really mean that you knew it? You might, but let’s face it: actively recalling the answer without seeing it on a list is a much better test of your learning. (more…)

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