Unforgettable Languages
Product Review

Unforgettable Languages is a computer based language learning system that uses the Word Association techniques developed by its courses' writer Dr Gruneberg.

Dr Gruneberg has written a number of books and texts on Word Association and Memory Techniques as they apply to language learning.

Dr Gruneberg coined the term Linkword, which was the name he gave to his system of learning and remembering words of a foreign language.

Unforgettable Languages is the brand in the USA which makes and sells his product.

Word Association, or Linkword involves taking a word from a foreign language and linking this to a funny, silly scene and is very effective. This makes the word much easier to remember, and recall.

This is the system that Unforgettable Languages team uses.

...and this is the same basic system is used by the 200 Words a Day! system, but the 200 Words a Day! system goes further in that it provides the image for the learner in the form of a cartoon picture, which does away with the learner's need to sharply visualise the goofy scene.

What I found was that this required many re-shootings of the 'scene' to keep it fresh in your mind.

But with a cartoon provided, the ability to remember the 'goofy scene' of the Memory Trigger is enhanced.

In the 200 Words a Day! software the word is presented with the cartoon on the learning page of the computer programme.

Unforgettable Languages and gender recognition

To remember the gender of a noun using the Unforgettable Languages system requires a second visual association. For example a male object is then used, in a second scene, to be associated with the word, to remind you that the word is masculine.

So for example in Dr Gruneberg's book of Spanish learning he teaches the Spanish word first. Having done that he then teaches you the gender in a second visualisation by associating the noun learned with a bullfighter. The bullfighter is of course a very macho, and appropriately masculine figure.

Female objects are then put, or visualised with a female flamenco dancer, to remind you that they are feminine.

This is the concept that we call the Gender Trigger©, and the basic concept is very sound...

...but....

...once you have more than a couple of dozens of your nouns featuring with a bullfighter, or your flamenco dancer, it soon gets pretty confusing, because when you have hundreds, and then thousands of nouns to learn, they are all either with a one or the other and the brain can no longer differentiate.

That is what I found using the Paul Daniels course, that the magician developed using Gruneberg's Linkword technique.

The other major drawback of this system is that it is what I call a two-step process.

It takes twice as long as the learner has to first learn the noun with a mental movie, then s/he has to learn the gender by putting the noun with a gender trigger - the flamenco dancer and the bullfighter.

The system used in the 200 Words a Day! unforgettable languages learning system incorporates the gender trigger into the word's original Memory Trigger ©, and gives a unique gender trigger for each and every noun.

So each masculine noun is learned with a unique masculine character in the 200 Words a Day! system, and each feminine noun is learned with a unique female character.

And the characters - the Gender Triggers - used in the 200 Words a Day system, include people from history, actors, stars, presidents, kings and queens and princes, singers, sports stars - you name it.... because people find it easier to remember famous people.

So while the student of the Streamline Marketing Unforgettable Languages system might feel s/he is making great progressing in learning the basic vocabulary, such a two-step process means it takes twice as long to learn the word and its gender than a Memory Trigger with the gender incorporated with the character in the cartoon provided as is the case with the 200 Words a Day! system.

The serious student of any European language will know that if you really want to know a word, you must know its gender or you don't know the word.

The Unforgettable Language Techniques of the 200 Words a Day! System of Foreign language learning

The techniques of the 200 Words a Day! make foreign language and vocabulary learning truly unforgettable. You can read more about the individual languages on these various links.

Learn Spanish 200 Words a Day!
Understanding the Difference between the ESTAR and SER in Spanish - this uses the same techniques to teach two verbs that cause no end of bother for English speakers learning to speak Spanish. Cartoon characters are used to illustrate many different concepts. Situations that require the use of ESTAR feature an ESTAR BUNNY, a cartoon character, and situations requiring the use of the verb SER feature a SER-pent. Easy!
Understanding PARA and POR in Spanish Another two tricky words in Spanish, made easier to understand through the use of pictures of PARA-keets for PARA, and POR-ky pigs for POR.
Learn French 200 Words a Day! - our techniques make for unforgettable memory triggers with language learning.
Learn German 200 Words a Day!
Learn Italian 200 Words a Day!
Learn Welsh 200 Words a Day!

Languages covered by Unforgettable Languages software

The Unforgettable Languages team pump out software for many languages - including Latin American Spanish, Spanish from Spain (Castillano), French, Italian, German, Arabic, Japanese, Welsh, Japanese and many others.

Unforgettable Languages is based in the USA and is a division of a company called Streamline Marketing.

Learn Spanish using the unforgettable languages learning system of 200 Words a Day! | Understanding the Difference between the ESTAR and SER in Spanish | Understanding PARA and POR in Spanish | Foreign Service Institute FSI Courses for Diplomats | Learn French | Learn German 200 Words a Day! | Learn Italian 200 Words a Day! | Learn Welsh 200 Words a Day! | Contact Us

200 Words a Day! Excelerated Language Learning Software - Superlearning foreign languages the accelerated way, and made easy.

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Unforgettable Languages using Linkword techniques for the teaching of French, Spanish, German, Italian, Welsh, Japanese and other languages.