Youth bright future

This is the problem of human memory: We aren't computers, so we don't memorize lists of things very well.

(This is why phone numbers are usually no longer than 7 digits.)

Most people remember the first two items, and maybe the last, and then forget everything else in between.

But we humans are clever. ;)

So we create "tools" to help us remember things...

Here's the same list again, but in a better form for the human mind:

It's close to midnight
and something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight
you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream
but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze
as horror looks you right between the eyes,
You're paralyzed...
'Cause this is thriller!

This is the opening verse from Michael Jackson's Thriller, one of the most popular songs of all time.

Most native English speakers would likely not remember that first list of 10 words either (because this is a problem of memory and not language learning)...

But once I reveal that they come from the first verse of Thriller, most adult natives would have an easy time saying all 10 words in the correct order.

Isn't it interesting how MORE words can actually make something more memorable?

Memory aids like songs and stories work much better than lists, but there's still a problem with these tools for us language learners:

It takes time to think and use a memory aid, so while they're helpful for written tests, they don't help you very much when you need to speak quickly in conversations.

What you need if you want to recall words automatically when you speak is not "mnemonic memory," like in the example above, but "triggered memory."

This means making words "first in the mind" so you recall them without hesitating or translating when you speak.