Comparision of English vocabulary memory methods
Zhang Cheng，Yang Feng，Liu Xin，Li Zhijie
Abstract: How to effectively memorize English words is a major difficulty for college students in learning English. In view of the current method errors of college students in memorizing English words, this paper mainly introduces two methods of vocabulary memorizing, which will be of great help to college students' English vocabulary memorizing ability.
Keywords: college students; English word memory

method英语Directory

1 Introduction
Among the three elements of language, phonology, grammar and vocabulary, vocabulary is crucial to language acquisition. Vocabulary is the basis of learning a language. Listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating and other skills are inseparable from the accumulation of vocabulary. Linguist Mc Carthy (1990) believed that no matter how good a person's grammar is and how beautiful his pronunciation is, he cannot communicate with others in this language if he does not have enough vocabulary to express his thoughts and feelings or understand the other person's views and thoughts. Therefore, learners must have sufficient English vocabulary to obtain the required information in the vast language world and communicate with others. In this paper, the author analyzes two methods of vocabulary memorization, hoping to help college students improve their English vocabulary and memory effect.
2 Memory Methods
Memory is a psychology process from memorizing to remembering.It  includes memorization, remaining and rememberance. Memorization refers to the memorization of
materials, and it's the beginning of memory. The process that memorizer cannot remember what he memorized is forgetfulness or remaining. The better memorize the materials, the more steady remain them, the more correctly remember.[1] So memorization is very important. The material must be memorized correctly. The way of memorization can't improve one's faculty of memory, but can improve memory efficiency.[1] So using fittable ways to memorize English words in order to remain them steady is very important.
2.1 According to the rule of word-formation
Everything has its own regulars in the world.[2] So words has its formation rules. "The rules of word-formation define the scope and methods whereby speakers of a language may creat new words." Psychologists say it is easier to memorize the regular material than the irregular one.[1] So English learners can memorize English words according to the rules of word-formation. There are more than ten rules of word-formation.[3] The most important rules are the following.
2.1.1 Affixation (or derivation)
It's"a word-formation p ocess by which new words are created by adding a prefix, or surfix, or both to the base."[3] An English word may be made up mainly by three parts: root, prefix and surfix. The root is the basic unchangeable part of a word, and it conveys the main lexical meaning of the word.[3] For instance, the following set of semantically related words: teach, teacher, and teaching, in each word the root is teach, which is the basic unchangeable part, carrying the main lexical meaning. Roots, therefore, are the core of English words. Prefix and surfix are two types of affixes. Affixe is a"collective term for the type of formative that can be used only when added to another morpheme."[3] "Prefixes are affixes added to before the root and surffixes are affixes added to after the root."[3] They both can form new meaning to the word."The affixation has three kinds."[4]
a. Root +surfix: worker ( work +-er)  really (real +-ly);
b. Prefix +root: enlarge (en- +large)  review( re- +view);
c .Prefix +root +suffix: enlargement ( en- +large +-ment).
According to the above rule, the related words which have the same  root can be put together to memorize. Such as:"use useful uselessness unused, act action active react reaction, labor overlabor unlabored" Thus a large number of words can be memorized at one time. Also it's convenient to remember. Because"association can help to remember."[1] The words related have the same root. They belong to similiar association. Similiar association refers to put the words together which are similar in character, feature, then one of them is remembered, others related to it will be remembered also.[1]
2.1.2 Conversation
It is"a word-formation process whereby a word of a certain word-class is shifted into a word of another word-class without the addition of an affix."[3] The converted words are new not in form but in function. There are four types of conversion.[3]