I’ll then stop the cassette player and concentrate on capturing that word for the remainder
of the city block。 When I reach the curb of the next block； I’ll start the tape until I reach
another word I don’t know and repeat the process。
There’s a happy kind of synergy when you realise you’re exercising and you’re
learning； you’re enjoying the beauty of the surroundings and you’re growing。 You can
slow down。 You can settle for “collecting a few new words” as you might collect a few
blossoms a few seashells。 You can turn off the tape for a while and throw the headphones
back over your neck and inhale and enjoy。 Don’t separate your life into “fun” and
“study。” Harmonise language study with your activities。
Get your cassettes into action when you wake up； stretch； make the bed； fix
breakfast； brush teeth； dry off after a bath or shower； wash dishes； and so on through all
the moments when those less ambitious turn on the radio or TV。 Don’t forget； passive
listening is better than nothing； but not by much！ Engage the English mentally and try to
beat the voice on the cassette to the foreign word。
“Harnessing hidden moments” is a three word course in language learning all by
itself。 It offers a side benefit that has nothing to do with learning languages but has a lot
to do with enjoying life。
Look at those other people； those unfortunates who； unlike you； have no intention
of harnessing their hidden moments to learn languages or anything else。 Look how they
wait like zombies in line； their faces masks of boredom and pain。 Your boredom and pain
will vanish the instant you get into line and whip out your flash cards。
Learning languages can become incidental to daily life。 It’s often fulfilling enough
just having something useful to do！ Remember what Dean Martin said to the slowly
sipping starlet： “I spill more than you drink！” Just by using the minutes you’d otherwise
spill； you can learn another language。
Harry Lorayne’s
Magic Memory Aid
How does a farmhand feel the day the tractor arrives； after he’s plowed by hand for
thirty…one years？ Undoubtedly the way I felt when； after decades of memorising foreign
vocabulary the old way； I suddenly discovered Harry Lorayne and his methods。
Harry Lorayne became well known some years ago as the world’s leading “memory
magician。” His feats of memory for names and faces； complex numbers； and hundreds of
objects he could repeat forward； backward； or in scrambled order enlivened many a late
night TV show。
Harry Lorayne was to be a guest on my WOR radio show one night to talk about his
book on improving memory。 It was his seventeenth or eighteenth book on memory and；
as I was looking it over； I saw a short； almost hidden chapter entitled “Memorising
Foreign Language Vocabulary。”
I sped to that chapter and my language learning life changed completely from that
moment forward。 I think I actually cried in rage at all the time I’d wasted attempting rote
memory of foreign words during the thirty…one years I had studied languages before I met
Harry Lorayne！
Let me invite you now to pay one last visit to the old way of learning foreign
language vocabulary before we wave it an untearful goodbye。 Imagine facing a page
containing a hundred words in a foreign language。 You only know eight or nine of them；
you have a test tomorrow morning at eight o’clock； and your roommate is playing the
radio too loud。
You sit there with your palms pressed over your ears repeating those unrelenting
syllables over and over； hoping enough of them will stick by dawn to give you a passing
grade。
Did you enjoy that kind of learning？ Are you nostalgic for it？ If so； enjoy the
recollection now。 After the following pages you will never tackle new vocabulary that
way again。
In the fourth or fifth grade； when Miss Hobbs was teaching us the rudiments of
music； my class accomplished an amazing feat of memory in one flash （many of you
probably had the same experience）。 The notes on the five line music staff； E； G； B； D； and
F； could easily be remembered with the help of a simple phrase； “Every Good Boy Does
Fine。” What’s more； we learned that the notes in the spaces between the lines were F； A；
C； and E； or； as we ten year olds guessed； the word “face。” Who could ask for anything
more？
Harry Lorayne teaches us we can ask for everything more！ He teaches a system of
association – called mnemonics – that allows you to almost always bring forth any word
in conversation whenever you want it。
The way to capture and retain a new word in a foreign language is to sling a vivid
association around the word that makes it impossible to forget。 Lasso the unfamiliar with
a lariat woven from the familiar。
We’ll now take a random assortment of words in various languages and
demonstrate how it works。
The Spanish word for “old” is viejo； pronounced vee…A…ho； the middle syllable
rhyming with “hay。” Imagine a Veterans Administration hospital – a VA hospital – that’s
so old and decrepit they have to tear it down and build a new one。 Before they lay the
dynamite the crew foreman calls the contractor and tells him； “We don’t have to waste
dynamite on this VA hospital。 It’s so old we can knock it over with a hoe！”
Got it？ A VA hospital so old you can knock it over with a hoe。 And that gives us
viejo。 （Viejo is stressed on the next to last syllable： vi…E…jo； in our code； v…A…hoe。）
Readers of much skepticism and little faith will worry that spinning such an
involved yarn to capture one word is less productive than spending that same amount of
time simply repeating the word to yourself over and over again。 Wrong。 The yarn； like a
dream； takes much longer to tell or read than it does to imagine。 And you’ll quickly see
for yourself how helpful the yarn is when it comes time to retrieve the word and use it。
As you continue now through further demonstrations of this technique； try to
challenge the examples。 See if you can think of better ones。 A “better” one is simply one
that works better for you。
We’re going to swing headlong now into dozens of sample “lassos；” associations
designed to rope your target word and bring it obediently to your feet； never again to part。
Ignore the fact that many of the examples that follow teach words in languages you’re not
trying to learn。 Never mind； I tell you； never mind！ Learn the system and you will use it
happily and effectively ever after in the language of your choice。
The French word for “anger” is colère； pronounced cole…AIR。
Strange； we associate anger with heat。 We say “in the heat of anger”； but when
someone is angry at us； we say he’s “cold；” “chilly；” “giving us the cold shoulder。” It’s
not too much of a leap to imagine an angry person radiating his anger； spilling it off in all
directions； in the form of cold air。 You hope he’s not angry； but when you enter his
office； you know your hopes were in vain because you can feel the colère； the “col’ air”
（cole’…AIR）。
The Russian word for “house” is dom； pronounced dome。 Imagine your amazement
upon landing in Moscow and seeing all the houses with dome type roofs。 Or imagine
marveling at how domestic the Russian men are。
The Italian word for “chicken” is pollo； pronounced exactly like the English “polo”
（PO…lo）。 Imagine your Italian host urging you to join him for an unbelievable spectacle。
An Italian impresario with a gift for animal training has staged the world’s first polo
match between teams of chickens！ You’re thrilled that you’re going to be able to go back
to Gaffney； South Carolina； and tell your friends you saw chickens playing polo！
The Italian word for “wife” is moglie； pronounced MOLE…yay。 Imagine you’re a man
about to get married and you get a friendly tip from an indiscreet clergyman that your
bride to be is known to have a strange animal as a pet and fully intends to bring that
animal into your home after the nuptials。
You’re torn！ It’s too late to call off the marriage。 All the relatives have been invited
and the paperwork is all in。 Besides； you love her。 You decide to barrel forward and hope
for the best。
As the organ plays and the preacher intones the vows； all you can think of is； “What
kind of animal is it？ Is it a lion？ Is it a tiger？ Is it a slick and sneaky snake？ A giraffe？”
When the two of you arrive at your threshold after the honeymoon； the suspense
ends。 She brings forth a pleasant little cage containing a cute； furry little creature。
“This is my pet mole；” she says。 “He’s going to live with us。”
You cry forth your relief。 “Hooray！” you shout。 “It’s only a mole。 It’s only a mole！”
you cheer； “Yay！”
It’s only a mole…yay。 Your wife’s secret animal is nothing more than a mole；
therefore； “Yay！” “Wife” equals MOLE…yay。
WAIT A MINUTE！
An enemy； a skeptic； even a queasy ally at this point could say； “Wait a minute。 I’m
trying to learn a language。 I’m not sure I want to walk around with a headful of images of
wives who keep moles； chickens that play polo； angry people emitting cold air； and VA
hospitals you can knock over with a hoe！”
You won’t！ One beauty of the system is； the association that helps you capture the
word falls away and disintegrates。 Once you’ve learned the words； the “crutch”
obligingly disappears。
A common form of the verb “to speak” in Hebrew is medaber； pronounced meda…
BEAR。 There it is： you were walking through the newly planted forests of Israel and
suddenly you “med” a bear who could speak！
In Indonesian； “movie screen” is lajar； pronounced almost exactly like “liar” （LI…
ar）。 Easy。 The man is rapidly winning the woman’s heart in the movie； but you don’t
wish him well because he’s such a lajar！
“Horse” in Russian； transliterated into English script； is lo…shod； pronounced almost
exactly