Bambolingua
Learning languages

That Ridiculous Moment Might Help You Learn a Language

A dog carries a striped sock away while its owner waits with one shoe on.
One missing sock. One very pleased dog.

You're ready to leave. One shoe is on. Your dog has the other sock - and apparently, this is the best game of its life.

You reach for it. The dog takes two delighted steps backward.

Now give the sock a name in another language. In Spanish, it's a calcetín. That means sock.

Picture it dangling from the dog's mouth as you read the word again: calcetín.

You have a meaning, a word, and a small story to connect them. Could the funny part make that connection easier to remember?

Try it with Spanish

The sock has other plans

Calcetín means sock.

A funny moment gives you something to return to

Think of a scene that made you laugh. You may be able to picture the expression, the timing, or the moment everything went slightly wrong.

Sometimes you go over it again because it amuses you. You replay the clip, tell a friend, or find yourself smiling when something brings it back to mind.

Researchers have found that humor can benefit memory. In Stephen Schmidt's experiments on sentence memory, humorous sentences were remembered better than comparable nonhumorous versions when both appeared in the material participants studied together. The author suggested that greater attention and mentally going over the material helped explain the advantage.

For a new word, a funny scene gives you something concrete to revisit. You can bring back the dog, the missing sock, and the word you heard or read alongside it.

The same approach can be used with different languages. The scene supplies an understandable situation; the lesson connects a particular word with its meaning.

Keep the word at the center of the funny moment

In our example, the sock is the reason for the little chase. It is easy to see what calcetín refers to.

That matters. If a scene is full of amusing distractions, you might enjoy it while barely noticing the word you are learning.

A useful example keeps the connection clear: this object is a sock, this is its name, and this is what happens to it.

A clear meaning

A single striped sock rests on a wooden chair.

Calcetín means sock.

A clear meaning with a small story

The dog proudly holds the sock its owner is reaching for.

Calcetín means sock.

Keep the word connected to the thing you can see.

There is also a difference between funny and merely strange. In two experiments comparing cartoons, humorous originals were remembered better than both literal versions and versions altered to look weird. Adding something odd did not produce the same benefit as humor in those comparisons.

You do not have to invent the strangest possible scene for every word. Start with a meaning you can understand and a small moment you find amusing.

You should be able to understand the joke already

For beginners, visual humor offers a straightforward place to start. You can understand a dog stealing a sock before you know its name in the language you are learning.

A pun can ask much more of you. You may need to know two meanings of a word, recognize a similar sound, or understand a cultural reference before the joke makes sense.

Keep your first examples easy to follow. A picture or short clip, an explanation in a language you know, and one new word are enough to work with.

English support can confirm the meaning while you connect the new sound or spelling with the scene. You can enjoy the moment and learn its one unfamiliar word at the same time.

The owner reaches toward the sock in the dog's mouth while getting ready to leave.
Getting ready to leave
The dog keeps hold of the sock as the owner pauses.
The sock has other plans

Calcetín / sock

Give yourself a chance to remember the word

Remembering the scene and retrieving the new word are two things worth checking.

An amusing story can stay with you while its new vocabulary still needs work. In a small study with 50 learners of English, students read either jokes or comparable nonhumorous texts across four sessions. The vocabulary tests given a week later found no statistically significant advantage for the joke group in any session.

Enjoy the scene, then give the word some practice of its own.

Take your eyes away from the word for a moment. Picture the dog carrying the sock. Can you bring back the Spanish name for the thing in its mouth?

If the word does not come, check it and try again later. The scene is there to help you return to the meaning.

Try remembering one word

The sock is back. Can you remember its name?

The owner holds the recovered striped sock while the dog sits nearby.

What was the Spanish word meaning sock?

Show the answer

Calcetín means sock.

Let the word follow you into an ordinary day

Your dog does not need to steal something every time you practice.

Once you have met calcetín in the funny scene, use it with an ordinary sock. Picture getting dressed, taking one out of a drawer, or finding one beside the laundry basket.

Try recalling the word with one of those situations in mind. Check the answer, then return to it on another day.

The meaning stays the same as the situation changes. A sock is still a calcetín when the dog is asleep and nothing especially entertaining is happening.

An adult puts on a sock while sitting on a bench beside the bed.

Calcetín / sock

The same word belongs in everyday life, too.

Try it with one word in your next lesson

Choose a useful word whose meaning you can show clearly. Find or imagine a small, amusing situation involving it. It can be a familiar mishap, a playful pet, or something that made you smile in your own day.

Keep the word and its meaning close to the example. Then give yourself a chance to remember it and meet it again in another situation.

Bambolingua uses videos to introduce new words in its beginner Spanish course, giving learners something visible to connect with the vocabulary. Our article about videos and language learning explores what seeing a scene unfold can add to that first encounter.

When an example also makes you smile, use that moment as something to return to during practice.

  1. Understand the scene
  2. Try remembering the word
  3. Meet it somewhere else

The next time you picture the dog proudly carrying its stolen sock, try bringing the word back with it: calcetín. Later, try again with the sock in your drawer.

Sources and further reading