In this post, however, I wanted to give a long overdue response to the most common criticisms of Memrise, some of which were already pointed out by Hugh Dellar back when I wrote 'Mem up your memory' (which you can read if you go to the comments section of that post).
Since the courses on Memrise are created by other learners, it is inevitable that they will contain mistakes. However, it's not an integral fault of the software, but rather of those who use it. Consequently, as teachers, when we create courses for our learners, we can ensure that we not only provide appropriate definitions, but more importantly: examples and collocations.
They have to be weird! The more personal and bizarre, the better. We're all different, so it's logical that the mems other users create, mightn't appeal to us (think back to my mem for 'seethe'). The most important thing, though, is that YOUR mem helps YOU memorize the word.
This is true. But if they came up in order as they are on the list, you could possibly respond correctly because you remembered the order, not the meaning. In multilevel courses, you can reduce the randomness of review sessions by clicking on a particular level and only reviewing those words.
Finally, you should still review the words with your students in class to check if they can use them correctly and to provide some communicative context.
Unlike for example Quizlet, the learning and reviewing modes in Memrise can get very repetitive after a while. It's either multiple choice, putting words in the correct order, or typing them. It'd definitely be great to see a few more game-like options to increase engagement and motivation. However, I wonder if making it more game-like does actually help you memorize the words. When I used Quizlet, I had the feeling that sometimes I was paying more attention to 'winning' the game and scoring points, rather than to the words on the screen. Still, it would be nice to have the option of a few other learning and revision modes.
Yes and no. I imagine most of you keep a record of vocabulary that comes up in class, anyway. The only thing you have to do then, is to transfer it to Memrise. I usually do it right at the end of the class, and it only takes a couple of minutes. Also, I encourage you to get your students involved. For example, a different student is responsible for adding the words after each class. You'll still have to check it for mistakes, but you're killing to birds with one stone: you have less work and students become more independent learners.
All in all, I'm not trying to argue that Memrise is the best or the ultimate solution to quickly expanding your vocabulary. My and my students' experience suggests, though, that it does work pretty well. However, you will still need to use the newly learned words in context. And to experiment with them, making a few errors on the way. Otherwise, the words will slowly fade away.
In the next post I'm going to share with you some practical tips about using Memrise with your students.
For more articles on Grammar and vocabulary click here. If you're interested in learning languages more effectively, you can find articles with tips here.
I used Memrise extensively when I was learning Chinese and found it especially helpful for learning characters. It would have been great if the sets also helped me review chunks but as you rightly point out, it's really down to how they were designed.
I'm a bit appalled at being a huge Memrise fan and never bothering to consider its use with my own learners. After reading your post, I'm feeling inspired to create a course on some ESP lexis. Thank you Marek!
Apologies for not replying earlier!
Chinesse! That must have been challenging. How did you get on? Yes, some sets can be annoying – incorrect definitions, too much focus on single words, etc.
While the criticisms are valid, your responses are too.
I've tried it out myself for brushing up my French and liked it, and I've recommended Memrise to lots of learners. Feedback from them has been universally great.
One of the clever things about it is that it reminds you to get your daily dose and learners WANT to keep at it (OK, eventually my own will power to keep going declined 😉 !) In that sense, functioning perfectly on a mobile is wonderful. What learner doesn't have 5 odd minutes several times a day (on the bus, etc…) for something they actually like being challenged to do?
That won't happen with a book (ugh!!!!!) of grammar exercises or vocabulary lists, however much more cleverly thought out.
This is one of the things I like best about Memrise – the fact it reminds you which words you should revise. It's the one thing that definitely keeps it ahead of competition.
Feedback from my students has also been really positive in general. And I could really see a difference between those who used it and those who didn't in terms of vocabulary breadth.
Memrise is not boring AT ALL. It's addictive like farmville and I spent two hours on memrise and came back saying "learning is fun" and learned 200 words. They don't have a robot pronouncer, but their official courses have many pronunciations. Memrise's core goal is to teach you a language the right way. It's fun and addictive. The strictness of memrise makes you have to know the accents and everything just the right way. And, like farmville, if you lose the will, a few months later it will come back, creeping and making you learn more… unlike Duolingo, witch isn't addictive enough.
I use memrise for no more than a month. I like it a lot. Since my life is a mess… this application helps me to take advantage of my rare free moments around the day and to something useful like learn some new words in my target language.
Just wondering, have you ever used Memrise as sort of collaborative tool? I mean, there is an option, as far as I'm aware, to create a group study or a group course or something along those lines. It would be great to have your students add vocabulary to the course you (or rather they) have created. Have you tried that?