Intermediate Spanish Memory Book: A New Approach to Vocabulary Building

Mnemonics is an age-old device for remembering names, numbers, and many other things. As in the authors’ previous Memory Books, the Intermediate Spanish Memory Book makes use of this reliable memory help in a series of mnemonic jingles that are by turns playful, sardonic, touching, and heroic to help both students and independent learners acquire and remember Spanish vocabulary. The 500-plus words in this book represent a more advanced vocabulary than those in the Spanish Memory Book (1990) and the Spanish Memory Book, Junior Edition (1993).

The mnemonic jingles present both the sound of the Spanish word (indicated by syllables in italic type) and its English meaning (given by a word or phrase in boldface type):

merienda: picnic, afternoon tea

Mary, end a boring picnic.
Just say, ＂I’m going home. I’m sick, Nick.＂

This innovative approach to vocabulary building is simple, effective, and entertaining.

William F. Harrison is Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Northern Illinois University. The late Dorothy Winters Welker was retired from the University of Illinois, Chicago.