Today’s lesson is a bit geeky…
I think I was 9 years old when I first entered the world of Pokémon. I remember my granddad 
bought me an imported copy of Pokémon Blue (his favourite colour was blue) from the USA.
I remember started the game on my old, gray original GameBoy and becoming instantly hooked.
I’d play that game for hours. My mum would tell me off for bringing the game to the table at dinner time. I’d even wake up an hour earlier than I needed to so I could play it before school.
I became obsessed with Pokémon.
And I could name all 151 original Pokémon without breaking a sweat.
I probably still could if you gave me enough time.
But why? Why could I remember all of these names?
What was it about the names of these Pokémon that made it so I could remember them all?
If you think about it, many Pokémon names are clever is some way or another.
For example:
Ratatata is a rat type Pokémon, and Pidgey is a pigeon. That’s a simple reference.
Then you have Pokémon with more advanced references, such as ‘Milktank’ for a cow (milk, get it?), and Squirtle for a turtle.
But then you have Pokémon with names that seem to be completely random, like ‘Gyarados’ and ‘Lapras’. But still I’m able to remember them.
And I’m not the only one. Kids all over the world are able to remember the names of these Pokémon years after ever.
But why?
Well, I’ve got eight reasons.
Well, if you change the Pokémon example to ‘learning English vocabulary’, you have your answer to remembering any new vocabulary.
Because here’s the deal:
If Nintendo can make millions of children around the world remember a few hundred nonsense words that don’t really mean anything in real life, I’m sure you can use the same strategies to learn real words that you need to learn.
Do with that ^ information what you will.
Now here’s your task.
I want you to leave a comment below telling me something important…
I want you to tell me:
Simple.
I look forward to reading your comments.
Sam
The Pokémon Master
English For Study
Sam is the founder and creator of English For Study. He's also a lecturer in EAP/Academic English. Apart from making Academic English easy, he likes learning languages, lifting weights and eating good food.
