Ok, I’m just going to come out and say it – I love Memrise! Since the beginning of my language learning journey, this tool has played an integral role in helping me to become more familiar with Icelandic words and phrases.  There are many reasons why I recommend this resource to anyone interested in learning a language, but, for the sake of not making this post too long, I have outlined my top 5 reasons below.

1. It’s a Virtual Garden for Memory Retention

By using Memrise you are cultivating a virtual garden that helps your brain to retain words in your long-term memory.  The site’s creators use the analogy of “planting a seed” when you learn a new word or phrase and “watering” when you review it.  As a proud owner of exactly one real plant, I think this is a very clever and powerful analogy!

Every time I use the program, I feel like I am giving my brain a workout.  The founders of Memrise, Ed Cooke – a Grand Master of Memory and Greg Detre – a neuroscientist at Princeton that specializes in the science of memory and forgetting, combined the use of flashcards, memes, and a scientific algorithm that determines the next time you need to water your planted seed in order for you to retain it in your long-term memory.  I have found this to be a very effective method of learning, and in the last five months I have stored over 1,300 Icelandic words in my memory vault.  I knew that the brain was capable of some amazing things, but it still astonishes me that I am able to retain so many new words and gradually increase the number of words that I can plant in one sitting.

2. Crowdsourcing For The Win (FTW)

As a big advocate of crowdsourcing, I think that by enlisting help from its community members to build their database of courses, Memrise has created a unique space where people from around the world can contribute to the learning of others.  I believe this is an ingenious way of getting people engaged and it has contributed to the vast amount of courses that are available. As the community grows so do the course offerings.

With that said, it is important to mention that not all courses are created equal.  I have found that some courses do not have audio, occasionally a word is misspelled or the meaning is incorrect, and memes do not always match up with the word or phrase you are learning.  In regard to misspellings of a word or an incorrect meaning, this can easily be remedied if you post your issue in the forum of the course where you noticed the mistake.  Overall, these are minor inconsistencies that haven’t deterred me from using the program and reaping the memory benefits.

3. Basic Membership is Free

Memrise recently started offering a premium paid service on their website, and they claim the features will give you deeper insight on how you can learn faster. Due to my success with the free version, I have opted to not pay for the upgrade.  The free version allows you to have access to any of the courses on the site, create memes to aid in remembering new flashcards, keep track of the number of words you have learned, and it lets you know when it is time to water your seeds.  The free features have been more than enough for my learning needs and the price can’t be beat!

4. There’s Healthy Competition

One fun feature that makes learning even more enjoyable on this site is that the creators have embedded a ranking system that fosters healthy competition. There is a leaderboard for each course, which allows you to view how many points a person has earned. You can see the rankings for the current week, month and the all time point leader. You can also follow individuals and see the overall score from all of the courses they are taking.  Accumulating a certain number of points changes your rank and each rank has a unique name.  I am currently a Membrain because I have over 1 million points.  You can check out the full list of rankings here.

I normally don’t play video games or compete with my friends and often I act as the mediator of my friends if they find themselves at odds during a competition.  However, the points and ranking system on Memrise has completely sucked me in! All of my repressed competitiveness rears its ugly head when I am learning a course.  In the very beginning, I could only plant 10 words a day before my brain started to hurt.  But after several months of dedicating my time to using the site, I have been able to plant as many as 90 words in one sitting! This increase may be mostly due to my commitment to learning, but I also believe that seeing members that have up to 100,000 points in one day has sparked my interest to accumulate more points.  I feel that their leaderboard has been a healthy motivator for me and encourages me to keep up with my courses.

5. Not Just for Learning Languages

I mainly use Memrise for studying languages but occasionally I get curious about the other course offerings and browse through the list of categories.  Some of the categories on the list include Arts & Literature, Trivia, Standardized Tests, The Natural World and so on.  It’s cool to know that on my home page I can jump from learning about the constellations to Pokémon and back to Icelandic in just a few clicks.  Including other course topics is an added bonus that allows any member the option to expand their knowledge base in an area of interest.

These 5 reasons have been the biggest factors that have kept me using Memrise on a consistent basis as I continue on my quest to becoming a polyglot.  However, please know that Memrise should not be the only program that you use to become familiar with a language.  Like anything else, it has its limitations, but combining it with other resources can create a dynamic arsenal of learning tools for any person studying a new language.

I hope this review was helpful. I’d love to know if any of you enjoy using Memrise or plan to check it out. Feel free to comment below.

Þakka þér fyrir að lesa og sjáumst fljótlega! (Thank you for reading and see you soon!)

Please note: This is not a sponsored review and I did not receive any compensation for sharing my opinion.  All of the views expressed in this post are solely my own and are not on behalf of Memrise or any other party.

Image courtesy of nongpimmy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net