Mnemonic Aids in Linguodidactic Discourse

The article examines modern English memory aids as part of linguodidactic discourse in teaching English, and the patterns of mnemonic devices represented by sentence, acronym, abbreviation and verse. The empirical material of the research incorporates 54 units. The focus is made on an extensive number of mnemonics compiled as a meaningful text and the patterns of the devices in the form of a sentence, and the mnemonic acronyms homonymous to general vocabulary, i. e. homoacronyms. At that, the mnemonic aids which are not similar to other words, are not so often used as mnemonic devices. The mnemonic devices in the paper have been studied on the basis of the English and Russian sources published in the 21^st century.

Mnemonic devices have become part of research only in recent years. Previously mnemonics were studied within the framework of pedagogical discourse in teaching Geography, Biology, Astronomy, History, and Music. In the present research the mnemonics related to teaching English were distributed by structure. Afterwards, mnemonic sentences and the mnemonics homonymous to the existing lexemes were identified. The analysis of the structures showed the domination of the mnemonics structured as sentences and homoacronyms. 54 units of mnemonics under study were presented in the form of 22 sentences, 3 verses, 17 acronyms and 12 abbreviations. The most common structure proved to be a sentence, while the least common one was verse. The mnemonics considered contained only 13 units which were not sentences or homoacronyms: 12 abbreviations and 1 acronym of primary nomination. The examination of the structures showed the domination of the mnemonics organized as a sentence or a homoacronym. The research confirms the assumptions made earlier on the frequent use of sentence mnemonics, which, as it turned out, exceed the shares of the other mnemonic patterns. In their turn, homoacronyms made up a larger share compared to acronyms and abbreviations with no reference to general English words or verse. Thus, we can consider these structures (sentences and homoacronyms) within English teaching as part of pedagogical discourse. To sum it up, while compiling mnemonic aids, preference should be given to sentences or homoforms based on the vocabulary, while verses and abbreviations might be used economically. The article has also revealed additional features of mnemonics, in particular applying asyndeton in acronyms and abbreviations, the average number of 3 or 4 components in a mnemonic aid. Studying such structures will contribute to examining shortened forms and functioning of mnemonics in linguodidactic discourse.

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