RHS update

[piskieinboots]

as you know I sat a wonderful course with RHS and was due to sit exams end of June, I bottled the exams - mainly down to recalling latin etc.

I know my weakness is recall, I know garden stuff and should pass but given a quiet room full of people and a bit of paper - well, I just turn to mush and don't even remember who I am, let alone why I'm there

At least, that is how I have managed to condition myself

Anyhow, darling Teacher had said in June 'no worries, you can sit it in February' - so that was (is) my plan. She pinged me yesterday to say 'here is the course work list for this year leading up to the Feb exam - please feel free to come along and sit in on any you wish, to help you refresh'

That's really kind and lovely isn't it

Now, how to condition myself to regurge all the words onto the paper

[Two_Sheds]

You've convinced yourself that you can't remember Latin names. You need to now convince yourself that you can!

What we do at school (I'm sure I'm teaching you to suck eggs here), is to write some phrases down and stick them around the house.

eg, when you get your coffee, you see a Post-it saying "limnanthes douglasii", with a little photo or drawing of the plant if that helps.

Repetition, repetition, repetition

[Two_Sheds]

and do you do brainstorming / mind maps ?

that can help if you "go blank"

[zazen999]

The best ways of memorising stuff to recall........

repetition [like when we were taught the times tables]
mnemonics [making words from the first letters of the things - Enid Blyton's girls used to remember number plates this way]
loci [walk through a familiar journey and 'place' the thing and it's word in key positions]
mind maps put the main topic in the middle of the page and try and map out everything you can remember, what is missing is what you need to re-learn]
numbers - assign the things to a number
visualisation - visualise things that resemble the word and make stupid pictures in your head - this might work with the latin, it depends on how creative you can be

I've got 5 exams in the course that I've just signed up for; she was keen to keep telling me it is hard and competitive......but I love exams and always have done.

[TPeers]

I remember reading a book by Alan Titchmarsh where he made learning latin names his bedtime reading - he did something like 5 or 10 a day?

Only real advice I can give is the old one of write the names out every day for a week and then get someone to test you. The words will stick!

[SueA]

Do they have copies of old exam papers you could use for revising? That way you would have an idea of exactly what you should be trying to remember, there might not be as many Latin names as you think. I can sometimes remember the name but haven't a clue how to spell it so maybe looking through a plant encyclopoedia (can't spell that either!) & then trying to remember & write down a list of say 5-10 names at a time may help.

[jackie j]

Oh piskie I so know how you feel I am exactly the same in exams so didnt do any when at school, left when I was 15 ( you could back then ) have never done anything that involves taking exams ever again. I so wish I could and envy people that can and have.

[zazen999]

then trying to remember & write down a list of say 5-10 names at a time may help.

Stick to 7; any more and you forget. [probably why I only put 6 ways up earlier ]

Chunking: stick to memorising 7 +/- 1 things at a time; any more and you will forget.

If you have say, 50 things to remember; group them into sets of 7 and learn each set. Use mind maps to recall them.

[Incy]

I always found the bedtime reading method worked for me as it then goes round in your head while you sleep.
The other one that is quite good if a little silly is to set it to a catchy tune which you can then sing to yourself (or the kittens) to help you remember.
It really worked for my son when learning spanish numbers and for me years ago learning the french alphabet. I still get that one going round my head at times and that was 25 years ago

[Glutton4...]

You're the same as me Piskie - I've gone off the idea of studying so many things for the same reason as you - I've convinced myself that I'm totally carp at exams!

I'm actually not - I just panic myself into thinking I am by remembering one particular (spoken French) exam at school, where I just sat there looking pathetic, while my brain whizzed round making me dizzy - I failed, no surprises there.

If I could gear myself up to remember all the ones I sailed through it'd be a lot easier, but I guess I'm just a pessimist lol!

Best of luck with the studying - you can do it - positive thinking an' all that!

[kentvegplot]

Piskie, I sat those exams, and I am pretty sure that I didn't need more that 5 of anything (ie. 5 climbers, 5 shrubs, that sort of thing) so you won't need to learn loads - your tutor can help you I'm sure (I've thrown out the syllabus now, so can't check).

Good luck with it in February.

[bluemoon]

A friend at uni turned to jelly every time she saw an exam room. In the end they allowed her to sit them in a room on her own with one invigilator who she knew well - though not her own tutor, obviously. Could your college do the same perhaps?

[SlugLobber]

However you choose to remember them, I'm sure you'll do fine. Best of luck (and I agree, that's lovely that she's said you can sit in!).

[Flummery]

Because Latin is one of the source languages for English you can often remember because of the meaning. Maculata means spotted (opposite of immaculate!) Reticulata - netted - Iris reticulata has criss-cross markings (like the net bags or reticules the Jane Austen ladies carried) then you get things like minima or gigantea which are self explanatory. I learnt many plants by their Latin names originally and now often have trouble with the English name! Sad innit?
However, I'd go with taking 3 plants per day that you need to know and learning them - then test yourself every 3 days to make sure you've not forgotten the first 3!

Best of luck kid!

[Pumpkin Becki]

I was always far better at coursework than exams, that's why I did so well at GCSE but crashed and burned in my A-levels! Ah well, at least Art Foundation and degree courses were all coursework.

I find typing or writing words or phrases as much as possible really helps, or using them in everyday conversation (tricky with latin), but you could take a trip round your garden and say to yourself 'Ah yes, thats a ....', then you've got a physical reference and mental image for the word or phrase which will help you recall it later.

Very best of luck for February, you'll be fantastic!!