Does junior have problems memorising his schoolwork? Here are tips from the cast of the the hit Channel 5 show!

Do you play card-matching games with your family or friends? Can your mini-me sing the Twelve Days of Christmas? Mnemonics and tactics like these are all ways of boosting your child’s memory (and possibly your own!).
But if your child has problems remembering what he has learnt in school, we have several solutions: We went to experienced “memorisers”, the Spelling Armadillo 2 actors. This sequel to the International Kids’ Emmy-nominated Channel 5 drama see three kids competing in the spelling bee with a new teammate and the backing of as lovable teacher Mr Nasri (played by Suhaimi Yusof) and Paul Foster (the new principal). So, we asked them all how they retain what learn — for school and for the show…
Matthew Loo, plays hardworking Tom Goh:
“I listen to music as I am doing my work, so when I can’t remember certain things during an exam, I will just replay the song in my head and very naturally remember it. It’s a habit. Subconsciously even, because I only realised I was doing this ‘technique’ some time last year. When it comes to filming, I would always imagine the scene in my head as I [start] reading the script. This makes it a lot easier for me to remember all the lines.”
Arthur Eu, plays cheeky best-friend Austin Lim:
“I have a collection of notebooks that I use to take notes during classes, and I would always revise my notes for the day once I reach home. My English teacher taught me this, after I forgot to hand in my homework one too many times. Ha ha! For my scripts, I usually just read it over and over again, so that the lines will get stuck in my head.”
Annika Kelly, plays new team member Mandy:
“Either I make the information into a song, or I ‘Read-Cover-Repeat’. ‘Read-Cover-Repeat’ means reading the information multiple times, covering it up, and then trying to repeat the things I’ve just read. I even found out that listening to different types of music for different subjects make the memorisation easier! It happened because I was once so bored of studying that I just started to match the words in front of me to the tune of the music [I was listening to], and BAM!”
Ilias Goh, plays dreamer Lucas Tan:
“I try to link the main points in [what I’m studying] to gain better understanding. For example, in history, it's more like a story to me where all main ideas are interconnected…rather than trying to wrack your brains trying to memorise word for word. This also applies when I memorise my lines!”
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Paul Foster, plays new principal Mr Worthington:
“When I was in school I had to really study and force myself to learn by repetition. In University [I fine-tuned my memorisation by] writing notes out on cards, using highlights, colour and a simple symbol/pattern system that allowed my brain to absorb the information better. I realised I am a very visual learner, so…[I had to find] key words to bridge information together and systematically find a pattern to make it easier. Memorising scripts is slightly different…pure reading, repetition, over and over to get the words. The next step is to visualise the scene, to include the other characters, to add the emotion and movements…so that when you are delivering your lines, it doesn’t look like you are simply regurgitating them. Of course, it helps that I really love doing what I do...”
Suhaimi Yusof, plays experienced teacher Mr Nasri:
“School days in the ’70s and ’80s were very much different from today but one thing remains the same and I think it should remain that way: As kids, we learned and remembered better through play. I used to “plant” images or math formulas in marbles, chapteh etc. Another tip that was given by my teacher in Secondary 2 was to flip through the pages of the newspapers and spot a “big word” of the week. Then [check the word in] a dictionary and impress your friends by inserting that word in your conversation! Heh heh… As an adult, I still “plant” words or sentences into objects or faces around me. Example: I like the colour blue and it’s good for me. So to remember a simple line like, “Hey you’re a good friend to me forever…” I notice something that is blue or that represents the colour blue in the background [as I try to remember the line]. My own kids tried to memorise stuff from the textbooks — [the same] mistake I made in the past. I [taught] them to create a story to everything they read. That would make things easier because we remember stories [more easily]. As for subjects like math, [there’s nothing better than] than practicing regularly until you can spot the patterns. That’s it.”
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Make it: Cute customised memory card game