The Role of Memory in Learning and Language Acquisition

February 2026

How does what we learn become memories, and how do we remember what we’ve learned? This isn’t the first time we’ve explored these questions – nor will it be the last! – but we thought it’d be worth revisiting these foundational concepts in psychology. Instead of a narrow dive, we’ll take a broader look at memory and its role in learning.

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” — Leonardo da Vinci

APA Reference for this issue

(author). (2026). (article title, sentence case). MindBrainEd Think Tanks: The Role of Memory in Learning and Language Acquisition, 12(2), (pages).

Watch before you read...

Way back in March 2018, we dipped our toes into working memory. This month we’re widening our scope to explore memory and learning more broadly. In our Main podcast episode, neuroscientist Steve Ramirez explains how malleable our memories are and discusses the implications for mental health care. In our More video, cognitive psychologist Michelle Miller argues that memorization remains vital in education and offers educators tips on leveraging technology to support learning. Then, Heather Kretschmer introduces the Think Tank.

In the Think Tank, Lynsey Mori examines the challenges of our fast-paced world and offers teachers guidance for navigating the educational crisis. Next, Rodolfo Mattiello highlights how honoring students’ diverse cultural backgrounds is not just a matter of respect, but a necessity for effective language teaching. Then, Curtis Kelly shares his insights on two distinct phases of brain development.

In our Plus, Mirela C. C. Ramacciotti highlights the contributions of three researchers who have helped us better understand working memory. To whet our appetite for next month’s issue on older language learners, Amanda Gillis-Furutaka reviews a book that inspires readers to embrace the benefits of aging.

Memories Change. But can we change them on purpose?

Steve Ramirez

Our Thoughts on Memory & Learning

The Sphinx and the Five Noble Truths of Memory Heather Kretschmer

Last October, I had the good fortune to attend a conference on playfulness in higher education in Uppsala, Sweden. One of the best workshops there was led by Zara Ali and Vasileios Archangelidis, who introduced us to some useful memory techniques. When we asked if they used these techniques themselves, they said yes without hesitation. As medical students, they had to memorize a lot of information, and these techniques helped them learn what they needed to know and retrieve that information when they needed it, long after originally memorizing it.

Think Tank Articles

Where the Brain Meets the World: Emotion, Language, and Care in a Time of Everything-At-Once Lynsey Mori

We are living in what some call the metacrisis (Schmachtenberger, 2023), a term that attempts to capture the feeling that everything is happening, all at once, all the time. Ecological destabilisation, informational fracture, political polarization, global emotional exhaustion, and a deep cultural disorientation that sits under the surface of our daily routines like background radiation. The word can sound a little abstract, or distant, but the metacrisis is not out there; it is already woven into our classrooms, our family routines, our nervous systems, and the smallest relational cracks, like those moments that feel uncannily like attempting six impossible things before breakfast (Carroll, 2010/1871), reminding us that basically, our brains are overwhelmed.

Applied Cognitive Linguistics in an Intercultural World Rodolfo Mattiello

Whenever you are teaching a language, if Mikhail Bakhtine (1977) was as present throughout your undergraduate days as he was in mine, students’ background will certainly be acknowledged in the classroom. In case he was not, his work Le Marxism et la Philosophie du Langage focuses on the creation of signs as a result of individual experiences and social interactions, deliberately put together thus making meaning. “Individual consciousness is a social-ideological fact” (Bakhtine, 1977, p. 30) and it works as the premise of this article that teaching should not be top-down with teachers solely responsible for bringing knowledge into the lessons, discarding the students’ backgrounds. Instead, educators should embrace a bottom-up approach where students bring their experiences to the classroom and then teachers link them to the content. Their cultural background is brought into spoken discourse whenever the students engage in a conversation since “we use language to make sense of the world” and “we use it to convey pretty much any meaning that we want” (Berger, 2012, p. 11).

Learning as More Than Just Neurons Connecting Curtis Kelly

Let’s look at memory and learning in terms of neuroscience. But to just say learning is neurons connecting via synapses, while true, is like saying the movie Barbie is pixels changing color. I would like to take you beyond simple memory formation into the complex and remarkable aspects of brain development. From infancy to adulthood, it happens in short spurts, in different areas, at different times.

Think Tank Plus

Great Ideas from the Brain Sciences: The Work Behind Working Memory Mirela C. C. Ramacciotti

How much work do you think students have to put into tasks to learn? If this question baffles you, let me break it down. For starters, there is a variety of the kinds of work learning demands. When students deal with information that has to be available, accessible and processed–in a conscious manner–to perform a task, we are talking about a type of short memory that lasts around 30 seconds. The name, Working Memory, or WM in short, is the topic of this Great Ideas in Brain Science.

Looking Ahead to March: Older Learners

Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half, by Dr. Kerry Burnight Amanda Gillis-Furutaka

Ageing is something all of us do, every minute, every day. Does this truism sound depressing? Yes, especially when we are bombarded daily with advertising for products and advice on how to preserve our youthfulness! And so, we avoid thinking about and planning for our later life. After all, we cannot predict how long our lifespan will be (i.e., the number of years we will live), and we cannot guarantee our healthspan (how many of those years we will enjoy good health). However, I now understand that we can greatly impact our “joyspan”–the years which feel meaningful, filled with purpose and pleasure.

Call for Contributions: Ideas and Articles Think Tank Staff

Become a Think Tank star! Here are some of the future issue topics we are thinking about. Would you, or anyone you know, like to write about any of these? Or is there another topic you’d like to recommend? Do you have any suggestions for lead-in, or just plain interesting, videos? How about writing a book review? Or sending us a story about your experiences? Contact us.

The MindBrained Think Tanks+

is produced by the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) Mind, Brain, and Education Special Interest Group (BRAIN SIG). Kyoto, Japan. (ISSN 2434-1002)

Editorial Staff

Stephen M. Ryan Curtis H. Kelly Julia Daley

Afon (Mohammad) Khari Heather Kretschmer Nicky De Proost

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