There’s been an ongoing debate among researchers and scientists over the decades about whether or not animals can truly learn to communicate with humans using language. Koko the gorilla is one of the most famous examples of an animal who uses sign language and computer images to talk to people about kittens, and toys, and food, and even her feelings. On the other side of the debate, there are the “trick” horses and dogs (and even pigs) who seem to understand what their trainer says out loud, but who are really watching the trainer closely for subtle cues expressed by the trainer’s body or tone of voice. Parrots can learn to mimic English words, but can they learn to use them in original sentences? Can we really say that when a dog looks at us as we talk to them, they understand what we’re saying to any degree?

There’s a dog that might be able to answer some of those questions – though not using English. A border collie named Chaser has been trained to recognize over 1,000 different nouns, and also knows the meaning of certain verbs. For example, she can “fetch the ball” or “paw the Frisbee” on command. Several studies have been done that seem to have eliminated the problem of getting visual cues from the trainer; for example, Chaser will go to another room, where she can’t see the person giving her the command, and still accurately retrieve the requested object. But is this truly language, and is it communication? Or is it just a matter of learned behaviors?

Researchers are hoping that more work along these lines will help answer the question about how humans themselves learn languages as children. There’s a large similarity between how Chaser learned her words and how a child first picks up vocabulary, and that’s the process of repetition. In order to teach Chaser the specific identifying words for over a thousand objects, her trainer had to repeat the name of the object while showing it to her, over and over again. In the same fashion, a mother might hold up a toy and say “ball” to her baby, helping the baby associate the word with the toy.

Repetition is a key tool in your vocabulary-building routine. To make it even more effective, use different methods of repeating the word when you’re memorizing it and its definition. Say the word out loud, write it several times by hand, and even act it out if you can. By stimulating several areas of your brain at once, you’ll help drill the meaning of the word into your memory, and make it easier to retain and recall.

We don’t want to keep hounding you about the importance of repetition, but if you don’t use this technique as part of your study program, you might find your vocabulary training going to the dogs …

You can watch a video about animal communication, featuring Chaser, on line here.