How To Remember What You Learn

Lesson Transcript

Hi everybody, my name is Alisha.

In this video, I'm going to talk about some tips that you can use to remember the things that you learn.

In this video, I'm going to talk about a few concepts that you can use when you're studying something.

Of course, the focus will be on language, but you can use a lot of these tips for anything that you study.

So how do you remember the things that you learn?

That's what we're going to cover in this video.

So let's get started.

Okay, the first concept I want to talk about is something called spaced repetition.

So spaced repetition is a way to study something.

So again, the focus will be on language here, but you can use this concept for any topic you want to study.

So here is the basic concept of spaced repetition in a few steps.

First, you study something for the first time.

Let's say it's a new vocabulary word.

So you study something for the first time.

You see the vocabulary word, you go, "Okay, this word means this thing." Great.

Then, step two, take a short break. So maybe a few hours usually.

So let's say, for example, you studied this new word in the morning and then you take a break, you have your day, you come back to your studies in the evening at night and number three, you review the new thing, right?

So this is kind of the basic concept, the basic step-by-step thing we do with spaced repetition.

Steady something, take a break, review it.

The next step, take a slightly longer break.

So maybe a day, for example.

So you review your thing in the evening and then you take a break.

You don't see it again until maybe the next evening, right?

You review the item again.

And then you simply repeat these steps.

So you continue the pattern of taking longer breaks between review sessions.

So this concept called spaced repetition involves leaving a space between your repetitions, between your review sessions.

So there is a reason for this.

I've created a very basic graph here.

So you can kind of see the concept behind spaced repetition.

This section is your memory.

So 0% to 100% your memory, your ability to remember what you learn.

And this part here is your study or your review point.

So I've marked these with days in this example.

So when we think about how we remember information, we need to think about how we don't remember something just because we heard it one time or even two times or three times, depending on the person, right?

We need to hear it multiple times.

We need to use it and practice it multiple times for it to really stick.

So this is a visual way to understand the spaced repetition concept.

So here, this red dot is a study point.

So the first time you study something, right?

Here at day zero, we have 0% memory of the word.

We don't know the word.

We have never studied the word before, right?

So here, this red dot is our first study point on day one.

OK, I know it may be 10%.

I got it.

I have seen it before, right?

And then we take a break.

Here's our first break, yeah?

This break I talked about here.

We sort of forget it a little bit because we saw it only one time, so we forget there's a dip in our memory.

Then the next time we study it, we remember it again.

Oh, that's right, it's back to 10% or so.

During our longer break, our memory dips again because we're not thinking about the new thing we study.

But the next time we study, our memory is a little stronger than before.

Oh yeah, I remember that thing, I remember that word.

Okay, and then we take another break and the memory dips a little bit less this time, right?

Because we've studied it one, two, three times by now.

So our memory dips a little bit and the next time we study it, we remember it even better. We're up to like maybe 50% in our memory scale. We take another break. The memory doesn't dip very much this time, our memory gets stronger. We take a break, our memory gets stronger. This is the concept behind spaced repetition.

You give your brain a little bit of a chance to kind of take in the information, take a break, and then reintroduce it.

Over time, your memory gets stronger as a result of studying in this way.

So of course, this example featured a vocabulary word, a new vocabulary word, but you could use this with grammar points.

You could use this with maybe specific sentence structures you're trying to practice and so on.

The key here is to give yourself enough opportunities to recognize the word and to remember the word and to just integrate that word into the rest of your world, into the rest of your studies.

So as you can imagine, this is excellent for learning new vocabulary words.

This is a really, really great way to approach new vocabulary words study, okay?

So some other tools and resources you can think about with spaced repetition, other things that will allow you to study in this way are spaced repetition flashcards.

So spaced repetition flashcards are systems.

There are a few different systems that are available now.

If you want to use flashcards to study vocabulary words and phrases, we have some, of course, at EnglishClass101.com.

And there are other flashcard systems, spaced repetition flashcard systems that are available online.

You can choose whatever is the best for you.

But these kinds of systems are super, super helpful because, one, the flashcards are already put in a deck for you, you already have a group of words to learn, like a list of 100 or 200 words to learn.

And these spaced repetition flash card systems know when to quiz you on something.

So for example, if you studied something on day one, it already knows, I should show you this on day two again.

And then if you forget it, it shows it to you more often.

So you have more chances to try to remember that thing.

So these kinds of systems are super, super great because they remember your answers and will quiz you on new vocabulary words at the best time for your memory.

So these are super, super great tools to use.

The second tip, the second tool or resource to consider with spaced repetition is language learning games.

So some of you might have seen some language learning games here and there.

If you play a language learning game, it might be something like how to use a grammar point or what the best vocabulary word choice is.

Those kinds of games, through having fun and playing a game, help you to review things regularly, right?

Because you need to use words or you need to use grammar in order to play the game.

So these can be fun ways that you can practice, of course, your learning, the things that you're learning.

The third tip, the third tool or resource, honestly, is a textbook.

So a good textbook generally has some review sections in it.

So you learn, say, a grammar point for the first time.

And then a few pages later, you'll see a review section, or there might be a test at the end.

So a textbook is definitely slower than this kind of system.

We don't review something every single day in a textbook.

But if you have the ability, if you have the self-discipline and the motivation, you can use your textbook on a daily basis as something that you can review as well.

You open your textbook and spend a few minutes reviewing what you learned the previous day or the previous week, For example, the last tool or resource, of course, is language classes.

This is, of course, a wonderful, wonderful resource when you're learning.

But keep in mind that these classes also are a great way to review the things that you are studying, to review the things you have studied.

So when you go to your lesson and you learn new things, make sure you're still applying the old things that you learned in those lessons.

So of course, it's important to continue learning with your classmates.

But remember to review those things that you learned in previous lessons, because your teacher is going to use those things in those previous lessons, or in the following lessons, rather.

So please keep in mind that when you attend language classes, you should really make an effort to review, you know, to use these kinds of ideas, to use these kinds of concepts, to build your memory and to build your skills.

So these are a few tools, a few things to keep in mind that will help you to naturally have this kind of spaced repetition practice.

Okay, let's continue on to the second point, the second big tip that I have here.

It's writing by hand.

So I know that many of us like to use our smartphones or we like to use computers and so on to practice, right?

To do homework, to research things, to use social media, to write and so on.

But a really good thing you can do to help you remember what you learn is write things by hand.

So make writing by hand part of your regular studies.

When you write by hand, there are a few things that you're doing, right?

You can think more carefully about your work, right?

I know usually most of us, we type pretty quick, right?

We can type quickly.

And so we don't think so carefully always about what we're writing, yeah?

It's easy to delete, it's easy to go back, it's easy to rewrite.

But when we write by hand, typically we slow down a bit.

We can think about spelling.

We can think about grammar.

We can think about vocabulary choice, right?

We have the time to think about these things.

And so this is a really good way for you to practice what you've learned in the past.

Second, you can focus on those spelling and grammar choices.

So you can think, should I use this grammar?

Should I use that grammar?

What is the spelling of this word?

If you don't have some kind of software checking your spelling for you and you have only your brain, you really have to think carefully.

How do I spell that word, right?

So writing by hand is a great way to practice this.

Third, you can practice creating something that comes from your mind and your body, right?

So when it comes into your head and out of your hand, that's kind of a special different sort of experience than just putting it into a computer, right?

It's a different feeling.

Writing by hand is a wonderful, wonderful way to practice.

So here are a few ideas for how you can do this.

First, if you have no ideas to start, no problem, You can start by just copying text.

So if there's a book or a magazine article or something you've seen on social media or even something from your textbook, you can practice just copying that by hand.

So you can think about how do I make the letters if you're a super beginner?

Or, you know, how does this sentence go together?

What are the grammar points of this sentence?

When you write by hand, you have to slow down and think about these kinds of things.

So if you don't know where to start, You can start by just copying text.

The second tip is to write in a journal.

If you keep a short journal every day, like at the end of the day, for example, you write about what happened, what's coming up for you, what was exciting for you, some opinions about the day, you can write in a journal every day by hand to get another form of practice with this.

And third is to keep a study notebook.

So maybe you have a textbook or you have some spaced repetition flashcards.

Maybe you have a few different study tools.

Another thing you can keep is a study notebook.

Maybe that's where you write new vocabulary words that you find or you write some interesting questions or interesting sample sentences that you find helpful.

So you can keep a study notebook, a physical notebook, where you write the things that you're interested in, where you write about things that are curious, like curious topics for you, things that are kind of interesting or weird, whatever.

So you can keep a steady notebook to keep track of all of those kinds of things.

All right, great.

So writing by hand and space repetition are super, super good things to keep in mind to help you remember the things you learn.

Let's go to the last point, which I think actually a lot of people forget about.

And that is to use what you learn.

Don't forget to use what you learn.

So after you learn something new, start creating your own new things with it.

So if that's a new vocabulary word that you've learned, don't just go, okay, I've learned the word, it's done.

I'm finished with this now, I've got it.

Use that word to do something new.

That's a wonderful way to remember the things that you learn.

If you just put it into your head and assume it's going to stay there, maybe you remember it really well because you used spaced repetition, yeah, and it's stuck in your head, that's great.

But to really remember, you can use it, right?

You have to use those things, make them a part of your world and a part of your life, and then you'll be able to recall them much, much better when you need them, yeah?

So here are some ideas for ways to actually use the things that you learn.

Of course, you can write sentences and write questions in your study notebook that I recommended earlier.

So let's say, for example, you learn a new vocabulary word, you study it a lot, it's great, in your head, you have a study notebook, you write some sentences or you write some sample questions using that vocabulary word.

That's a great kind of pattern you can use to make sure that that word stays in your mind and that you are able to use it in the future.

Okay?

Second tip, use the new thing in a social media post.

So that's another way to apply something that you've learned and other people can interact with that then too.

If you learn about a new topic or you you learn an interesting new word, maybe you share an article about that new word or relating to that new word or focusing on that new word.

You want to have a discussion about that on social media.

That's an idea, you know?

There are so many different ways to apply those new things.

So you're not just inputting and remembering, but you're also starting to output with those new things. Okay?

The next tip is to include the new thing in your next conversation.

So the next time you talk to someone, Maybe you want to try to use that vocabulary word if it's natural, or you want to try to talk about a new topic, something new that you learn.

You want to try to push that into your next conversation so that you remember it really well.

So it's really interesting to see that when we try to explain something to someone else, it's very different from when we just try to understand it on our own.

So there are two kind of different sides to this.

When we are learning something, we're reading about it, listening to information about it, that's one process.

But when we really understand something and we are able to teach it to someone else, that's really special.

So if you are able to do that with your new information, that's a really, really good way to ensure that you are going to be able to recall that information and keep it in your head for a long time.

So trying to share what you learn with other people is a challenging but really good way to make sure that you are learning things well too.

Okay, the last tip here is to write a short summary of the information you learned.

So when I say a short summary, I mean like a paragraph.

Many of us did this in school, right?

We had to read a book and write a summary, a one page summary of the book.

Or maybe we have to do this at work.

You write a summary of a meeting, yeah?

So this is a really good exercise because you have to think of only the key points in something you learned.

So maybe you learned, you know, like a new grammar point and so the summary is very short about when to use the grammar.

But writing a short summary of something helps you to organize your ideas about that thing.

And then you are able to share them in a way that another person can quickly understand the main points of your topic.

Yeah?

So this tip is more for maybe a big topic that you learn.

Probably you can't write a short summary of just a vocabulary word, right?

But maybe you learn an interesting cultural point or something like that, you can summarize it in your own words, which means that you are sharing the information that you learned using your own perspective, right?

So this is another important thing to keep in mind that when you summarize something, you're sharing something from your own perspective with the information that you have available and you're trying to teach someone something, right?

So this is a super good exercise that you can use for bigger topics.

The key here with all of these points is to make sure that you use what you learn because it will help you to remember the things that you learn in the long term.

Great! So these are a few very big but very important tips that I hope will help you to remember what you learn.

As I hope that you saw from this video, the key is we typically do not just see something one time and remember it forever.

We need lots and lots of practice and review and repetition and we need to use the new things that we learn in other creative ways that we choose for ourselves.

And then, only then in most cases, can we really truly say that we have learned something.

So if you're having a hard time remembering new vocabulary words or getting new grammar points to stick or many other topic, try applying some of these tips in your studies and you might be surprised to see how much you improve over just not too long of a term.

So I hope that you enjoyed this lesson and of course if you have any other tips that help you with remembering information please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Thanks very much for watching this video and I will see you again soon. Bye!

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