Keep Forever!
Disclaimer: This post is not intended for advertising or promoting the products mentioned in this article, it’s not a paid advertisement and is solely for informational purpose of our internal English program. :)
How good is your brain in remembering things especially in studying a language?
I’m going to share a book I read about language learning — it’s also related to the vocabulary training we’re giving to our project leaders (in my previous post, I promised to write about it next) it’s my only purpose and I don’t intend to be a spoiler at all so if you don’t mind then please keep reading. :)
Have you ever heard of this book Fluent Forever? Gabriel Wyner the author, is an opera singer and a polyglot, he speaks 6 languages fluently! In his book, he interestingly talked about 3 basic keys in language learning. I’d like to focus on one of the 3 keys he mentioned — the spaced repetition systems (SRSs)
Spaced repetition systems by definition is an evidence-based learning technique that’s performed with flashcards. Our brain improves its ability to remember things and store information efficiently through this technique — it’s like hacking the way your brain works by the spacing effect or with time intervals — in this way the brain gets stronger and you can remember things more. That was then, using flashcards though they’re effective, let’s admit that making them is a little of a hassle, right?
Thank goodness we’re in this digital era, things are being made more and more convenient, so many kinds of apps were developed to improve our lives! And so spaced repetition apps have been developed as well. Thanks to their unique algorithm, studying and remembering things can be done way more efficiently and effectively. Apparently, these apps aren’t just used for vocabulary/language learning, it’s also used for medical terms, legal terms you’re studying, anything crucial that you need to remember! There are plenty of them but if you’re going to search for the best SRS apps, you’re more likely to find this app called Anki.
So we gave it a try (since my English-genius co-worker is using also Anki himself, thanks to him!) and we required the members to use the app for building their vocabulary. They’re currently working on around 2,500 vocabs and it’s the 2nd set. They share with us their progress by sending a screenshot showing the percentage of how much they’ve done.
Using Anki is efficient as it shows only the things you keep forgetting and hide the ones that you remember/the ones you’re good at. This way you’re really working on the things you just really have to work on, without wasting your precious time, effort and energy.
“If you talk to a man to a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” — Nelson Mandela
So that’s what we’ve been doing for vocabulary building and writing about this is a good reminder for me to use the app for my Japanese learning too..
Please let me know if you have a special training to remember words!
Thank you so much for reading! :)
