Study Habits

[David S]

Akiko has inspired me to talk about an article I used in a lesson today. The article comes from The New York Times. The title is, "Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits," by Benedict Carey.

www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage

The article starts by talking about the lack of qualified studies on how we learn:

Take the notion that children have specific learning styles, that some are “visual learners” and others are auditory; some are “left-brain” students, others “right-brain.” In a recent review of the relevant research, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team of psychologists found almost zero support for such ideas. “The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing,” the researchers concluded.

I've heard this my whole life. Some people are better at learning through things they see. Others are better at learning and remembering by hearing something. Apparently there is no evidence that such distinctions exist.

But the most interesting thing about this article are the techniques vetted by science that can improve learning. Summarizing, the article says the following will help you learn:
1.) In one study session you should change the room your study in.

2.) In one study session you should study many different kinds of things. For language students: vocabulary, listening, writing, reading, speaking. All in one study session!

3.) Testing is good for learning! Testing not only measures how much you know. The act of testing actually helps you remember, helps you learn!

All three of these things are supported by experiments and they just make sense. I know that after reading this article I am going to adopt the three suggestions above and I'm going to adopt them into how I teach English to students.

What do you guys think?

[akikot]

Itfs really a long and hard article you introduced us to read, David. Actually, I visited the NY Times Web site yesterday. It took me a little time to read it through. As learner of English, I like the ideas of this topic. What I really like in this article is;hWhen you forget something, it allows you to relearn, and do so effectively, the next time you see ith by Dr. Konell.

Ifm not a specialist of education,(Ifve seen this phrase somewhere in the textbook) but it can be true that taking a variety of approaches to your study should work better than focusing on a single approach. I agree with the idea that spacing study sessions could be better way to retain things. Testing is also an effective way to keep what you learned even though some people really hate it.

The article gives me some suggestions on studying English. However, no matter how effective way you study, it might be hard for you to retain something when you are not motivated. Yes, the first part of the article says gYet there are effective approaches to learning, at least for those who are motivated.h

It all depends on how you maintain your motivation to study after all.

akiko

[naokos]

Thank you for the interesting topic, David.

I'm not an expert, but in my case...."stimulation & excitements" are good for my study. Inspirations from what you see, what you hear and what you feel are good for my memory. And experiences...nice experiences (for example, someone extols my English!) make me study much harder.

I agree with the article. As the article says, changing the rooms must work well to memorize because it refreshes your brain. And using your six senses in one study also work effectively I think. And testing also stimulates your motivation.
And I agree with Akiko also. I think continuation is the most important. For continuation, you should maintain your motivation. And for maintain my motivation, stimulation & excitements are needed.

Does it make sense?

Naoko S

[akikot]

Yeah Naoko, someonefs compliment really makes us study hard.
What you wrote here reminds me when I was a high school student. I think itfs a bit wander from this subject, but I can tell when you have a good teacher, you will be really stimulated to study hard.

When I entered my high school, it goes without saying that it was a very long time ago, I had a good math teacher. He encouraged us to solve many questions by ourselves. Of course he taught us the nuts and bolts of mathematics and gave us the clues to answer. He often praised us to make us feel good. I liked the way he taught us, and I liked the way he treated us fairly. I wanted to get good grades in math and to be praised by him.

Thanks to his classes, I got good marks in math although my English was below the average. I wish I had been taught by a good English teacher during my high school days. Oh, I shouldnft blame my bad grades on my English teacher, but I think everyone needs compliments on their hard work.

[Yurika Abe]

Hello. I am Yurika. I have been studying English since 2005. I have been takeing the Eiken test since 2008. I think that I have been takeing the Eiken test to last. because I have need a motivation and a study schedule. Every week , I have homework about vocabulary. And I have been reading English books every night. And I go to NOVA for M to M lessons about three a week. By the way I play video games on X-Box in English. Recently I can play video games on X-Box in English.