Review Review Review

It is a proven fact that most of the time when we learn something new, we have to repeat and review it in order to fully learn and understand it. That is true whether you are studying an academic subject or if you’re learning something that’s more practical. It’s especially true when learning a language. 

 

When you take an English lesson, whether self-study or an online lesson, you should, by the end of the lesson, have a good understanding of the topics or points covered. Maybe you understand around 90% of it, or even 100%! However, will you be able to recall everything a few hours later? What about the next day? The day after that? 

 

It is certainly true that different people learn at a different pace but the vast majority of learners will be unable to recall everything that was covered in a lesson by the next day. It is very possible that your next lesson will move on to different points and not review what you learned in the previous lesson, so you will have an imperfect understanding of almost everything you learn. 

 

 

So, how do we prevent this from happening? The simple answer is to review your work regularly. Let’s work through an example to illustrate this point. Now, firstly, remember that earlier I said that everyone learns at a different pace to others, so the example and the figures used are illustrative – your learning curve might be higher or lower than the example. 

 

 

The example: 
1) Let us assume that upon completion of a lesson the student’s understanding of the topic/point stands at 100%. 
2) The following day, that percentage will have dropped. 
3) It will continue to drop day after day UNLESS you review your work. 
4) The blue line on the graph represents the fall in the percentage without reviews.
5) The red line represents what happens when you carry out a review. In the example, the student reviews his/her work on Day 4 and Day 7.

 

The more you review what you have learned, the better your understanding of it. Eventually, you will be able to recall almost everything because you will know it thoroughly and completely. 

 

A review can be as simple as reading over your notes of the lesson and trying to remember and understand it. It will always help if you actually take notes during each lesson and write prompts for yourself. The review might also consist of other learning activities such as attempting exercises and tests, or practising writing or speaking.

 

At Red Fox Education all of our tutors are very experienced and professional educators. They will happily go over anything that you don’t fully understand and explain it clearly and fully. So, don’t hesitate or be shy to ask your tutor for a review session as part of one of your lessons. If you’re following a self-study model then, depending upon which service you’ve signed up for, there is online support available. You can also book a review lesson or Q&A session with a tutor as a self-study student – just ask about our blended learning options. Our main aim at Red Fox is YOUR EDUCATION!