Top 3: Ways not to forget what you’ve learned

Learning English is fun and exciting as you discover new ways to say things and express your thoughts more clearly with “new” vocabulary and grammar. Unfortunately, it can also be very　^★frustrating when you can’t remember those words a few days later.

Why does it happen? And why can it happen many times with the same word? The reason is that you have two kinds of memory: short-term and long-term. You remember the things you learned today in your short-term memory. But you can remember things ^★stored here only a short time because tomorrow they will be replaced with new memories. On the other hand, once things are in your long-term memory, you can recall them anytime in the future. Now, here is the problem - things don’t automatically shift from short-term to long-term memory. They need help.

Here are the top 3 ways to help move the new English you have learned from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.

• Review immediately. After your lessons, why not take a trip to a café and spend 5-10 minutes going over what you just learned? Or you could wait until later that evening at home. Doing this helps you check that you understand the new piece of language, and reduces the time needed to “relearn” it in the future.
• Review regularly. To move information to long-term memory, you will need to review it often. It is best to review after 1 day, again after 1 week, and then after 1 month. You should schedule a regular time for review to make sure you remember to do it.
• Sleep.^★Getting a good night’s sleep helps your memory. Studies show that people who sleep well remember more information, including a foreign language.

Obviously, there are other important factors that will help you remember English as you learn it (such as using the new words and grammar as often as you can), but review and sleep are
^★absolutely essential. Good luck and don’t forget, review!

^★frustrating: いらだたしい、もどかしい
^★stored: 【動】記憶させる、蓄える
^★get a good night’s sleep: 熟睡する
^★absolutely essential: 必要不可欠な