Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Repetition With Intensity - The Key to Success in English Learning

by Mark Spolsky
Intensity means power, concentrated power. Repetition means doing something again and again and again. And this is something that a lot of people don't like, and they say "Oh my god, I am bored. I don't want to listen to this again". Unfortunately, a lot of people have this idea with language learning for some reason. Most people understand if you learn a sport you have to repeat the same basic actions again and again.
So why, when we are learning English or learning any language, do we say "Oh, I don't want to study this any more, I already know it. I already know the present tense. I already know this lesson." It's not enough. We need a lot of repetition, a lot of repetition with power, with intensity. In fact, you have to focus on the basic things, the most frequent, core, fundamental, essential elements of the language. You have to focus on them every day, you never stop. Later you will start to learn some advanced vocabulary, you will learn some of that great advanced grammar that you always want to learn. However, that stuff is just extra. Always, the core, main focus of your learning must be the fundamentals, the high frequency words, the most common grammar structures, and the basic pronunciation of the language. You never stop practicing those. You never stop improving them. Every day you should continue to focus on them.
Well, your next question is probably how. Because the problem with this is that it gets boring. Everyone who wants to be a master has this same exact problem. It's a mental problem. And we have to learn how to practice with a lot of repetitions but continue to feel strong, continue to have energy and intensity. That is the trick. That is the secret.
So one way you do this is to manage your emotions. You must keep your energy high. When you listen to English lesson you should be smiling and moving. Your head must be up, shoulders back, and you must breathe deeply. It will help you repeat repeatedly without boredom. When your body, when your physiology is strong, you get bored less easily, you focus more.
Managing your beliefs will also help. Thinking constantly about what you want in the end and imagining yourself as a successful English speaker. All of these things are building your energy. And that will help you repeat more often with more energy.
There is one more secret to repetition and this is something that all masters do and have always done. It's a key point to using repetition most powerfully. When you repeat, you don't just do the same exact thing. You find small distinctions each time. A distinction is a difference, an important difference.
For example, when you learn a new lesson you eventually know now all the vocabulary. You understand easily. So next you change your focus, a new distinction. Next, you don't focus on just understanding. Then, you focus on speed. You decide "I'm going to answer questions very fast." It is repetition, it is the same thing again, but now you have a new distinction, a new focus, a little bit different way of repeating. And that is kind of a game, it keeps your brain awake. It keeps your brain alive.
By following this system every time you learn you will get a lot more repetitions for each lesson. Therefore, you will learn it much more deeply. You will never forget this. If you follow this system, every lesson will be stuck in your brain 10 years from now.


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