LOST SECRETS OF STUDYING
STUDY A LITTLE EVERY NIGHT!!!
AND
STUDYING IS NOT THE SAME AS DOING HOME\VORK.!!
Lost Secret #1: Keep the Language Fresh in Your Mind ...
v Label everything in your room. Seeing the words every day will fix them more firmly in your memory. Put lists of other vocabulary on your mirror. on your door, somewhere you will see them regularly.
v Take a list of words. verb endings, whatever, and say them aloud.
v Act them out. Say them in a silly voice. The more senses you use at a time, the better you will remember the words or endings.
v How about using the foreign language outside of class? How??
· Name the items in your room (instead of counting sheep at night)
· Use numbers (count sheep in Spanish)
· Describe people you see at the mall (cautiously)
· Carry on a conversation to the best of your ability.
· Talk or text with friends en español.
Some people have success using a tape recorder to record phrases or vocabulary items, and then play them back to practice for listening comprehension and pronunciation practice.
OR--make a study tape: In the background play some nice classical music softly (music .with words won't work!). Then record on the tape the vocabulary or phrases that you must learn. Listen to the tape whenever you have a chance--on the bus, wherever. The music helps your brain remember! After all, think of all the commercial jingles you can remember .without trying ... "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C- ---!").
Use a Memory Model: Make up a story. the sillier the better, to help you remember the vocabulary. Draw a cartoon of it, and then retell the story to yourself or someone else until
OR set vocabulary words to music and sing your song!!!
Lost Secret #2: How to Improve Spelling ...
v Pronounce the word as you look at it. Then close your eyes and visualize writing it, in your own handwriting. across your forehead. With eyes still closed, spell the word forward. Then spell it backward. One more time, spell the word forward. This creates a more visual image for you.
v Try the FAN technique. Fold a paper into at least four vertical columns. Then write your list of words to learn in Spanish in the left hand column. Without looking at your book or notes, write each word's meaning in the next column. When you've done all that you can, go back to your book and fill in or correct the English. Now fold under the first column so that the Spanish words are hidden. Then, using the English words, write their Spanish equivalents in the third column. When you've done all that you can, go back to your book and fill in/correct the Spanish. Continue repeating these steps.
Remember that the more senses you use to learn a word, the easier it will be to recall it when you need it!
Lost Secret #3: Now That I Made Flash Cards, What Do I DO With Them?
v First, make sure you can recall the foreign words FROM English, not just the other way around...
o Do flash card races with a partner: each goes through the set, and tries to see who can get the most correct, or do them fastest. Have your partner hold up the. card, though; don't trust him/her just to say, "I know that" or "I got that one right" (Then it's harder to cheat).
o You can play a game with your flash cards. Go through them, Spanish side up. If you don't know the word
reasonably quickly, or get it wrong, move the card to the back of the pile. Those you get right, remove from t.he pile. When you are down to only a few words, write them several times or use other mnemonic devices to help you remember them.
Lost Secret #4: At the End of a Chapter
v Go through each chapter and try to pick out what the major grammar points are, then make up questions YOU would ask if you were writing the test....
v Study for a day or two, then TAKE your own practice test and grade it. Correct your mistakes! Work through the review exercises and ASK QUESTIONS about anything you don't get right when you correct it ....
v Try to study your material in the same way that you will be tested on it--that is, if you will be asked questions orally, get someone to do that with you; if you will be given a dictation, have someone dictate to you ....
v Make a Personal Demons list: keep track of the mistakes you make over and over again and review the right answers .
v Start studying EARLY before exams.... Don't wait until the night before your test to prepare. Start your toughest material early in the evening,
v Study a Little Bit Each Night...Don't try to cram in hours of one subject in one night. Do 20-30 minutes for one subject each night, then go on to someching else, Come back to subjects that need more attention later.
v Get A Good Night's Sleep Before an Exam...DO NOT try to stay up late the night before you have to take a major test!! You won't be very sharp, and a groggy person can't think quickly or make sense of something a bit tricky. If you haven't studied much, at least give yourself the benefit of a rested body & a clear head.
v Study With Another Person ...Explain each major idea or point to your partner as though s/he were a five-year-old.
v Rehearse, review, repeat! By the way, parents make an excellent choice for this method. If your parents want you to do well, they should drop what they're doing and be ready to study with you any time!
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