10 Tips to Learn Faster and Effectively
The speed and effectiveness of learning depend on the state of the person and the circumstances in which they find themselves. We tell you how to create conditions for our brain in which information is remembered quickly, firmly, and for a long time.
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Study faster and more effectively by teaching others
Information is absorbed more reliably, and we study faster if we explain it to others. During the explanation, we repeat the material, analyze and structure it, and discover gaps in our own understanding of the topic. The speed and quality of learning improve even when we don’t teach anyone but only think that we have to do it. Scientists from the University of Washington came to this conclusion.
They conducted an experiment: they divided the college students into two groups. Those who were in the first group were asked to study certain information in order to then explain it to other people. Participants in the second group had to master the same information in order to pass a standardized test. When checking the results, it turned out that the experiment participants from the first group remembered the material better.
When studying theory and solving problems, imagine that you need to explain this information to your classmates, parents, and younger brothers and sisters, and learning the material will go faster and neater.
Unfortunately, this approach does not work with all types of assignments. For example, if you need to write essays faster, explaining to others how you are going to do this will not help you complete your assignment. But you can always get cheap essay writing from a service like FastEssay.com. Professional writers who work there write faster than average students write and deliver papers on time. Moreover, their writers know all English language academic standards that allow them to deliver error-free papers. You will benefit from getting writing help.
Study without haste
By trying to remember as much information as possible in a short time, we actually make time go faster while studying and slow down the process of memorizing new things. According to one theory, the desire to learn things faster only leads to information being forgotten faster. For high-quality memorization, it is recommended to “stretch” the learning process.
Return to the topic a day or two after your initial study, repeat the material covered, and only then move on.
Handwritten notes
Taking notes during a lecture helps you remember information. It also matters how exactly you write your notes—by hand on a piece of paper or using a laptop. Scientists from Princeton and the University of California conducted several studies and found that students who take notes by hand, listen more attentively to the lecturer, remember more information, and understand the material more deeply than their classmates who type notes on a laptop. The researchers concluded that this is due to the process of processing information: when we take notes by hand, we do not write down the lecturer’s words verbatim but comprehend them and convey them in our own words, thanks to which we better understand and remember what was said.
While listening to a lecture, write down the main points by hand. Do not reproduce them verbatim, but try to understand and retell them in your own words.
Unpredictability of the result
In 2018, a group of American scientists conducted an experiment: rhesus macaques were given different tasks, and after completing them, the monkeys received juice. At the same time, there was always a reward for completing some tasks, while for completing others, the reward might not come. By measuring the monkeys’ brain activity, the scientists found that areas responsible for learning were more active if the monkeys could not predict whether they would receive a reward or not. Thus, it was found that the unpredictability of the result and moderate anxiety have a positive effect on brain function: uncertainty and anxiety when preparing for exams help to remember information and learn fast.
When starting to learn something new, be sure to give yourself an “internal exam” to test your knowledge and set a reward for success. For example, after each topic, take tests for a certain number of points, and if you manage to score the required number, reward yourself in a way that is pleasant for you. If you fail to score points, repeat the material and assign yourself a “re-exam.”
Changing learning algorithms
While studying, we are often afraid to change methods and approaches, preferring to use proven schemes and repeat them over and over again. However, an experiment conducted in 2016 by Johns Hopkins University proves the opposite – changing learning algorithms speeds up the assimilation of information. In the experiment, participants were tasked with mastering the same skill on a computer in two lessons. One group completed the task in the same way both times. The other group was asked to use a different technique in the second lesson. As a result, the participants of the second group showed the best results.
When studying and repeating material, use different techniques and approaches. For example, solve the same problem twice or three times in different ways. Study theoretical material first from a textbook and then from a video lesson or lecture notes. A different order of studying the material, new manuals, courses, teachers, a new approach to the topic – all these changes activate the brain and make you learn faster.
Tips for learning foreign languages
How can you learn languages fast?
- Watch videos, films, or TV series with subtitles of the language you are learning.
- Learn a language through music. In this way, you can very effectively replenish your vocabulary since entire verbal structures and sentences are memorized.
- Always turn on the language you are studying in the background. It could be a film, series, show, stand-up, etc. When combined with more traditional teaching methods, this can really speed up learning.
- Alternate between active and passive learning. If you have enough motivation today, do the classes in the app or with a textbook. If motivation is weak, just turn on a video in a foreign language before going to bed.
- Talking about something that happened in your life helps you learn the language faster. When describing a situation that concerns you directly, the brain remembers it much better than some random information.
What students should remember to learn faster?
- When studying material, imagine that you will explain it to others.
- Don’t try to remember information as quickly as possible; break it into several short segments with mandatory repetition of what you have covered.
- Write down lecture notes by hand.
- Give yourself knowledge tests.
- Change teaching methods and ways of obtaining knowledge.
- Watch videos with subtitles in the language you are learning.
- Listen to music to learn a language.
- Listen to the language in the background.
- Combine active and passive learning.
- Learn vocabulary by talking about your experience.
