In order to learn effectively, we need to realize the limits of our learning abilities. How much information can we take in at one time? What will help us to remember more information and process it better?
One method of absorbing information is called chunking. Chunking is basically grouping information together into bite sized units that we can mentally retain. We can only remember a few pieces of new information at a time. Studies have shown that the average person can retain about 5 to 7 pieces and if someone is really skilled, then that person can retain upwards 9 new pieces of at once. For example, have you ever noticed how you remember telephone numbers? We generally don’t try to remember individual digits. Our brains have the tendency to “chunk” the information. If you had a 10-digit phone number, you wouldn’t try to remember 5-4-5-7-5-0-6-8-1-2. That’s ten pieces of information. If the number is completely unfamiliar, it will be difficult to keep in your short-term memory. However, we naturally will group the numbers, perhaps into some thing like this: (545) 750-6812. We will recognize that the first set belongs to a different category, that is an area code, then the rest we’ll group into digestible chunks. In other words, we separate the information in what we have the ability to process.
The same principle applies to language learning. I’ve seen people try to memorize a list of words and their definitions, often requiring a lot of time and effort. Sometimes, they’re successful, and sometimes they’re not. What’s the problem with this method? They’re trying to remember too many bits of information and when they do have some success, what they remember is data that can only be used to fill in a blank on an exam, but not useful in actually enhancing language ability. They didn’t break down the information to understand the cultural, social or practical meaning. By contrast, learning a language by chunking, not only helps you to retain manageable sized groups of information, but it also helps you to organize the information into coherent categories that provides meaningful use. For instance, here is a list of ten business English words: market, subsidiary, saturation, equity, liquidate, conglomerate, campaign, sole proprietorship, niche, overdraft. They would be difficult to remember individually, especially if some are unfamiliar to you. Now, let’s try chunking by category: Marketing - market, saturation, campaign, niche. Finance - equity, liquidate, overdraft. Organizations - subsidiary, conglomerate, sole proprietorship. By looking up the definitions, seeing how they relate to the other words and applying them to an area of business, you’ll be better able to process the newly acquired information and know where to use it.
This is only the first step in remembering these words, but as you are chunking them, you are learning about them. Then, if you need to add more words, you can add them in their proper chunked category and associate them with what you already have learned. This will help you not only retain a greater amount of information, but also do it much faster. Instead of being able to just recite new words, you’ll be able to actually use them!
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