What Science Tells Us About How to Study

Perhaps no classes tax students’ memory skills more than language classes. Between vocabulary lists, verb charts, grammar rules, and seemingly endless rule exceptions, students often struggle to keep it all straight in their heads. Fortunately there are strategies based on scientific research on memory that can help your child study and retain information more efficiently.

Spreading out study and practice over several days, rather than cramming right before a big test, significantly improves memory performance. In a 2016 study, researchers from the University of Lyon asked participants to study vocabulary in a new language and then tested their recollection. They had one group of the participants study in the evening and take the test the next morning after a night of sleep. A second group studied in the morning instead and took the test later the same day after no sleep. The first group performed significantly better than the second. The experiment clearly demonstrates the importance of sleep for memory.

Our brains process and organize information while we are asleep, increasing our ability to recall and understand what we have studied. Spreading out studying over several days, also known as spaced practice, gives a child’s brain even more time to sleep, process, and learn. Even a little bit each day goes a long way. On the other hand, cramming for a test, especially at the cost of a full night’s rest, can be completely counter-productive.

While cramming can feel like a quick study shortcut, it actually costs students more time in the long run. Students who cram often forget most of what they studied soon after the test because they are using only their short-term memory. Language classes are also especially cumulative — each new topic usually builds upon the last one. So when it’s time for the next test and a student can’t remember concepts from the last one, they now have to study twice as much to keep up. Spaced practice, on the other hand, helps students retain information in their long-term memory and not waste time constantly relearning the basics.

Language students today have access to a variety of software and apps, such as Quizlet and Anki, that make spaced practice quick and convenient. These apps are particularly useful for learning vocabulary efficiently. With how busy students’ schedules are these days, anything that can save them time (and stress) is essential.

It can be a challenge to change study habits, but with strong support from parents and educators to help them get organized and stick to a schedule, many students can make the switch to spaced practice and begin reaping its benefits.

-Felipe Gurascier