Do You Need Spaced Repetition to Learn a Language?
"Some language learners are extremely excited about spaced repetition, and SRS in particular. There are several SRS programs and apps out there, and several people swear by them.
Is spaced repetition necessary though?
Yes and no.
The concept of exposing yourself to material over a long period of time is absolutely necessary, yes. Some programs promise to teach you 200 vocabulary words a day. Is that possible? Sure. But there’s no way that you’d be able to commit 200 words a day to your long-term memory. You’d basically be learning and brain-dumping each set of 200 every day. For a vocab word to stick, for example, you have to be exposed to that word over a long period.
But you do not need to focus obsessively on spaced repetition. Some people think that SRS is a magic potion, and that by using an app, they’ll learn the foreign language with minimal effort. Additionally, some people get caught up on optimizing their intervals: Do I expose myself to the material again after 3 days, or after a week? After three weeks, or after a month? They’re looking for just the right formula to get to their goals.
Honestly, that’s just kind of silly. I mean, remember:
People have been learning languages and foreign languages long before there were spaced repetition formulas, programs, and software.
I mean, spaced repetition works for some people, so if you enjoy it, use it. If you don’t, don’t.
Two Inexpensive Alternatives to SRS
So you want to learn a language and commit it to your long-term memory. But you either hate dealing with the headache of planning spaced repetition, or don’t want to pay for SRS. What do you do?
You have two stupidly simple options.
First, you can review old material often. Listen to language courses you’ve finished a long time ago, and then listen to them again a few weeks later. Or bust out old flash cards and go through them randomly.
Second, you can simply expose yourself to the language. Watch TV, listen to the radio, read books. Consuming language exposes you to dozens or even hundreds of words every minute, and the most common words – i.e., the most important words – will naturally be repeated over and over again. Not only that, but you’ll be exposed to other components of language besides vocabulary, such as grammar, phrases, and intonation, all of which tend to be ignored by some spaced repetition programs."
http://www.languagesurfer.com/2013/02/1 ... repetitio/Studying w/o SRS? Share
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