8 ms·

I have a "trick". My native language is not english. 99.9% of what i read is in english. Comprehension for me is also slow when just reading(at least once). Me

by sturza 5y ago

I have a "trick". My native language is not english. 99.9% of what i read is in english. Comprehension for me is also slow when just reading(at least once). Memory, as i found out, works if you connect new knowledge to existing knowledge. Usually, when i read and understand something to the point of the "aha" moment is not sufficient. Just understanding something in that moment is not enough for storing in long term memory. Here is the trick part: when i read and want to comprehend and memorise, i do the following: 1. Read a paragraph/piece in english 2. Get to the aha moment by re-reading until it makes a narrative in your head 3. Once i have the narrative, i translate it to my native language and write it down(pen and paper > keyboard) It's not fast, but there are many processes involved here that get to long term memory: 1. first reading - getting the context of the material 2. getting to the aha moment - means it's connected to something, and the new knowledge somehow filled the gap 3. when i get to the narrative part, i can make a story and tell it to myself, in my own head "this is because of that etc" 4. #3 is not sufficient, so i take a step further and process it by translating it - further cementing the "connecting to old knowledge" process 5. #4 is also not sufficient, as the translation is not always clear when trying to explain it to someone else. here is where the longhand writing comes into play - writing is expressing your thoughts clearly. when this is done, i already went through a lot of phases of processing, that i can say i fully understand something without any rote memorisation: i can just use whatever old knowledge i have to recreate new knowledge and to assemble it based on the listener's (perceived) capabilities of understanding. I know this works, because i have all the processes written by hand, in a notebook. Everything i explained here is a narrative that i constructed on the spot to explain my process. Keep in mind that this whole process of comprehension, memory, new knowledge and handwriting was new to me ±1 year ago. Not sure this helps you directly but indirectly it should be able to guide you into figuring out what works best in your context. #edit: i still don't know how to format text in a comment #edit 2: figured it out

mapster 5y ago
To retain facts and terminology, do you simply translate to native language to retain it?
- sturza 5y ago
  This is a good question. Facts still fall under the context. Think about 1989 as a date - you know a lot of facts around that date. Think now of 1986(Chernobyl) - you also know a some facts about this date. 1504 - not so much(i assume). 2006? The point is that you can also retain facts if you can connect them to something else. The more link you have the easier it is to retain. For terminology - this is tricky. Whenever i run into some new terms that i cannot explain into something else, but need to learn the term, i try to use it in written text as much as i can. But whenever i try to refer to it, i refer to it from the explanation - hoping it(brain) will bring me the term. If i use it a lot, it will get cemented.

by sturza 5y ago

mapster 5y ago

To retain facts and terminology, do you simply translate to native language to retain it?

sturza 5y ago
This is a good question. Facts still fall under the context. Think about 1989 as a date - you know a lot of facts around that date. Think now of 1986(Chernobyl) - you also know a some facts about this date. 1504 - not so much(i assume). 2006? The point is that you can also retain facts if you can connect them to something else. The more link you have the easier it is to retain. For terminology - this is tricky. Whenever i run into some new terms that i cannot explain into something else, but need to learn the term, i try to use it in written text as much as i can. But whenever i try to refer to it, i refer to it from the explanation - hoping it(brain) will bring me the term. If i use it a lot, it will get cemented.