4 ms·

Interesting any good research studies on this?

zarzavat 2y ago
There is some information on the Supermemo wiki, for example this: https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo_does_not_work_for_kids https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo_does_not_work_for_kids The title is a bit exaggerated. Spaced repetition should work fine for adolescents, it probably doesn’t work for very young children, and for the ages 5-10 it’s going to need some adaption. Spaced repetition is a trick to get the adult brain to retain knowledge, something it does not do easily. Adults are optimized to forget daily life (what did you have for lunch yesterday?), but to remember sporadic and important events, things that have may impact on survival. Spaced repetition tricks the adult mind into thinking that your daily Spanish vocab is important because you didn’t test today’s word for three months. Younger children are different. Their greater plasticity means that they can learn languages without much conscious effort, as long as the volume of information is high enough. A child doesn’t learn a language 10 words a day like an adult does. It may be volume rather than spacing that is more important in children.
- Tijdreiziger 2y ago
  Naturally, in a large volume of normal conversation, the most common words are going to repeat most frequently (see Zipf’s law). Therefore, getting a lot of input is still (a form of) spaced repetition, just not a conscious one. In fact, it has been hypothesized (Krashen’s input hypothesis) that adults also acquire language subconsciously through input. We just spend less time on it than children.
- rahimnathwani 2y ago
  Younger children are different. Their greater plasticity means that they can learn languages without much conscious effort, as long as the volume of information is high enough. A child doesn’t learn a language 10 words a day like an adult does. It may be volume rather than spacing that is more important in children. What are the practical implications of that for, e.g. learning a second language without immersion? My son (7.5yo) has Spanish lessons at school 2-3 times per week, and uses Duolingo every day. Both of these introduce vocabulary and grammar quite gradually. What would be a way for him to learn a new language without much conscious effort, assuming we can't create a Spanish-only immersive environment?
  - nicolas_t 2y ago
    One suggestion I always have is take holidays in the target country and if possible send the child to a host family there (can use organisations like en famille). You don’t need a long immersion to learn the language at that age. I learned Spanish by staying 3 months in a host family (and going to school) when I was 12. A friend of mine did the same at 8. That initial short immersion combined with medias and occasional travel helps a lot and is more fun than classes would be.
    - rahimnathwani 2y ago
      A friend of mine did the same at 8. Wow. My son is almost 8 and I can't imagine him being away from us for 3 months. I agree this approach would work for a 12-16yo, but personally I couldn't make it work at this stage.

There is some information on the Supermemo wiki, for example this: https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo_does_not_work_for_kids https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo_does_not_work_for_kids The title is a bit exaggerated. Spaced repetition should work fine for adolescents, it probably doesn’t work for very young children, and for the ages 5-10 it’s going to need some adaption. Spaced repetition is a trick to get the adult brain to retain knowledge, something it does not do easily. Adults are optimized to forget daily life (what did you have for lunch yesterday?), but to remember sporadic and important events, things that have may impact on survival. Spaced repetition tricks the adult mind into thinking that your daily Spanish vocab is important because you didn’t test today’s word for three months. Younger children are different. Their greater plasticity means that they can learn languages without much conscious effort, as long as the volume of information is high enough. A child doesn’t learn a language 10 words a day like an adult does. It may be volume rather than spacing that is more important in children.

Tijdreiziger 2y ago
Naturally, in a large volume of normal conversation, the most common words are going to repeat most frequently (see Zipf’s law). Therefore, getting a lot of input is still (a form of) spaced repetition, just not a conscious one. In fact, it has been hypothesized (Krashen’s input hypothesis) that adults also acquire language subconsciously through input. We just spend less time on it than children.
rahimnathwani 2y ago
Younger children are different. Their greater plasticity means that they can learn languages without much conscious effort, as long as the volume of information is high enough. A child doesn’t learn a language 10 words a day like an adult does. It may be volume rather than spacing that is more important in children. What are the practical implications of that for, e.g. learning a second language without immersion? My son (7.5yo) has Spanish lessons at school 2-3 times per week, and uses Duolingo every day. Both of these introduce vocabulary and grammar quite gradually. What would be a way for him to learn a new language without much conscious effort, assuming we can't create a Spanish-only immersive environment?
- nicolas_t 2y ago
  One suggestion I always have is take holidays in the target country and if possible send the child to a host family there (can use organisations like en famille). You don’t need a long immersion to learn the language at that age. I learned Spanish by staying 3 months in a host family (and going to school) when I was 12. A friend of mine did the same at 8. That initial short immersion combined with medias and occasional travel helps a lot and is more fun than classes would be.
  - rahimnathwani 2y ago
    A friend of mine did the same at 8. Wow. My son is almost 8 and I can't imagine him being away from us for 3 months. I agree this approach would work for a 12-16yo, but personally I couldn't make it work at this stage.