Check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxVH8umXjus
This is a vocabulary video. It teaches you 15 new words.
I upload vocab lessons (15 words) per week, and a lot of you learn those. You also learn tons of words on your own. In fact, when you are studying, you get a lot of teacher feedback, lots of corrections, lots of new grammar learning and so on. But… and I am sure you can relate to this… YOU NEVER SEE YOURSELF USING THOSE FANCY WORDS/SENTENCES/PHRASES/CONJUNCTIONS OR THOSE CORRECTIONS IN YOUR NEW WRITING AND SPEAKING TASKS!
When you write or speak, you try extra hard to use fancy expressions but they are simply not coming in your head. Yet, when you check on your vocab list, you remember the meanings. Also, when your teacher corrects you, you just realized you are making the same mistake you did three weeks ago. On correction or proofreading, you realize it but not when you are doing the actual task!
Are you getting old? Do you have bad memory?
The answer is simple. You are just human! As humans we all have the weakness of forgetting.
FORTUNATELY, there is a very very very easy fix for it in English training. Here is the secret formula.
Let’s talk about vocabulary, for example. You learn 15 new words. You maybe use 1 or 2 of them in your next writing BUT YOU LEARNED 15! The reason you can’t use them is because you have literally just memorized the meaning without getting your brain used to how they can be implemented in daily life.
Assume the word you learned is ‘awkward’. Now, you need to make at least 5-10 sentences about awkward AND (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT) make sure these sentences are related to your personal life! If you are a pilot, for instance, you will say:
‘My passengers these days are very awkward”
‘The food today served by the flight attendant tasted awkward’
‘The radar is acting up today; it’s really awkward’
…and so on!
This is conditioning your mind to use these words or phrases in situations which you can relate to AND you are doing it 5-10 times.
WAIT, you are not done yet!
Make sure you do this for at least a week. That’s right, 5-10 times per day for 1 week. This is per word or per phrase or per correction. You are building a habit and habits are built overtime. If you want to ensure you actually start using your newly learned lessons, you need to make sure they are a natural part of your thinking.
Moreover, if you were corrected by a tutor on some grammar error like:
I says = I SAY
Make 5-10 sentences with “I say” based on your daily life situations, and do it for a week!
I can guarantee you, this will ensure that firstly, you implement the new learning, and secondly, you prevent all repeated errors!
Cheers!