The title of this article says it all. So why is review such an important part of the learning process and improving English? Well, just look at the first two letters of the word “review”, what have you got? That’s right. “Re”. “Re” also happens to be the first two letters of the word “repetition”. Now, when it comes to language learning, not only English, “repetition” rules. What does that mean? That means nothing is more important, more effective, more useful and more beneficial than repetition in learning and improving English. And so guess what? Review is one form of repetition.
Repeating does not always mean parroting (which, when performed properly and preceded by feedback and correction is also extremely effective), it applies to any case when a certain word, sentence, structure or context is RE-visited, RE-considered, Re-thought and most importantly RE-used. It’s up to you how to do that. You’ve got to get creative with the process to keep it fun and interesting.
So why is reviewing such a big deal?
Very simple. Before I answer this question though, let me explain to you something crucial. To attain a certain level of mastery in the practice of any skill in life, you need to go through roughly TWO phases: First, the learning phase and second the application phase. Let’s see what happens in the learning phase. In the learning phase, we understand, we comprehend, we realize, we become aware of the information we need to perform a skill.
Hard as that can be, even when achieved, it’s not sufficient. Then comes the application phase when we have to actually APPLY or USE the skill we learned. So now, back the question of why reviewing is such a big deal, it is essentially because it is the last and most critical component of the learning phase. While comprehension and awareness are a MUST and a prerequisite for “learning”, review and repetition are a MUST and a prerequisite for “applying” or using the skill.
Whenever I have a new student, whether in Japan or overseas, the first question I ask is “Do you have time to go over and practice what you learn with me during the lesson? Do you have 1 to 3 hours per day to spare for review and practice?”. Those who say “we do” and they do, end up improving English dramatically and rapidly. Those who say “we do” but they don’t, end up wasting their time and money. And finally those who say “we don’t”, well at least they get to hold on to their money. Review is everything. I don’t care how long you’re sitting in the classroom, I don’t care how long you have been learning (new information), I don’t care how many words you are memorizing every day, if you do not allocate the time to review it all, it will not stick.
Teachers and Reviewing
Now if you’re an ESL teacher reading this, do not rely on your students to review because they often don’t, well the majority doesn’t. So if you’re a smart teacher, always start your class with a 10-20 minute review. Better yet, design a whole new lesson (or even several) as a review of the last. Even during your free conversations with your students, try to use the words or patterns you already taught and make it very clear to them that you are doing so that they can realize it and take note of it. The problem is that most schools are more interested in completing textbooks by the deadline than in really seeing the students improve and master the skills they really need. The schools need to understand that it’s not about them and their goals, it’s about the students and their capacity.
I hate it how everyone seems to be in such a hurry to complete an English course, program or a textbook. I hate it how many students seem to believe that too much time spent on review is time wasted. On the contrary you airheads! Time spent on review is never too much and never wasted. Just because you think you understand how the present perfect works doesn’t mean you’re ready to use it (correctly), it’s only review and practice (tons and tons of it) that is going to get you to this point. The sooner you understand that the better.
Now come back and review this article so that you can remember the vocabulary next time you need it! Improving English depends on it.
For you as a student
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