Take a break! (Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies) Language Learning Forum

Take a break!
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Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies

23 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3

slucido
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Message 17 of 23

15 May 2011 at 8:07pm | IP Logged

johnix wrote:

Hi all,

great information here. I myself don't have a set schedule.

I was wondering what other people did during breaks. I tend to get carried away when I jump to other activities.

Also, does aerobic physical activity noticeably help? How long does it have to last?

Sometimes I use some short relaxation techniques during breaks.
Breathing techniques are easy to use and powerful.

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schoenewaelder
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Message 18 of 23

16 May 2011 at 1:04pm | IP Logged

johnix wrote:

I was wondering what other people did during breaks.

Here are a couple of links I stole from a member chill`s log who unfortunately stopped posting

spaced learning

mind juggling

I really enjoyed the mind juggling, but I must admit, I haven't reallly kept up with it. The site looks a bit barking, so just scroll down to the instructions. Or in brief, close your eyes and toss a single ball from hand to hand. It takes about half an hour to get the hang of it, but it's surprisingly relaxing.

Edited by schoenewaelder on 16 May 2011 at 1:06pm
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johnix
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Message 19 of 23

17 May 2011 at 10:21pm | IP Logged

Teango wrote:

Research suggests that we perform much better if we intersperse our study or work schedule with regular breaks rather than none at all (...) Kopardekar and Mital, 1994;

This link is awesome. I spent hours reading through abstracts from papers on that site. It's got proven answers on tons of questions I had, including :

Is caffein better than a quick rest? (no, but it's better than nothing)

Does sleep help memorization? (Yes ; but you don't neek a full night's sleep. 6 minutes are enough!)

does napping hinder sleeping? (no, even evening naps don't)

Why am I incapable of staying late at night? (Because I'm a "morning person": I need a strict, regular sleep schedule, as opposed to my wife)

Is breakfast necessary? (didn't say, but it's got no impact on alertness and intellectual performance)
What's the best nap duration? (10 to 20 minutes. After that, sleep inertia kicks in)

Is it acceptable to nap in a chair? (It's better than nothing, but napping in a bed gives measurably better results.)

Is morning the best time of day to do complex work? (Not early morning, because sleep inertia remains effective for over 2 hours)

Can I rely on my impressions to guess if I am impaired by sleep deprivation? (Not reliably. Subjective impressions can fool you)

How would I cope with night-shift work? (Napping helps. Also, a few hours of sleep before work help you anchor your circadian cycles

Is oversleeping useless? (No, it really helps sleep debt recovery, but also helps you deal with future sleep deprivation more efficiently)

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Teango
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Message 20 of 23

18 May 2011 at 2:45pm | IP Logged

Fascinating post on "spaced learning"! It stems from an article in Scientific American entitled "Making Memories Stick", written by R D Fields back in February 2005. For anyone wishing to brave the experimental data behind this, here's a link to the original paper he references by Frey et al (1993) which implies we might be able to extend our length of recall up to 10 hours with 3 or more intense bursts of high-frequency brain activity separated by 10-minute breaks. And if you're wondering why she chose 10 minutes here, the quick and sure answer is...I'm not entirely sure. However, you can certainly find later supporting evidence where 20- or 30-minute rests produce worse results [Kudrimoti et al (1999)].

And finally, on a lighter note, here's Paul Kelly's (headmaster of Monkseaton School) take on how the science can be put into practice in the classroom (just click on "Spaced Learning in Action" in the menu), or alternatively, you could even give this approach a try yourself and learn some "old skool" riffs on your guitar. :)

Edited by Teango on 18 May 2011 at 3:00pm
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Jeffers
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Message 21 of 23

20 June 2011 at 6:56pm | IP Logged

Around 1997 or so, I used to work as a night security guard, and often spent the whole night studying Greek or German. One night I read an article about the value of breaks for long-term memory. Unlike the research cited above, they suggested leaving material for an hour before returning to it. So, in trying this out, I would study a new stack of vocabulary (30 words or so) until I was comfortable with them (which took about 30 minutes). I would then do other work for an hour after completing the vocab session, and then return to the same vocabulary stack. It may just be because I expected it, but I found that over a period of weeks I retained the vocabulary better than I had before when I would go back to the stack of cards after a short break. That summer I learned about 1200 German words, which is not much compared to others in this forum, but was amazing to me.

By the way, being a night security guard was perfect for study, especially languages. My job had me sitting at a desk for about 25 minutes, and then doing a 5-10 minute round of the premises. Almost a perfect break interval. But adding the hour gap to revisiting information seemed to make a difference.
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Jeffers
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Message 22 of 23

20 June 2011 at 7:15pm | IP Logged

Teango wrote:

A quick browse through this material reveals further interesting observations. For example, it seems that we tend to recall vocabulary better from the beginning and end of a session, possibly because we have more time to rehearse the initial words, refreshed and more focused after a break, whilst the items at the end are simply more recent in our memory. This is often referred to as the "primacy and latency" or "serial position" effect (see also Serial Position Effect and Rehearsal).

Studies also show that we require enough time to get back into the flow (labelled the "build-up period"), before reaching a steady optimal period where we tend to do the bulk of our studying, only to fall gradually back down again in overall productivity after a while from general tiredness or boredom (the "decay period"). This is something I can definitely relate to...

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a contradiction here?
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leosmith
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Message 23 of 23

21 June 2011 at 3:29am | IP Logged

Jeffers wrote:

I would study a new stack of vocabulary (30 words or so) until I was comfortable with them (which took
about 30 minutes). I would then do other work for an hour after completing the vocab session, and then return to the
same vocabulary stack. It may just be because I expected it, but I found that over a period of weeks I retained the
vocabulary better than I had before when I would go back to the stack of cards after a short break.

I agree with this. I tried all sorts of combinations and found memorizing the vocab, waiting for several hours and
reviewing it again on the same day to be the best combination. I imagine 1 hour could be enough. A short break wasn't as
effective, and reviewing more than once a day yielded no better results. But that one review was a big improvement over
no review.

On the other hand, I don't think this was exactly what the op was talking about. I think the short break thing was just to
keep the mind fresh in a study session, which I also agree with.

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