Learning a language well

Ages 13 to 17 Read alone · about 45 minutes

Read together

Learning a language is a long project, and some methods work better than others. Three habits are backed by research: spaced practice, active recall and using the language to communicate.

Spaced practice means studying a little each day rather than a lot in one night. Active recall means testing yourself instead of only rereading. Both help memory last.

Use the language, even imperfectly. Speak, write and listen to real material every day. If your family speaks Spanish or Filipino, you have a gift. Keep it alive by using it at home and reading in it.

Do it

1. Choose a language and set a daily goal of 15 minutes. Plan the week: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and review.
2. Make flashcards of 20 words. Test yourself on day 1, day 2, day 4 and day 8. Move cards you know to the later boxes.
3. Find a conversation partner, in person or in a language club. Say three sentences aloud every day.
4. Read a short Bible passage or a children's story in the language, and note words you do not know.

Talk about it

• Which method works best for you?
• How can you use your language with your family this week?

For the grown-up

Research on memory shows that spacing study over time (Cepeda and colleagues, 2006) and testing yourself (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006) are more effective than cramming and rereading. Heritage languages are fragile, and teenagers often drop them for social reasons. Show that you value them and use them with your teen.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• Nicholas J. Cepeda, Harold Pashler, Edward Vul, John T. Wixted and Doug Rohrer, “Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis”, Psychological Bulletin 132 (2006): 354 to 380
• Henry L. Roediger III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke, “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention”, Psychological Science 17 (2006): 249 to 255

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.