Started Practicing Active Recall

A few days ago, I read a book titled “科学的根拠に基づく最高の勉強法” (Maximizing Learning: The Best Evidence-Based Techniques), authored by the Japanese doctor Kosuke Yasukawa, who currently practices medicine in the United States.

I decided to read this book after learning about it on a book-review channel on YouTube. The reviewer introduced the book as a very insightful read that challenges conventional wisdom about efficient learning methods, greatly piquing my interest. The next day, I purchased the e-book version on Kindle, and read it in just one sitting.

As expected, it was an eye-opener of a book to say the least, upending my long-held views about how to efficiently retain the knowledge you acquire from textbooks and dictionaries, with a direct bearing on foreign language acquisition, my primary area of interest.

Yasukawa, who was born and raised in Japan, graduated from the prestigious Medical Department of Keio University in Tokyo. What’s remarkable about him is that he not only passed the Japanese National Medical Practitioner Examination, but also passed the equivalent exam in the U.S. within the top one-percent scoreband of all candidates. Soon after, he was accredited to practice medicine in America, a remarkable feat for someone who studied medicine entirely in a non-English speaking environment.

Based on voluminous scientific literature, Yasukawa puts forward in this book a few salient points regarding how one can acquire and retain new knowledge in the most efficient manner.

 

The point that stood out to me the most is that, while repetition is necessary for successful assimilation of knowledge, merely reading the same passage in a textbook multiple times is actually a very inefficient way to master the learning points.

When you read the same passage the second or third time, you might feel that the reading has gotten smoother and easier compared to the first time—a phenomenon known as the fluency illusion, where you mistake familiarity with the text for actual acquisition of knowledge. You might think that you’ve gotten smarter, but the learning points won’t stick in your head in the long term.

According to Yasukawa, the key to successful acquisition of knowledge lies in the practice of active recall, a process in which you proactively try to recall the learning points covered in the segment you have just read, instead of passively waiting for them to sink into your head by sheer repetition.

The method is remarkably simple. After you have studied a certain passage, close the book, take out a blank piece of paper, and try to write down as much as possible what you have just learned in that segment. By racking your brain in this way, your mind will try to capture and consolidate the fresh information in your head, leading to long-term retention of newly acquired knowledge.

Since reading this book, I’ve started to practice active recall in my daily study of French vocabulary. Although it’s too soon for me to definitively conclude that this method works, I can already feel that the words I learn are more securely retained in my memory compared to before. I’m curious to see how much impact it can have on my future learning trajectory towards conversational fluency.

Finally, the Weekend is Here!

Over the past two weeks, my team at work has been severely understaffed, and consequently I had to work extra hard to keep up with my increased workload. I expect things to get a bit better next week, but we’re not out of the woods yet, as one of our colleagues has been unwell lately and might need to go on leave from time to time to see the doctor.

After reaching home around 10:30 p.m. last night, I felt utterly exhausted and went straight to bed after dinner. This morning, I first awoke around 8 a.m., which was 30 minutes later than my usual wake-up time, but after using the bathroom I went right back to sleep for another two hours. When I woke up again, I finally felt sufficiently rested. Instead of writing a journal entry or studying French as I customarily do on Saturday mornings, I did some housework around my apartment.

At around 12:30, I took a bus to Tanjong Pagar to go to the hairdresser to have my hair cut and dyed. It was raining hard, which was somewhat uncommon for May weather in Singapore, forcing me to open an umbrella while walking to the hair salon. Due to the heavy rain, there were relatively few pedestrians in the street.

The haircut and coloring took me around one hour and a half in total. My hairdresser is a Japanese man of around 38 years of age. He is a friendly guy, and we always chat quite a bit while he cuts my hair. Today was no exception, where he told me about his recent dentist visit, his upcoming trip to Danang, Vietnam for vacation, as well as the latest ramen restaurant that opened in the Bugis area, a stone’s throw from where I live.

Fortunately, by the time I left the hair salon, the rain had let up. I walked over to the nearby shopping complex to pick up some groceries. For some reason, my favorite brand of yogurt from Australia has been out of stock for the past several months to my great dismay.

I take yogurt with grapes for dessert every night, so not being able to eat the brand I’m accustomed to is annoying, to say the least. Out of no other options, I bought a packet of Greek yogurt with a creamy texture today. It’s possible that the dairy producer of my favorite brand has simply discontinued producing it due to poor sales. I guess I’ll need to find another yogurt brand to my liking soon.

After grocery shopping, I stopped by the Starbucks upstairs to do some reading before heading home. This time, I read a Japanese book that dealt with the topic of how to dispose of the house you inherit from your parents when they pass away. It’s a rather depressing subject, but one I’ll need to address sooner or later.

The house where my father currently resides in Japan will eventually be bequeathed to me. However, since I live in Singapore, it will be close to impossible for me to maintain the house in good condition, necessitating me to sell it at some point. From the book I read today, I’ve learned that I’ll need to empty the house of all personal possessions and cleanse it thoroughly for it to be in salable condition. I’ve no idea how easily I’ll be able to sell it, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.