Improve your learning by teaching 以教促学

魏雪霞

也許你在寻找新的方法来提高你对所学内容的理解，也许你在寻找更好的方法来记住重要的信息，能够帮助你达到这些目标的另一个方法是尝试教——不是作为一项工作，而是作为一种提高自己学习能力的方法。

Researchers and educators have been interested in the link between teaching and learning for quite some time. A 1982 study found that tutoring helped both the tutors and the people who studied with them. Also in the 1980s， Jean?Pol Martin， a French teacher in Germany， developed a way of teaching that asked students to teach each other. Martin taught language classes， but he expanded his “Learning by Teaching” method， also called LDL， to include other subjects as well.

More recent studies have looked at the link between teaching and memory. A 2013 study， which we briefly described in a previous Education Tips， found that teaching had a strong effect on understanding and learning. An important part of the study compared the learning results between people who actually taught a lesson and those who simply prepared but did not teach. “Overall， these findings suggest that when students actually teach the content of a lesson， they develop a deeper and more persistent understanding of the material than solely preparing to teach，” the researchers wrote.

Scientists have also explored the question of why teaching improves learning. A 2018 study suggests that teaching may help your learning because you have to remember the information you have learned as you continue to teach. Experts call this “retrieval”. The researchers wrote that retrieval practice possibly causes the learning benefits of teaching. The basic idea is that if you want to improve your memory of what you have learned， you have to practice remembering that information.

The good news is that there are many ways that you can improve your learning by teaching. One way might be to teach your family or friends about something that you are learning. The process of teaching and asking for feedback will help you realize that you may not understand some things as well as you thought you did. That is an important， necessary step in the learning process. Another idea is to imagine yourself describing a lesson to someone， or to write the lesson down. You could even write an email describing what you have learned in great detail. A final idea for those who like technology： You could record videos of yourself teaching information. You could then send the lesson to friends or put it on YouTube or some other social media services.

[Reading][Check]

1. What do we know about LDL？

A. It was first born in France.

B. It can only be used in language courses.

C. It was developed by a researcher.

D. It was studied by a person who lived in Germany.

2. What does the underlined word “persistent” in the second paragraph probably mean？

A. Unique. B. Lasting.      C. Typical.      D. Temporary.

3. What is the 3rd paragraph mainly about？

A. The background of the “Learning by Teaching” method.

B. Recent studies on the “Learning by Teaching” method.

C. Why teaching improves learning.

D. Ideas for how to start teaching.

4. How many suggestions are made to improve your learning by teaching in the last paragraph？

A. Only one.      B. Two.      C. Three.      D. Four.

[Language][Study]

Difficult sentences

1. A 2013 study， which we briefly described in a previous Education Tips， found that teaching had a strong effect on understanding and learning. 2013年的一項研究，发现了教学对理解和学习有很大的影响，这项研究是我们在以前的教育技巧中简单描述过的。

【点石成金】句中的which we briefly described in a previous Education Tips为非限制性定语从句，修饰名词a 2013 study;found为主句的谓语动词，后面的that引导宾语从句，在从句中，短语have an effect on 意为“对……有影响” 。

2. A 2018 study suggests that teaching may help your learning because you have to remember the information you have learned as you continue to teach. 2018年的一项研究表明，教学可能对你的学习有帮助，因为你在教学过程中需要记住学过的信息。

【点石成金】当suggest表示“表明;暗示”的时候不用虚拟语气，在表示建议的时候，后面的从句用should+动词原形。句子you have learned是一个省略了关系代词that/which的定语从句，句中的as引导的是时间状语从句。