Learning Reflection 4 by Satrih - TLT 401

I am especially interested with the theory of explicit memory and implicit memory. Bruning, Schraw & Norby (2011) explained that the explicit memory can be voluntarily where we consciously try to find information as well as involuntarily where ideas just come across our mind as a form of a correspondence between the present and the past. Furthermore, Bruning et.al (2011) also explained that implicit memory occurs mostly when we were not aware that the past experience is influencing or inspiring our present behavior. Implicit memory is unintentional and unconscious.

In my previous learning forum, I talked about my English learning experience, which I believe to greatly involve these two types of memory; explicit and implicit. I am inclined to believe that the portion or degree of the effects or outcome resulted from both my explicit and implicit memory in learning is equally well-functioned. Of thousands vocabulary or expressions, I copied and pasted on my notebooks in an attempt to understand English, some seemed very easy to remember, some were a bit more difficult and some might be not so important that I decided to leave. However, to my surprise, many of those words that did not really attract my attention actually stored very well in my memory. Based on this too, I am inclined to believe that writing is a great way to maintain our memory.

The theory about sensory registers that involves visual and auditory registers is also of a great importance. I tend to believe that I am an audio-visual learner. Besides reading and writing, one of great ways for me to learn a foreign language better is by watching films. I learned lots of English vocabulary and expressions from films, even today. Especially when the film is so interesting for me, it will attract more of my attention and since it really provides a real context for us to be able to recall every new information such as vocabulary, expressions and even ideas make films a great media for learning a foreign language particularly. Most of the films are interesting to me because they are relevant to my interest and my prior knowledge. It allows me to make my own perception about the films too, which might be different from others’, as Bruning et.al (2011) wrote that “Different people can interpret the same stimulus in more than one way, depending on what they know and the context in which they encounter a stimulus! (p. 21)” Based on this, I also believe that watching films is a great way for foreign language acquisition process.

The theory of encoding also provides excellent information about the effect of rehearsal to our memory as Bruning et.al (2011) stated that “One important dimension of encoding is rehearsal (p. 66).”. A new information is always interesting for me. Asking for repetitions from the source or repeating the information myself by heart (mental rehearsal) so that I can listen to that information again as many times as possible to make it a long-term memory. Once it becomes a long-term memory, it is most likely becoming an unforgettable memory even though may be there are times in which the same information happens to be absent for a while due to the presence of new activities, it will always be easy to recall anytime it comes across our mind voluntarily as well as involuntarily, which is why I believe in the idea that “forgetting is a result of interference rather than of time-related decay (Bruning et.al, 2011)”. That is exactly what I have been experiencing through watching the same film as many times as possible. It makes me able to recall every single word of an expression uttered by the actor on a scene without a feeling of being assigned to memorize the dialogue since nobody told me to do so. I acquire information or knowledge unintentionally, unconsciously through a kind of a rehearsal activity. Based on this, a teaching and learning process should allow the process of repetition or rehearsal and review to keep the lessons given to students last longer in their minds without making them bored.

During my career as an EFL teacher back home, I had been using films to teach narratives in the classroom and the students could also save the copies of the films to bring home and watch them again as a kind of a rehearsal activity. I found that they were so enthusiastic especially because they happened to like the films too. Once, I heard an idea that a teacher is recommended to repeat important information for his students at least three times to make sure that the students pay attention, to receive the information more accurately and be willing to understand. The one who told me this might have no idea about neuroscience or the brain theory, and now after reading just some pages and watching some videos of the brain theory, it turns out to be just so correct.

Regarding evidence suggesting that material we cannot remember is often still present in our memories; the problem is that we cannot access it may have always happened to me all the time like when I just lost an English vocabulary right in time I need to say it to deliver an idea or to inform about an object to somebody else while actually I know it, it is in my memory. Some time it took me for a little while to be able to recall it and sometimes it took a bit longer. Sometimes I regain the access when a similar situation happens again.

References

Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Ronning, R. R. (2011). Cognitive psychology and instruction. Prentice-Hall, Inc., One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.

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