The Feynman technique is a relatively new approach to learning, often utilized by students to master a complicated topic. Proposed by the legendary physics teacher, the Feynman technique consists of explaining a particular concept to someone else, as if they knew absolutely nothing about it. This usually leads to the explainer finding holes in their reasoning, at which point it is recommended to back and study the specific areas where it was hard to explain the subject. This repeats until mastery.
The Feynman technique is really useful for students about to take a test, but at LinguaLinkup, we are committed to helping our Spanish tutors raise the quality of their lessons, so let’s take a look at how you as a tutor can implement it in your lessons.
- Step 1: Write down your lesson plan – this is important and must be said. You need to write out a lesson plan so that you can follow a structure with your student. The lesson plan can be adjusted to the student’s needs and level of understanding, however, there needs to be structure in order to have understanding.
- Step 2: Teach the topic to someone new – your role is to teach, and so this comes without saying. However, remember to take it back to the basics. Teach it to someone as if they knew nothing. Practice with yourself or a close friend/family member. Always try to explain things as simple as possible. Don’t over-do it going into information overload. By doing this you’ll miss the parts the students aren’t fully understanding.
- Step 3: Review what your students do not know – This applies to the student not knowing, as well as you not explaining a concept in an easy-to-understand format. You may need to change the way you explain things as if the person knows nothing about the subject/topic. This way you are sure to find the area your students need improvements on. If you find with the new students that they are consistently not understanding, you know the areas you need to simplify within your lesson plan.
- Step 4: Review and simplify it further – You’ll want to further review the areas that need improvement and simplify it even more. This way, you get to the core concepts of the topic and can build from there with a stronger foundation. Your students will thank you for it and learn Spanish faster.
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Using it for Language Learning
Feynman Technique For Spanish Tutors
This technique can be really useful when looking at regular conjugations of verbs for a particular person. For example: “Tomar”, “Sentar”, etc. These verbs, especially when conjugated to perfect simple preterit or simple future have a particular pattern. (Hint: Accentuations), wherein simple future “yo tomé”, “yo me senté”, “yo tomaré”, “yo me sentaré”. These sorts of rules in Spanish come with practice, but understanding them is crucial in order to learn the language thoroughly, so have your student explain conjugations for a particular person, and ask questions to check if they truly understand. For example, ask for an irregular verb, and see if the student realizes that the rules don’t apply. If the student doesn’t realize, make sure to go back and reinforce the material.
Using it to Improve Exam Results
Feynman Technique for Spanish Exams
The Feynman technique is also a great toolkit to improve your teaching habits. Let’s set a hypothetical scenario (which you will likely be in!): Your student has a test soon, and quite frankly, they don’t know the material well. Ask your student ahead of time what topics will be in the exam, and map out the lesson plan with these topics.
Once you have the topics at hand, it is a good idea to utilize the Feynman technique on yourself! Not because of the material, we are sure that you have that area covered, but to make sure that you are able to communicate the concepts in a simple way.
In this case, the Feynman technique will not only be functioning as a knowledge-sharpener but as a practice tool to refine your explanations and help you take your teaching success to the next level!
We hope that these suggestions help you as tutors to give better and better lessons. Feel free to employ the Feynman technique in your own scenarios, and watch how such a simple idea can build complex knowledge with ease. Good luck!