How To Maximize Your Learning In The Kleo App
March 24, 2023
When you're learning a new language, it can be hard to feel sure you're using your time in the best way. You're in the right place!
The Kleo team sat down with leading language expert Peter Chase to get his thoughts. Here he shares his best advice on making the most of your time with Kleo!
Peter has refined his techniques over 30 years of classroom teaching. He holds a M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching) in German, is a 13-time College Board Advanced Placement Reader, and has been a co-author of the National German Exams.
Peter helped us capture the best of in-person learning through a digital solution in the Kleo Concept. So, you're in great hands!
1. How to allocate your time in the Kleo app
Many learners have asked how to balance their time in the app. When it comes to the acquisition of new skills, each learner has a different threshold and pace that will make sense.
Therefore, everyone has a different ratio of time that is optimal to spend refreshing material (in the PRACTICE section) versus acquiring new knowledge (on the LEARN tab). As one example, Peter assigns his beginner German students a maximum of 4-5 new Kleo tiles per evening.
There is no cookie-cutter number of new lessons per day that is best for everyone. However, everyone does benefit from the power of refreshing:
- Don't hesitate to repeat lessons.
- Go back if the teaching concept really didn't click when you did the lesson the first time.
- Also, if you've taken a break of more than several days, go back and repeat lessons before tackling any new content.
2. The power of speaking practice
Speaking is the number one skill that has to be practiced with gusto and regularity in order to understand new concepts. Like an athlete who has to do a lot of repetition, we’re building the muscle memory for sounds and sentence structure. It’s not enough to read it and do it once - we have to push ourselves to speak as much as we can!
The PRACTICE section is a powerful tool in your Kleo learning routine. This dynamic environment creates custom drill lessons for you – pulling together everything you’ve learned to date.
Practicing across topics is a fantastic way to make everything stick. Your brain is challenged to recall learnings you’ve acquired over time and integrate these skills and words together. This is a powerful way to continue building muscle memory.
3. Keeping communication front and center
Push yourself to communicate your thoughts, even when you're not sure of the finer details. Polishing grammar comes later after you acquire language.
We need to make sure we don’t let corrections get in the way of communication. Students who want to improve crave feedback. However, Peter believes we need to strike a balance: not correcting everything that comes out of the mouth and maintaining focus on the things that actually affect communication.
4. The #1 tip to maintain learning momentum
Peter's best advice to maintain momentum? Stop learning new content BEFORE you feel fatigued. This will ensure you don’t overly tax your brain trying to acquire new concepts. When you hit the point of diminishing returns, learning isn’t optimal. It's also not as fun as it should be. There is no such thing as too much practice!