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Six Minute English from bbclearningenglish .com.
Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Georgina. And I'm Rob.
Do you have a good memory, Rob?
Can you remember people's names or where you left your car keys?
Well, I can remember people's faces but I have a terrible memory for names and sometimes I'll be eagerly reading a book but then a week later, I can't remember a single thing about it!
Well, you're not alone.
Many people find it hard to remember things they've read or learned while other sometimes useless information sticks with them.
Hmm... In this programme we'll be finding out why we forget the things we've learned, whether that's someone's name, a word in English, or where you put your wallet?
But first let me ask you my quiz question Rob.
Before I forget, you and I might struggle to remember someone's phone number, but Chinese student, Chao Lu, has a record -breaking memory.
In 2005, she recited the numbers of pi, the mathematical equation describing the proportions of a circle, but how many digits did she manage to remember?
Was it a. 48 ,000? b.
68 ,000? Or c. 88 ,000?
Wow, it sounds like Chiao -Lu has an incredible memory!
I'll say she remembered b.
68 ,000 digits of pi.
OK, Rob, let's remember to find out the answer at the end of the programme.
OK. We'll do. Now, someone like Mr Chauloo might have a photographic memory – the ability to remember things in exact detail, like looking at a photograph.
But for the rest of us, things are more complicated.
Dr Jared Horvath is an educational neuroscientist at the University of Melbourne.
According to him, there are two rules, which explain how we remember information.
Listen to Dr Horvath talking to BBC World Service programme The Why Factor and see if you can hear the two rules he mentions.
on. The first rule for remembering is repetition.
The odds meaning the probability of remembering something are low if you learn it as a one off, something that only happens once.
Dr Horvath's second rule is about focus.
We remember what we focus on.
This involves making links between new information and something you already understand.
These are the most effective methods of remembering and most of us suck at or are bad at other ways of remembering things.
Now of course, one group of people who need good memory is students.
Do you remember cramming for school exams, Georgina?
Ah yes, staying up late trying to revise everything the night before an exam.
I remember doing that but it didn't work.
Yes, Dr Horvath's research found that students who cram for tests forget around 90 % of what they studied within 72 hours.
He thinks education shouldn't be about trying to cram students' heads with facts and figures.
It should involve something more meaningful, as he explains to BBC World Service's The Why Factor And the thing that I like about education is it's really moving from a model of just memorise as much as you can into what we now call deep learning, which is instead of giving you a hundred things and I just need to know that you can remember them.
I'm going to give you ten things and instead of just being able to remember them, I want you to be able to describe it deeply and come up with new ways of looking at it.
Traditionally, education involves memorising.
Learning information exactly as it is, so you can repeat it later.
But being able to repeat something like a parrot doesn't always mean you understand it.
Dr Horwath advocates a technique called deep learning – a complete way of learning something that means you fully understand and will not forget.
So remember repetition, focus and deep learning are the memory muscles we need.
Maybe that's how Chinese student Chao Lu developed her record -breaking memory.
You do remember your quiz question, don't you Georgina?
Yes, thank you, Rob.
My memory isn't that bad.
I asked you how many digits of the mathematical equation pi she could remember.
And I said b, 68 ,000 digits.
Which was the correct answer.
Actually the number was so long it took her over 24 hours without a break to recite it all!
Oh wow, her brain must have been aching after all that.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary from this programme, starting with a photographic memory, which is the ability to remember things in exact detail, like looking at a photograph.
The odds of something happening mean the chance is that it will happen.
A one off is something that only happens once.
To suck out something is an informal way to say be bad at doing something.
It's more common in American English.
If you memorise something, you learn it exactly so that you can repeat it later.
And finally, deep learning describes a complete way of learning something so that you fully understand it and will not forget it!
OK, well that's all from us but don't forget to join us again soon for more trending topics and top tips to help you remember useful and everyday English vocabulary.
Bye for now. Bye!
