Many professionals, in their effort to improve their English skills:
↳ Enroll in language classes.
↳ Hire language coaches.
↳ Buy books, courses, and every material they can find.
Yet… progress feels slow.
Why does this happen?
Acquiring and maintaining knowledge requires two essential ingredients:
- Learning
- Retention
Learning is the active process of acquiring new information or skills.
↳ It demands focus, engagement, and effort. (For a proven technique that helps professionals retain English faster,
2 Mistakes IT & Finance Pros Make in Business English
Retention is the passive ability to store and recall learned information.
↳ It requires memory consolidation and reinforcement to sustain knowledge.
Think of it this way: you're building a house, which involves...
↳ gathering materials and constructing the framework (learning)
↳ maintaining the house so it remains strong and usable over time.
(retention)
For research on how adults retain new skills, read this HBR article on learning science
The trap learners fall into?
They try to bring in too many materials at once.
↳ This leads to a weak and unstable structure.
They neglect regular maintenance.
↳ This leads to the house deteriorating over time.
So how can you avoid these mistakes?
Here are a few strategies:
For learning
↳ Take notes, ask questions, and participate actively. To develop active learning habits learn why paraphrasing is a must-teach skill for learners
↳ Break complex information into smaller, manageable parts (avoid overloading)
↳ Relate material to practical scenarios for better understanding and better clarity
For professional techniques on improving recall MindTools’ learning guide
Once you’ve built a learning habit, refine your delivery with this post on mastering tone and politeness
For retention:
↳ Review information at intervals.
↳ Test yourself from time to time.
↳ Use associations to make information memorable.
Let me know what other strategies you use to learn and retain better
