Why Cramming Fails
為什麼臨時抱佛腳沒用
— English reading, TOEFL
文章
Many students study by reading the same material again and again the night before a test. This feels effective, but research suggests it is one of the least efficient ways to learn.
許多學生的讀書方式，是在考試前一晚反覆讀同樣的內容。這感覺很有效，但研究顯示，這是最沒效率的學習方法之一。
In the 1880s, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus found that people quickly forget new information unless they review it. He also found that reviews spread over several days work far better than one long session.
1880 年代，德國心理學家艾賓浩斯發現，新資訊若不複習，人們很快就會忘記。他也發現，分散在幾天內的複習，效果遠比一次長時間的學習好。
This is called the spacing effect. Each time we recall something after a delay, the memory becomes stronger and lasts longer.
這叫做「間隔效應」。每次隔一段時間再回想某件事，記憶就會更牢固、維持得更久。
Many language apps now use this idea, showing each word again just before the learner is likely to forget it.
現在許多語言學習 app 都運用這個概念，在學習者快要忘記某個單字之前，再讓它出現一次。
生詞
material 學習內容
effective 有效的
efficient 有效率的
psychologist 心理學家
review 複習
session 一段時間
recall 回想
delay 一段間隔