You have probably been there: you study a lesson, you feel you know it well and, a few days later, much of the information seems to have vanished. It happens to everyone, from the child learning times tables to the adult learning a new language. The good news: memory can be trained, and some methods help you remember far more effectively than others.
Why do we forget what we learn?
Our brain takes in a huge amount of information every day. To find it again later, it has to process, organise and consolidate it.
When we first learn something new, the memory of it is still fragile. Over time, some information becomes harder to retrieve, especially when we have rarely used it.
This is what the forgetting curve describes, based on the work of German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, published in 1885. He showed that our ability to retrieve information drops quickly in the days after learning, then more slowly, especially when there is no review.
How fast we forget depends on many factors, though: how difficult the subject is, what we already know, how much attention we paid while learning and how we revise.
The key, then, is to give the brain several chances to retrieve and consolidate the important information.
Rereading your notes: reassuring, but of limited effect
When we want to memorise a subject, our first instinct is often to reread it several times. With each reading, the content feels more familiar: we recognise the definitions, explanations and examples.
But recognising information and being able to recall it from memory are two different skills.
Take an example. After reading a page about the French Revolution three times, a pupil may feel they have mastered the topic. Yet if they close the book and try to explain the causes of the Revolution, they sometimes find that several pieces are missing.
Rereading is still useful to discover a subject or clarify a difficult passage. To remember in the long term, it works best combined with methods that put memory to work. It is in fact one of the common revision mistakes.
Three particularly effective methods to remember better
Active recall: retrieving information without looking
Active recall means making your memory work by trying to retrieve information before checking the answer. For example:
- closing your notes and explaining an idea in your own words;
- answering questions without looking at the solutions;
- redrawing a diagram from memory;
- using flashcards, with a question on one side and the answer on the other.
This method forces the brain to make a real retrieval effort, and that effort strengthens learning. Good notes work very well for this: cover the page, try to recall the key points, then check.
A tip: after trying to answer, always check the solution and correct your mistakes. This feedback is an integral part of the method.
Spaced repetition: reviewing at the right time
Spaced repetition means spreading your revision over time rather than cramming all the work into a single session.
Imagine a pupil learns something new on Monday. They could review it briefly on Tuesday, then on Friday, the following week and a few weeks later. This schedule is only an illustration: the intervals depend on how difficult the subject is and how well it has been mastered.
The idea is to retrieve the information just as the memory starts to fade. This approach is particularly useful for knowledge that builds up: vocabulary, formulas, definitions, dates or scientific facts. To fit it into your schedule, see how to plan your study time.
Explaining to someone else: organising your knowledge
Being able to explain an idea clearly is an excellent way to check you have understood it. A pupil can explain to a parent how to solve an equation, a student can present a biological mechanism to a classmate, an adult can rephrase something learned in a training course.
To make the exercise even more effective, explain the material without looking at your notes, then check what you forgot. This is the principle of the Feynman technique. The goal: turning passive knowledge into knowledge you can actually use.
In primary school: learning through play and regular repetition
For primary school children, memorising mainly concerns times tables, spelling, vocabulary, verb conjugations and first scientific concepts. At this age, short, regular and varied activities work particularly well.
Take times tables. Rather than having your child recite the whole 7 times table over and over, you can set up little games:
- ask five quick questions, in a different order each time;
- use cards with a multiplication on the front and the answer on the back;
- come back more often to the sums that cause trouble;
- gradually mix the different tables to build automatic recall.
The same principle works for spelling: look at a word, cover it, try to write it, then check.
An adult's support also plays an important role. By asking questions and encouraging the child to explain their answers, the parent helps them build good habits, without doing the work for them. In primary school, the aim is to build automatic recall while keeping the joy of learning. If homework becomes a source of tension at home, homework help can take over.
In secondary school: memorising increasingly complex subjects
In secondary school, the amount of material grows and knowledge becomes more abstract. Pupils have to remember definitions, formulas, dates and vocabulary, but also understand mechanisms and make connections between ideas.
A particularly useful method combines understanding, active recall and practice exercises. Take a physics chapter on electricity:
- the pupil starts by understanding the concepts of voltage, current and resistance;
- they then try to define them from memory, recall the formulas and solve a few exercises without their notes;
- a few days later, they come back to these concepts, mixing the exercises with those from other chapters.
This last step matters: it trains them to work out for themselves which method to use, just as they will have to in a test or exam.
For more theoretical subjects, such as history or geography, it helps to turn the headings of the course into questions. Rather than rereading “The causes of the First World War”, the pupil tries to answer: “What were the main causes of the First World War, and how are they linked?” This approach develops memory and understanding at the same time. We go into this further in our article on how to study history.
In higher education: memorising large amounts of information
At university and university college, the challenge takes on another scale. Students often have to absorb several hundred pages of material, sometimes in a short time. Organising revision then becomes essential.
An effective strategy is to start testing your memory in the very first weeks of the semester. After each lecture, the student identifies the main concepts, writes a few questions and tries to answer them from memory. They then review them at regular intervals, which makes the exam study period much lighter.
Flashcards, including digital ones, are useful for subjects rich in factual knowledge: anatomy, medical vocabulary, law, languages or pharmacology. For subjects that require complex reasoning, they should be combined with exercises, case studies or synthesis questions.
A medical student, for example, must recall precise information, but also understand physiological mechanisms and connect the different body systems. The ideal is therefore to vary the exercises: short questions, oral explanations, diagrams to complete, problems and past exam papers.
The quality of revision depends as much on how you use your knowledge as on the time you spend studying.
And as an adult? Can you still improve your memory?
Memorising remains an essential skill long after school: learning a foreign language, taking a professional training course, acquiring new digital skills or remembering the procedures of a new job.
Adults often have an advantage: they can link new information to an already rich personal or professional experience. Someone learning Dutch will remember certain words more easily by using them in conversations about their work or daily life. A professional in training will consolidate their knowledge by quickly applying it to real situations.
The principles are the same as in education:
- spread learning over several sessions;
- try to retrieve information without looking at your notes;
- link new knowledge to familiar situations;
- quickly put into practice what you have just learned.
To go further, read our 7 tips for learning a language.
Sleep and breaks: two allies of memory
How you study plays a major role, but what happens between study sessions matters too.
Sleep helps consolidate memory: during the night, the brain keeps processing some of the information acquired during the day. Enough regular sleep therefore supports learning at any age, and even more so in adolescence (read sleep, the key to teenagers' success at school).
Breaks help maintain attention and limit mental fatigue. An effective session alternates periods of focus with short breaks; their ideal length depends on age, how hard the task is and the person. Varying subjects and types of exercise also helps you stay active. For younger children, see our tips to improve concentration during homework.
How can you put these tips into practice today?
To remember better, changing a few habits is sometimes enough. Here is a simple method to try in your next study session:
- Understand: read the material carefully and make sure you understand the key concepts.
- Recall: close your notes and rephrase the important information, out loud or in writing.
- Check: compare your answers with the course and note what needs more work.
- Come back later: return to the material the next day, then a few days later.
- Apply: use your knowledge in exercises, questions or new situations.
This method works for a vocabulary lesson in primary school, a chemistry chapter in secondary school, a university course or a professional training course.
Remembering better is above all about learning differently
Memory is built over time. Understanding information, trying to retrieve it, reusing it and coming back to it regularly are all ways to strengthen learning. Research in cognitive psychology highlights in particular the value of active recall and spaced repetition.
Whatever your age or level of study, these methods can be learned, practised and gradually improved. For lists or dates to remember, the memory palace is a good complement.
Getting support
At My Sherpa, an educational advisor chooses a coach for each pupil, who helps them build a study method suited to their needs: organisation, memorising, revision, so they gradually become more independent. Lessons take place at home anywhere in Belgium, or online.
