The Importance of Repetition in the Flow Method

Repeat! Say it again! One more time! (una vez más)

If you’re a student of Idiomas Flow you’ve probably heard these phrases a million times! Do you think we like making our students suffer (sufrir) for fun? No! We do it because we believe repetition is a fundamental aspect of language acquisition  – and it’s a key element (un elemento clave) of the Flow method.

Why is repetition so important?

Repetition is important in order to consolidate (consolidar) learning. The more times you repeat (cuánto más repitas) a word or sentence, the more likely (más probable) you are to remember it. So, if your teacher asks you to repeat a sentence, you should thank him/her for helping you to learn it better!

When I was younger, I learned to play the piano. My teachers made me repeat the same phrases over and over again (una y otra vez) until I could play them without thinking (sin pensar) The same goes for learning languages. If you repeat a sentence, then repeat it again…the again – you’ll learn it better

Why do most language teachers in Spain ignore the importance of repetition?

I believe that most English teachers ignore the importance of repetition because they are lazy (vagos) It’s more difficult for teachers to listen carefully (cuidadosamente) to the students and get them to repeat something. It’s much easier to continue the conversation and not worry about consolidating a structure.

Furthermore, maybe some teachers are afraid that their st
udents will get angry (enfadarse) if they are told to repeat something. Sometimes student
s get angry if they are told to repeat something that they have already said – because after having made (después de haber hecho) the effort (el esfuerzo) to say something correctly once (una vez), they might not want to make the effort to say it a second time…or a third time!

So, next time (la próxima vez) your teacher tells you to repeat something multiple times, instead of (en lugar de) getting angry you should say:

Thank you dear teacher. I’m glad you understand the importance of repetition in the learning process, and that you make the effort to ensure I consolidate my learning :-)