How to Learn Fast: 10 Ways to Boost Math and Language Skills

This method involves distributing multiple practices (or study sessions) on a topic over a period of time. Using short, spaced-out study sessions will encourage meaningful learning, as opposed to long "cram sessions," which promote rote learning.

The first step is to take thorough notes while the topic is being discussed. Afterward, take a few minutes to look over your notes, making any additions or changes to add detail and ensure accuracy.

Do this quickly, once or twice following each class or period of instruction.

Research shows a strong connection between sleep and learning. It seems that getting some shut-eye and taking short breaks are important elements in bolstering how our brains remember something. Deep sleep (non-rapid-eye-movement sleep) can strengthen our long-term memory if the sleep occurs within 12 hours of learning the new information.

And students who both study and get plenty of sleep not only perform better academically; they're also happier.

If you're learning a skill, don't do the same thing over and over. Making slight changes during repeated and deliberate practice sessions will help you master a skill faster than doing it the same way every time

This only works if the modifications are small -- making big changes in how the skill is performed won't help. So, for instance, if you're practicing a new golf swing or perfecting your tennis game, try adjusting the size or weight of your club or racket.

One of the best ways to memorize a large amount of information quickly is to use memory techniques like a mnemonic device: a pattern of letters, sounds or other associations that assist in learning something.

Mnemonics help you simplify, summarize and compress information to make it easier to learn a new word or new skill.

Information overload is a real thing. In order to learn something new, our brains must send signals to our sensory receptors to save the new information, but stress and overload will prevent your brain from effectively processing and storing information.

The best way to combat this is by taking a "brain break," or simply shifting your activity to focus on something new. Even a five-minute break can relieve brain fatigue and help you refocus.

Drinking water can actually make us smarter. According to one study, students who took water with them to an examination room performed better than those who didn't.

Dehydration, on the other hand, can seriously affect our mental function. When you fail to drink water, your brain has to work harder than usual.

When you use multiple ways to learn something, whether it's language learning or speed reading, you'll use more regions of the brain to store information about that subject. This makes that information more interconnected and embedded in your brain.

You can do this through spaced repetition or by using different media to stimulate different parts of the brain, such as reading notes, reading the textbook, watching a video on social media and listening to a podcast or audio file on the topic.

The more resources you use, the faster you'll learn.

The more you can relate new concepts to ideas that you already understand, the faster the you'll learn the new information. According to the book Make It Stick, many common study habits are counterproductive. They may create an illusion of mastery, but the information quickly fades from our minds.

By finding ways to fit new information in with preexisting knowledge, you'll find additional layers of meaning in the new material. This will help you fundamentally understand it better, and you'll be able to recall it more accurately.