Study and Learning Improvement

by Stephen Newdell

If you are observant and think about the use of language, you’ll realize that most people learned how to speak English, or any other language from their mother. She learned it from the mothers and grandmothers going back 2 or 3 centuries. If the words and grammar were wrong in your mother’s mind, they most probably are wrong in yours too.

Back in the years 1969 and 1970 I did a little bit of elementary study in a Dianetics school in Boston near where I was going to college for a 2-year degree. What I learned about how to study and improve my study habits I’m happy to give to you here.

Word Clearing is the most critical tool in these study methods. The main goal is to find and define words you do not understand so you can fully grasp what you are reading.

The original author L.R. Hubbard said that passing a misunderstood word causes a person to go blank, feel tired, or lose interest in a subject. The student has part of his mental attention stuck in time back where he had passed a word he did not understand. As additional such moments occur the student can become very confused.

The Core Theory: Why Words Matter

The Blank Period: Passing a misunderstood word causes a distinct “blank” feeling in the mind immediately after that word.
Physical Symptoms: Signs like yawning, feeling sleepy, or losing focus are viewed as physical reactions to a missed word.
Giving Up: Leaving words unclear causes a student to eventually abandon a book, class, or whole field of study.
A big issue is that the student read the article or book but can’t remember what he read. He might retain how to answer to test questions, but that will have no relevance to his/her future life, so the test question and answer is soon forgotten.

Is that important?

I watch videos about bad landings and why aircraft crash and in one I saw a US Airforce Boeing C-17 heavy cargo and troop transport aircraft newly rolled out of the maintenance hangar, fully fueled, and it rolled down the runway and then the pilot lifted the nose and took off. It all looked normal. What he forgot was that this aircraft has a limited tilt to the side, properly called banking. The recommended maximum bank is less than 60 degrees. Some times at high altitude the pilot might bank to a maximum of 70 degrees but then he might have to dive to gain speed and enough lift to level out again.

The pilot forgot that the aircraft could not stand for a bank and slow turn around the side of the airfield of more than 60 degrees. That aircraft fell out of the sky like a rock and ended the lives of 3 crew members and an expensive aircraft and one terrible amount of burned fuel and wreckage simply because he didn’t remember 60 degrees.

Now I don’t know for certain if he forgot because he lost his attention while reading, but I say it is a possibility. It could have been prevented. To me, it’s really important.

I made my living as a salesman in the advertising world for a while and later completed Chiropractic college. (The entire program required 8 years and I added another year to study more about what bone disease looks like on x-ray photos. This is called x-ray Orthopedics study, and I learned and apply massage as I worked on patients. It was a lot to learn and I had to keep several nervous system physiological considerations in mind as I worked, but the patients got well after they failed in other clinics. Word got around and I soon had a full schedule every day. Therefore, to me, to meet my moral standards, doing the best job, and getting that painful patient comfortable again is very important. ALL of that depends upon Each student learning the best he/she can do by understanding the language s/he is reading.

Amerieze, Hill Billy American speech, is not English. It’s something else and people who have not studied carefully what they are reading never really understand well what they are reading.

Use a dictionary. It seems like this will take too long and be too much labor but I promise you, after most of the mis-understood words you have seen get understood, it will raise your I.Q. and improve your life!

Word Clearing is the most critical tool in L. R, Hubbard’s study methods. Its main goal is to find and define words you do not understand so you can fully grasp what you are reading.

Hubbard said that passing a misunderstood word causes a person to go blank, feel tired, or lose interest in a subject.

The Core Theory: Why Words Matter

The Blank Period: Passing a misunderstood word causes a distinct “blank” feeling in the mind immediately after that word.
Physical Symptoms: Signs like yawning, feeling sleepy, or losing focus are viewed as physical reactions to a missed word.
Giving Up: Leaving words unclear causes a student to eventually abandon a book, class, or whole field of study.

Methods of Word Clearing

Hubbard detailed nine specific ways to clear words, ranging from basic dictionary work to using electronic meters. The three most common methods used by students are:

Method 3 (Reading Word Clearing):Used when reading a book or essay. You look up every word you do not fully understand right away.
Method 4 (Spotted Word Clearing):Used when a student looks dull, tired, or starts making mistakes. A supervisor or study partner helps them look back through the text to find the exact word they skipped.

Generally, I didn’t have a partner helping me. I went back to where I got a bit confused and then went back 4 or 5 lines more and looked for any words that I realized I could not define. I looked them up, used them in sentences until I “owned” them, and then read again what had confused me.

It’s magical. Suddenly you understand a subject that was a blurry mess. If you’ll do as I’m saying here, you’ll learn much more about whatever you’re studying and that well especially include Bible study.

FOLLOW THIS PATTERN

Step 1: Locate the word. Go back in the text to the point right before the confusion or tiredness started.
Step 2: Find the definition. Look up the word in a dictionary and read the definitions.
Step 3: Understand the meaning. Find the specific definition that fits the sentence you were reading.
Step 4: Make sentences. Use the word in your own sentences out loud until you completely understand it.
Step 5: Check other definitions. Review the other definitions, idioms, and the history (etymology) of the word.