Learning Communities

Resources

Tutoring

Office of Disability Services

Academic Advising

Graphic Organizers

Ask a Study Skills Question

I am having trouble keeping up with my professor, who talks so fast and sometimes seems to be speaking a foreign language. Help!

I have several remedies I'd like to recommend here.

  1. Read before class in the textbook to get a sense of what the professor will discuss (if possible). Often, the text will include the same vocabulary that sounds 'foreign' to you, and you can use this time to learn a little more about these terms. Usually, such study will benefit you overall, because in many lecture classes, such vocabulary is the basis of the test.
  2. Take notes! I know it's frustrating when you can't keep up, but jot down a few words here and there to help you focus and to use as a guide later on. On the other hand, do not stop paying attention to the lecture to try to finish writing notes-just write down whatever bits and pieces you can catch as the professor talks. I also believe that students get better at taking notes if they keep trying-they find they are able to keep up, as long as they keep at it (and as long as they don't try to write down EVERY WORD the professor says).
  3. Abbreviate. You may have to train yourself to abbreviate some words that come up often in the lecture, but whenever possible, abbreviate words. Also, do not write out entire sentences but rather just key phrases and terms. You can later use these notes to point you back to your textbook or other resources to learn more about them, in case your notes seem incomplete.
  4. Find a study buddy to meet with you (preferably after every class lecture/before the next class lecture) and compare notes with that study buddy. Your buddy may have caught some important points that you missed (and you may be able to fill in some blanks for your buddy, too). Discussing the lecture with the buddy will be a great way for you both to review and make sure you understand the key terms.
  5. ONLY AS A LAST RESORT: ask permission to tape record the lecture. If you choose to try this method, be sure to take notes during the lecture anyway. First, that will ensure that you will pay attention during the lecture, so you will use your class time well. Second, it is very painful and grueling to take notes from a tape recorded lecture. Use the tape recording to fill in the gaps, not to have to start from scratch. (I also have run into one or two students who tape recorded lectures, didn't take notes in class, and didn't take notes from the tape recording, but rather let it play when they were driving in their cars. Result: they failed those classes. That is not an active study method-in fact, it strikes me as a pretty distracting way to try to absorb information. Taking notes is an important step to help you pick out main ideas and reflect on them. If you find a system that is as easy and painless as just playing the lecture in your car, you may also find out there's a reason it's so easy-it doesn't work).

top