Ben Franklin the guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and the Franklin Stove also knew a thing or two about teaching.

I found this quote from Benny in the Spanish language version of Readers Digest.

dime y lo olvido, enséñame y lo recuerdo involúcrame y lo aprendo

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So what’s old Ben on about.

Let’s break it down.

Dime y lo olvido (tell me and I forget it)

What do most teachers do?

They tell, tell, and tell.

Sooner or later you tune out and it just goes in one ear and out the other.

It’s the worst.

It’s not just boring it’s ineffective.

Dime y lo olvido – Tell me and I forget it.

By the way, it doesn’t matter if the telling is in person, in print or on CD. If there’s tell, tell, tell going on, you better run, run, run.

Dime y lo olvido (tell me and I forget it)

Enséñame y lo recuerdo (show me and I remember it)

My Karate sensei, en paz descanse (may he rest in peace) was magnificent at showing. When he demonstrated, I knew exactly what my form should look like.

And when his health started failing and he could no longer show me, it just wasn’t the same.

He could only tell me.

As great as he was, telling only goes a fraction of the way that showing does

Dime y lo olvido, enséñame y lo recuerdo (tell me and I forget, show me and I remember)

And then there is the third level.

involúcrame y lo aprendo – involve me and I learn it

Any effective teaching system continually involves you.

Ben Franklin knew it 200 years ago. And it’ll be true 200 years from now

involúcrame y lo aprendo

Have you ever learned anything without involvement?

Walking

Talking

Swimming

Riding a bike

Using the computer in front of you now

You learned it all by being involved.

If you have tried to learn Spanish and failed, it’s because the teaching didn’t involve you.

Yet, I can show you how to get involved and practicing Spanish within 5 minutes.

Stop just watching, become involved. This is the best way to master any subject…especially Spanish.

https://synergyspanish.com/ben.html

Saludos

Marcus Santamaria