When it comes to learning a language, it’s not just about what you learn, it’s about what you remember and use. Regular review and recycling of previously learned language is one of the most effective things you can do as a Cambly Pro tutor to support your student’s journey.
Making new language stick
Students often learn new vocabulary, grammar points, or expressions in one lesson and then forget them by the next. It’s totally normal and without regular exposure and practice, language doesn’t stick. Your role as a Pro tutor includes helping students revisit and reuse this knowledge consistently, so it becomes part of their active language.
Building review and recycling into your lessons
1. Keep a note of new language learned
You can use the chatbox or a shared doc, but try to keep on top of the new language that your students are learning in your classes. Pick out 3-5 key words, phrases or grammar points from each session for review in subsequent classes!
💡Pro Tip: Try using the last few minutes of a class to note and recap new language learned that day. Let students know that they should memorize and practice this key language before the next lesson!
2. Set a regular review time
Make review part of your rhythm. Whether it’s the first 5 minutes of every class or one whole review lesson every week or month, give students a predictable moment to look back.
Warm-ups are perfect for light review. Ask a question using a previous grammar point or reuse vocab in a new context. This has the added benefit of giving variety to warm-ups instead of the usual how are you and what did you do routine.
“Last week we learned the phrase ‘on the fence.’ Are you on the fence about anything in your life at the moment?
3. Use games and activities
Turn reviews into a game or just a casual recall challenge. Be creative!
- “I’m thinking of one of the idioms we learned last week. Can you guess it if I give a clue?”
- “Let’s see how many travel related phrasal verbs from two weeks ago you can remember in 30 seconds.”
4. Build on previous lessons
Link new lessons to past ones when updating your learning plan. This helps build connections between language points and deepens understanding.
- “Recently, we used the present perfect to talk about life experiences and the past simple to give some details. Today, let’s try to use both tenses in the context of job interviews to talk about career history.”
5. Celebrate mastery
Point out when students successfully reuse language from previous lessons. This builds confidence and shows them that review is working.
- “Nice! You used ‘run into’ perfectly just now. That was from our lesson two weeks ago. Great memory!”
Tools and tips for tracking and reviewing new language
- Google Docs: You could keep a shared doc with your student with sections like “New Vocab,” “Corrections,” “Grammar Points,” and “Expressions We’ve Learned.”
- Quizlet or Anki: These websites offer the ability to create flashcards that work in a spaced repetition algorithm to encourage student language acquisition. Try recommending flashcards as part of a student's self-study or even use them in session as a warm-up!
- End-of-Month recap: Once a month, scan back over what’s been covered and do a more thorough “Language We’ve Learned” session. You can incorporate these into your learning plans!
Make it stick: Don’t skip the review!
Sometimes we may get into the habit of moving from one topic to the next without looking back but that’s where students can lose progress. Recycling doesn’t mean repeating the same activity; it means helping students reuse what they’ve already learned in fresh, meaningful ways.
It’s the difference between temporary knowledge and real fluency.
By building regular review into your sessions, you’re not just teaching, you’re helping students truly review, recycle, and remember. This is one of the most important things you can do to support long-term learning which is an important part of what makes Cambly Pro, Pro.